littlemay
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2011
- Messages
- 552
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Hey everyone,
I just had a new enclosure built courtesy of Maverick Enclosures and was looking to kit it out with fake plants. I liked the overall look of the Exo Terra ones but the quality wasn't so good and the price was so expensive!
I found some really good quality artificial plants on special online and went with those, but was left with the stability issue, as they all just had 'stems'. Anyway, I figured I could just make some Exo Terra like bases myself with air drying modelling clay. It's such a simple idea, but I couldn't find any tutorials or anything on this site so I figured I'd make one Keep in mind I am not in any way a crafty/handy/diy person, so to do a tiny project like this is a big thing for me!
Anyway, this is the modelling clay I got from Bunnings. I liked the white as my enclosure is white (matchy matchy!!), But it came in a terracotta colour as well, which could be nice. I think it was about $8.00 a block.
When it came out of the pack it was really dry and difficult shape, so I added some water and mushed it into a ramekin to get the general shape
It came out looking like this
I started shaping it properly with wet hands
Then I stuck the plant stem in. I considered making the hole and then gluing the plant in later when the clay was fully dry, but I was a bit unsure about using a glue in my enclosure. The stems were pretty textured so I figured if I compressed the clay in around them they should pretty well. I guess i'll find out..?
Getting my Ghost on! Just a matter of shaping it some more around the plant and smoothing over the surface with water.
'Patting' the wet the clay with dry hands then gave it a really nice matt texture.
Drying! I figure i'll seal it with a water based polyurethane once it's dry. If I was to do it again i'd probably make a wider base for the tall plant, but I ran out of clay. I guess we'll see how it goes.
I hope that helps someone out there, I think they look pretty good!
I just had a new enclosure built courtesy of Maverick Enclosures and was looking to kit it out with fake plants. I liked the overall look of the Exo Terra ones but the quality wasn't so good and the price was so expensive!
I found some really good quality artificial plants on special online and went with those, but was left with the stability issue, as they all just had 'stems'. Anyway, I figured I could just make some Exo Terra like bases myself with air drying modelling clay. It's such a simple idea, but I couldn't find any tutorials or anything on this site so I figured I'd make one Keep in mind I am not in any way a crafty/handy/diy person, so to do a tiny project like this is a big thing for me!
Anyway, this is the modelling clay I got from Bunnings. I liked the white as my enclosure is white (matchy matchy!!), But it came in a terracotta colour as well, which could be nice. I think it was about $8.00 a block.
When it came out of the pack it was really dry and difficult shape, so I added some water and mushed it into a ramekin to get the general shape
It came out looking like this
I started shaping it properly with wet hands
Then I stuck the plant stem in. I considered making the hole and then gluing the plant in later when the clay was fully dry, but I was a bit unsure about using a glue in my enclosure. The stems were pretty textured so I figured if I compressed the clay in around them they should pretty well. I guess i'll find out..?
Getting my Ghost on! Just a matter of shaping it some more around the plant and smoothing over the surface with water.
'Patting' the wet the clay with dry hands then gave it a really nice matt texture.
Drying! I figure i'll seal it with a water based polyurethane once it's dry. If I was to do it again i'd probably make a wider base for the tall plant, but I ran out of clay. I guess we'll see how it goes.
I hope that helps someone out there, I think they look pretty good!
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