The Folly Tree

How Small Can It Be?

Dear Readers, I have been making some Progress on the Landscaping for "The Folly", although I must confess it is NOT Turning out Anything like what I had first Imagined! "How can that Be" You ask? Well, to begin with I was planning that "The Folly" would have a "domesticated" garden on the side where the Walled garden is, and on the other side where the little brook is to go there would be a "Wilder" garden with perhaps a slightly Japanese feel to it... all green and natural... with a large tree overhanging the brook and sheltering the House. That part of the plan has not changed.
But a Little over a week ago I drove across the Wilds of New Hampshire so that I could go to an

Art Gallery Opening Night 

(Please click on link to go to Amy's blog...)

to meet a Blog Friend whose Artwork I find very inspiring. Amy Gross makes the most AMAZING little creations.... both in the Dollhouse world and in her "Fuzzy Orbs" as I call them...

(Amy I am not sure what You call them!)....

Here is a picture of Some of them that I took at the Gallery... 

I just Love them and could get LOST in each tiny fungus adorned world.....

It was SO Worth the long drive to meet Amy and see her creations up close and for REAL!

And after the Long drive home .... quite late because they fed me Dinner Too!.....

I dreamed all night of amazing Fuzzy Mossy Landscapes.....

And the Big Tree beside "The Folly" became a Hollow Old Fungus Bedecked Tree.... 

And BEFORE I Knew WHAT had Happened.... the tree had Little Tiny Rooms in it.... 

one on top of another... for a Tree House for some Tiny Creatures to live in!!!

And when I woke up... I had the feeling I had fallen down the Rabbit Hole.....

Because THIS was one of those Ideas that Would NOT go away!

So I started to build the Tree House for "The Folly"!

The Tree was going to need a Sturdy and SOLID attachment to the base, so I needed to carve out the layers of Foam all the way to the bottom and attach the Main Tree Upright to the wooden base. I made the tree itself a separate wooden base layer so the whole Tree structure is removable while construction is under way. The vertical wires are coat hanger wires straightened and attached for the three other "corners" of the Tree House Trunk. The wires are so there is some flexibility in the shape of the tree as it is being constructed. The eventual outer layers of cardboard and paper mache will make it structurally solid. The wooden support on one corner is so I can attach the little hinged doors to the rooms.........

And here you can see I have carved out the upper layer of foam so that the Lowest Room will be "underground" in the roots of the tree.... and the door will be open on the side where the brook runs past...

Here I have started the basic structures carved from the foam... and the tiny steps from wood. The little "people figures" are stand-ins just so I can get the scale correct. How small are they you ask? The taller one is one and a half inches tall.... the shorter one is one and a quarter inches...... Yup, this is a Quarter scale Tree House! One Quarter inch equals one foot!

Here you can see the Kitchen floor painted to resemble stones.... 

and the Hearth begun and the stairs are painted and glued in place.

And I have started on the cupboard shelves.

Here you can see the cupboard doors in place and the hearth has some "coals" made from colored beads and that glittery gauzy cloth I like to use for smoke...... (sorry this picture is blurry...)

I realized fairly quickly that this TINY House was going to have to be all assembled and glued in place before the next room above was begun.... it is VERY hard to reach in even with the "ceiling" still not in place! And because I don't want it to take me YEARS to Finish THIS house.... I needed to make the things I needed rather than buy the parts.....

So I started to make the TINY dishes and pots for the Kitchen out of sculpey.....

The large white thing is the future Sink!

See how TINY they are??? Am I NUTS???

But the more I make... the more I am getting into the tiny scale......

Here you can see the beginnings of the Kitchen sink...... 

with peel off scrapbook "tiles" from Michaels...

The tiles are each about one quarter inch.....

Here it is painted.... with little faucets and beads for handles........

(next to the Super glue for scale....)

Finding the perfect piece of old plaid silk ribbon for a kitchen sink skirt.....

Isn't it Cute????

Here you can see the TINY cup hooks I added to the shelf to hang the TEENSY Tiny Cups.....

 And some more of the Tiny dishes.... all Glued in place!

Here you can see a Temporary mock-up of the outer layer of cardboard tree trunk.... 

just to give a sense of the size and proportions of the Tree House...... 

With the Little Door in the roots....

Yes, the leaning trunk is intended.... but it will have to lean less at the top!

Here is the view from the side where the "opening" to the kitchen level is located......

With the "Door" hinged to open.... 

this will be covered with paper mache to simulate tree bark.... 

and fungus and lichen to disguise the opening.....

 I still have NO Idea WHO is going to live here......

And there Sure is a LOT of Building to do......

And Eventually Maybe there will even be a Mossy and Fungus covered Landscape surrounding the Tree....

Inspired by the Beautiful Creations of Amy Gross.... (Thank you, Amy!!!)

But for Now I seem to have embarked on yet Another House project...

In a Scale I NEVER expected to be working in!!!!

Just HOW small can it Be?