PALM TREES

Palm trees can be found in a number of DIY bauble kits. Some instruction manuals come with palm leaf templates for you to trace and cut out on the green paper provided. This can be quite fiddly and time consuming, however can give a quite a satisfying result.

Here we'd like to show you a simpler way to get a similar result (or even better!) depending on your preference.

1. Find the green paper 

2. Draw 2 sizes of simple skinny leaf shapes, approx. 3cm and 4cm long, freehand on the green paper. Around 12 - 15 leaves are enough for one tree.

3. Cut the leaves out 

4. Serrate them by clipping little triangles off the edges freely leaving the tips of the leaf. The irregular serration will give the palm tree a more realistic look.

 

5. Use your nails, scissor blades or tweezers to curl the leaves the way you like. 

6. Randomly glue the leaves around the tree trunk. Start the first layer with 3 - 4 leaves at the top of the trunk, then repeat gluing 4 - 5 leaves for the second and third layer slightly lower than the previous layer. Use combinations of short leaves for the upper layer(s) and long leaves for the lower layer(s), or just use short leaves for small trees and long leaves for big trees. 

And now a palm tree is done! Hurray!!

Basic Tools

Have you ever come across the question "what tools do I need" when you look at our DIY miniature kits?

The answer is A General Toolbox with Basic Tools is fine.

The good thing about our DIY kits is that most of the parts are pre-cut, drilled, painted and ready for assembly. Occasionally you may need to cut a wooden rod into small sections, trim off a corner or cut fabric into different sizes for furnishings, however these all can be easily done with a general toolbox :-

1. Small sharp scissors to cut fabric / paper

2. Craft knife to cut small pieces of wood, or wallpaper, carpet and flooring which gives a neat finish on the cut edge

3. Cutting Mat

4. Sandpaper to sand an angle off a piece of wood, most commonly 45°, or any rough cut on the wood which is unlikely from our kits

5. Awl to poke a little hole (not the person sitting right next to you!), or to hold an extremely small piece in place. The pointy tip is really handy for delicate work. It can be used to score paper or cardstock too (yes, it's the best scoring tool I've ever had!)

6. Tweezers to help pick up tiny pieces (they are really helpful for someone who has blunt fingers like me)

7. Metal rulers to measure or guide for cutting a straight line

8. Glue (needless to say "to glue things together" :P)

There is probably one more thing which is not really a tool but I would like to add: A Tray.
I use the lid of a memory box while my friend uses a wooden tray bought from a craft store.
We find working in a tray is way better than an open area as all the bits and pieces will stay in one place (I guess they will not jump over the "fence" themselves) instead of ending up somewhere unexpected as with conversation below:

Hey honey, can you please have a look to see if you are sitting on my leg?

What? Why would I sit on your leg?

I am talking about my miniature chair leg

Oh... I'm not. What does it look like?

Well, it's white, and has a funny shape of... oh how do I describe it in words... anyway it probably as big as your finger tip, you may need your reading glasses to find it... OH! FREEZE! I spot it! it's 1 cm to the right of your left foot... don't move...

Where? ...

Glue

The glue included in our DIY kits is more than adequate for easy assembly of parts. However we would like to introduce you Aleene's Super Thick Tacky Glue and Grandmother Stover's Glue as an excellent alternatives for different adhesive purposes.

Aleene's Super Thick Tacky Glue

Aleene's Super Thick Tacky Glue is superior on paper, fabric, wood and most plastics, and ideal for gluing hard-to-hold items. The thick consistency allows precision positioning. This glue will not run and will dry clear with flexibility.  These properties save you time holding components waiting for the glue to dry, allowing you to move ahead quickly onto the next task.

Grandmother Stover's Glue

Grandmother Stover's Glue is a fantastic adhesive for applying wallpapers carpets and floors, and "will not curl, wrinkle or discolour any material" as it says. Slightly thin the glue by mixing with very little amount of warm water, or even hot water in winter and brush evenly over the paper. Lay on the paper starting from one edge and use an old credit card as a spreader to smooth out the paper gently to ensure bubbles are not captured under the paper.