Building A Paper Mache Mountain & Cavern for Your Holiday Village

Building A Mountain and Cavern for a Holiday Village

I always wanted to incorporate a mountain and a cave into my miniature holiday village display, but I hadn't included one because I didn't want to store it afterward, so the method I used was one that I could dispose of the mountain after Halloween because it was cheap and easy. Building the frame of the mountain was a learning experience in itself, but ultimately the results looked fantastic and hardly cost me anything.

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Spooky Spectral Swamp Tree How-To

Glowing swamp trees illuminate a spectral blue when under UV blacklight

I've tried to use the trees from my Christmas display in my Halloween Village but found that they ruined the Halloween ambiance I was aiming for and I didn't want to spend a bunch of money buying retail Halloween trees. 

I researched the various methods that others have used to make their own model trees. Surprisingly the same basic steps were used by almost everyone. Basically, a piece of wire is twisted over and over to create the trunk and branches. So, I decided to give it a go, but I add my own spooky twist to the design.

Spooky Spectral Swamp Trees

Materials

• 3x3 piece of cardboard
• 20-30 gauge wire (speaker wire or floral wire works well)
• Hot glue
• acrylic paints (browns, greens, black)
• Floral moss (any color)
• (optional) a handful of sand

Instructions 

1. Paint a 3-inch x 3-inch piece of cardboard to look like the terrain of your village. Set aside to dry. (You'll notice in my photos that I did not do this step first and ended up wishing I had because the cardboard's color difference was visible beneath the tree
2. Cut 30-50 strands of wire into approximately 6inch - 9 inch pieces. The pieces do not need to be exact & you do not want them all to be equal lengths.
3. Using 5-6 strands of wire, hot glue the end of the strands together on one side to create a "bundle". Make 5 bundles
4. Beginning on the glued end twist the bundles together loosely, progressively twisting tighter and tighter. Do this to all 5 bundles.
5. Glue all 5 bundles (glued ends down) onto the painted piece of cardboard
6. Twist the glued loosely wrapped end of the 5 bundles together to create the tree trunk. Use glue if necessary to hold the bundles twisted together

1. Adjust the tightly twisted ends  of each bundle to be bent in different directions, mimicking the gnarled branches of an old tree
2. Untwist just a few wires from each bundle and bend them in all different directions to create small branches jutting out from the main big branches 
3. Coat all of the branches with hot glue. Drizzle hot glue all over these wire bundles letting the glue drip from the branches

1. Once all the hot glue is dried and you are satisfied with the effect, paint over the glue using browns and greens. 
2. Glue brown or green floral moss to your painted swamp tree 
3. Optional: glue sand and rocks onto the cardboard to blend the tree base in with the terrain
4. Set up your tree in your village under a blacklight to get the glowing effect 

Alternative Methods

I came across this tutorial on www.instructables.com for making wire trees. I haven't tried their method of wrapping the wire around two nails, but it sounds like it would be a great time saver and I can't wait to try it. 

The 2 photos above are from instructables.com "How to Make Quick and Easy Model Wire Trees" by lukeaness 

Display Platforms

The platform is a fundamental element that defines the layout of your village. There is a multitude of options for where to display your village and it all boils down to the personal choice of what furniture you are willing to forego using while your village is temporarily displayed. 

One of the most basic elements of any village is the platform it is displayed on. The type of platform used will vary depending upon where you will be displaying your village, your budget, and what materials your display platform is created. If you plan to display the village on a flat large table, you have vastly different options than a village that is displayed in a bookcase, for instance. 

In theory, it is simple to design a platform for your holiday village. You have a certain number of building to display and a limited amount of space to do it in. So, it is fairly simple as long as you want a flat landscape. The possibilities are endless when designing a multi-level display.  

I have set up my holiday villages in multiple ways. Each way I've setup my village I find pros and cons. One year, I set up my village in a tall bookcase with a folding table in front of the bookcase for my village to overflow onto. Another year, I set up my village in my entertainment center with a table next to it. And, another year I set up my village on my dining room table. 

A List of Town Elements to Include

Here is a list of buildings that most towns contain, and you should consider including in your seasonal village.

Some Essentials

• General Store
• Gas station
• Restaurant
• Church
• Cemetery
• Water Tower
• Playground
• Hospital
• Doctor's Office
• Dentist
• School
• Park
• Sheriff's Office
• Fire Station
• Barber Shop
• Saloon
• Town Hall
• Train Station

Don't forget the landscaping elements!

Landscaping Elements

• Trees
• Shrubbery
• Rivers
• Rocks
• Fences
• Gardens
• Paths
• Roads
• Lamp Posts
• Signs
• Bridges