How to make a jungle treehouse for stage Part 3

Making a VBS jungle treehouse part 3

I took two sheets of 4 x 8 foot by 2-inch thick white styrofoam and cut them in half. Then I measured and cut out a triangle to form the front of the treehouse. I did the same for the back. I cut a door hole in the front one.

Then, using a wire brush, I carved gouges into strips to simulate bamboo. 

I even carved the little holes in the top of the door.

I made short sides of the house to match. 

I took some long strips, about 2 inches square by 8 feet long, and rounded the edges off. Then cut a few of those rounded pieces the same height to serve as railing posts. These I attached with some drywall screws from the top of the railing into the post. I carefully squeezed Great Stuf foam in an X pattern to simulate vines or rope tying everything together.

I made the roof by taking another piece of styrofoam, cutting it in half, and making one side jagged. 

I attached all of these pieces together using drywall screws to see what it looked like.

There was a gap in the top of the roof, so I used another railing piece for the top. 

I took everything apart and painted it. 

For the bamboo I just used a darker brown color and made lines. Then drybrushed these lines up and down to simulate the bamboo rings.

I forgot to show the windows which I carved and added the Great Stuf rope.

Here it is mostly finished

Then I sat the treehouse on the top of the tree to test fit it. It looked pretty good.

I made some more leave bunches to go on the ends. 

The leaf ends were a tad heavy, so they ended up getting some fishing line support from the ceiling. 

I also made some vines using the technique on this post. 

I put a small white piece of material across the front door and windows so I didn't have to paint the inside of the treehouse.

If you make your own version, I would love to see it.

Jeff

How I make a pattern for styrofoam cut outs. Or Bumblebee pattern

In Some of the coral I made for VBS I had a question if I drew stuff free hand or had a pattern.  The answer is both.  Some things I do without a pattern, but if I have to make a shape that is the same on both sides, I make a pattern.

In this one I needed to make a bumble bee.  So I started off with a roll of thick brown paper.  I believe they sell this stuff at Home Depot in a roll.

I drew half of the bumble bee on a piece of this paper.  Then I cut out the half I had drawn.  Then I folded it in half and drew and cut out the other side.

Then I opened it up to see if it was going to fit with what I was needing.
It did.  So I wanted to see it with some stripes.



So I added stripes.

Now for the wing.  I drew a rough shape...

Then cut out just the part I had drawn.    You can see that the other part is square.

I folded it in half lengthwise and cut it again.

Here it is after it was cut.

The wing is too big where it touches the bee.


So fold and recut.



Then after about a few hours worth of work...

Some of the coral I made for a VBS

Mission: Impossible?

The Mission:  Turn a giant spool into a stone well stage prop.  

Uses: An actor has to sit on the edge of the well during the performance. 

The Task: Using as little money as possible, and without altering the spool in any way.  No painting, no cutting, or lasting effects.  

Deadline: One day.

Do you accept this challenge?

Yes! 

This is the spool in question.
I started by getting a piece of paper mill paper that was big enough to go around the spool. I found a roll of paper thinner than I am used to at Hobby Lobby for about $4.50. I painted the paper gray (with some paint I had lying around the shop). I don't have a picture because it was threatening to rain and I was trying to hurry.  I hung the paper in my shed to dry.

The spool sits pretty level although it was a bit wobbly.  There are 4 metal rods that run the length of the spool and stick out on either end. I tightened these up and that made the spool a lot more sturdy, but then posed a problem for me.  Now I had four bolts sticking out about 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch out of one end.  Since I wanted to make this as non-wobbly as possible I didn't want to have the bolts on the bottom. If I did, when the actor sat on the side it would slightly tip.  Nope the bolts had to go on the top.  I had planned to cover the entire thing with paper mill paper but with the bolts sticking out of the top I didn't want the actor to sit on them, or the bolts tear through the paper.



The Solution: Styrofoam.  I used a scrap piece that I had laying around the shop and cut a hole in the middle.  Then I cut random shapes only about an inch deep.  This made the look of stones without the individual ones.  Then I took the heat gun and heated up the edges and middles.  This makes styro look more rock-like. For more on how to make rocks visit this.

As you can see it went around the bolts solving my problem.

Next I needed to do the hole in the middle.  Without cutting or painting the spool I cut a piece of paper mill paper in a circle and painted it black (with some paint I had sitting around the shop).

I painted the rock topper with some dark grey paint (I had sitting around the shop). I also thin down the paint a little.  This helps get in the cracks and holes.

I noticed there were already some staples in the spool, so I stapled the black spot (a pirate's death sentence for those of you who are pirate fans) in place. Then I crumpled up the gray painted paper mill paper and opened it back up.  Much the same way I did here.  I unrolled it and stapled it on the top and bottom making sure it had a lot of wrinkles.  After that I got my paint sprayer and sprayed black paint up from the bottom.  If you paint the dark color from the bottom it looks like a shadow.

I put the styro stone top on and held it in place with a few screws.

It is not my best work but considering the
Project Triangle…

I am pleased with the result.  

The Cost:  $4.50 (for the paper.)

Here is a pic of it during the performance.

How to make styrofoam look like wood

First, get a piece of styrofoam. I typically buy mine in 4ft by 8ft pieces in the insulation section of Home Depot or Lowes.  It comes in 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch at my stores.  Some places I have found sell them in 2 inch thick sheets.
This is a 1/2 inch thick piece of pink foam.  The blue foam is the same
but the regular white styrofoam doesn't work well for this.
The pink/blue foam is far denser than the white stuff.
Cut it to the size you want the final piece to be.  You don't need to cut each individual slat, just the finished piece.  I am making the background for a sign, so this piece is about 2 feet wide and 3 1/2 feet long.

The thing you need to remember is ALWAYS REMOVE THE PLASTIC SHEET! If you don't then you will end up with a huge mess that won't accept paint.  I like to peel the sheet off of both sides but that is just me.  It does need to be off of the front at least.

Next use a wire brush and rake it down in the direction you want the grain to run.  Dont go in different directions or it won't work. You can use the brush sideways or straight.  I typically start in the middle of the board and pull all the way down to the edge.  You are going to think "I am doing this wrong.  It is messing up."  Don't Panic (Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference there.) It is supposed to look messed up.  Keep going over the same spot until you reach the depth you want.  Do this across the whole surface.  Make sure you keep going past the edges too.

You will be left with a deeply scarred piece of foam.  Now if you want to make planks or what looks like different boards just go deeper with the wire brush in the "crack" areas. You can tilt the wire brush sideways so only a little bit hits the board or you can use a small wire brush (one that looks like a toothbrush) to make the "cracks."  

Next use a paintbrush to sweep away the extra bits that are left over.  I have found that brushes that are no longer good for painting are usually good for this part.

Now it is time to paint.

You will want to use latex paint on this, not spray paint or it will end up being eaten away by the spray paint. I started off with a medium colored brown paint. (I used the Apple Barrel kind on this one.)  I poured it in small amounts all over the styro.  I also use a spray bottle of water to thin it out a little.

While it is still wet, spray it with some water and drip darker colored paint in random spots.  I used a burgundy, dark brown and even black.
The trick is to keep it wet.  Run the paint brush with the grain, and mix the paint on the board itself.

If you are making planks, then make the "crack" areas darker.  

It ends up looking something like this.  Stand it on one end and let it dry.  The paint will run down and puddle so make sure you have a tarp down or it is somewhere that can get paint on it. Make sure you stand it on an end so the paint runs with the grain.  You wouldn't want the paint to drip across the grain then it wouldn't look right.

Here is another one that I have done. The wood is darker in this one.

You might notice in the bottom left corner there is a knot.  I used a tiny heat knife to do this before I painted it.  I did it in a few other areas too but those are harder to see in this photo.

How to make a cave out of paper

How to make a cave.

First I started off with some paper mil paper. It is pretty heavy duty stuff, and it come in a roll, but don't ask me where from because I have never had to order it.  We have just always had a giant roll of it.  I am nearing the end and I am going to have to figure out where it can be purchased.

Anyway, I unrolled a long piece, and cut it using a razor knife.

 Starting at one end I began folding and stepping on it to crumple it up.  This is a great way to take out some pent up frustrations.  And this is also a great time to let the kids help.  They love jumping and crumpling up paper.  

WARNING: If you crumple this up on a tile/stone floor it will be a little slick, and you might find yourself sitting rather hard on the floor.

ANOTHER WARNING: This paper is also very easy to get paper cuts from.  So be careful.

Ok so it is now crumpled up. 

I unfolded it back to it's almost original length.  Time to staple it on the wall.

I have a set built of 4'x8' frames with styrofoam on them.  So I added a few pieces of plywood for the staples to hold to. Then I randomly bunch and move the paper so it forms rock like shapes.  

I always try and turn the raw edge under.  It makes it a little bit more rock like.  

See if you lightly fold the raw edge down and staple, it looks better.

I didn't take any pictures of the painting process, mainly because I was in a hurry to get it done and get some sleep.  

I have used a paint sprayer before but the overspray took so long to clean up I decided against it this time.

I took an airbrush and sprayed blackish grey paint upwards.  Only from the bottom up.  This gives the illusion of shadows.  I tried to fill in as many gaps as possible.  If you really have a lot of time and want it to look better, do the same concept but from the top with a lighter color.  This will give the illusion of highlights.

Here is a promo video using the set.