OH my this is just perfect! Jules has also described my same feelings so well. This is on my to do list, can you tell me how you did the columns? I have a plan for the floor and steps but feel free to give us the run down on your process for the whole thing.
Thanks guys!
I had made the stair portion a long time ago. The steps are a bit shallow, because the dio was in a bookshelf with a photo backdrop. The steps and the surrounding "rock" platform, are simply foamcore. The rock pattern was made out of cut out foamies, then I used that super light Polyfilla to texture and grout.
The columns are also foamcore. They are not very deep, since they are up against a glass window, but are made in a similar fashion to the steps. A narrower piece is spray glued on top of the wider piece and a thin strip of the thicker kind of foam core juts out in the middle. Using a utility knive, I etched/carved out the column's sections, then used some of the light spackle for texture and grout.
There is a thick foam core brace glued to the platform and the back of the dias with narrower pillars which the columns were then glued to.
Sprayed the whole thing with a light coating of texture paint, then with several thin layers of grays, tans and greens, to get a rock like look and feel.
The foliage is spanish moss, and green tissue paper. I double shredded the tissue, then hacked into it with scissors. Spray-glued strips of pulled out spanish moss, then "breaded" it in the leafy mixture. Then spray-glued it to the pillars. Once in place, I used a little white glue to tack some areas down. That's about it.
I've been thinking about doing this dio for a while now, and quite happy with figuring out the proper scale foliage, which has vexed my for as long as I've wanted to do this. Once again the dollar store beckoned, and the tissue and spanish moss drew me in!
