Everyone needs to calm nerves sometimes. Or just to relax and switch your mind to something different. So digging Miniature Japanese gardens (Zen Gardens) or drawing lines with mini rake could be really helpful.
And what is the most exciting for me in this projects – is that this garden is in winter style. No sand – just snow. Well, kind of snow 🙂
I start with a DIY Miniature Snowman. You will need 2 teaspoons salt, about 30 ml hot water, about 6 tablespoons wheat flour. You can dry dough balls in the oven (80-100°C) for an hour or more. For decorating I used a stationery glue, salt, toothpicks (for nose and arms) and two tiny beads as eyes.
Place your snowman in the tray (I took a cardboard box lid) poured with salt – this will be the base of our Zen garden.
Next I show how to make a miniature Fir Tree (or Christmas tree, but without decorations). You will need three pompoms of green yarn (better to use a thin thread yarn) and a stick (I used a wooden stir stick, but you can use a drinking straw or needless pencil).
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The third DIY is my favorite – Miniature Sled 🙂 Sledding is so fun! Isn’t it? For mini sled you will need wooden stirrers (wooden stir sticks). Mine were 0.5 cm x 15 cm. If you will use popsicle sticks (craft sticks) you would soak them in hot water much longer than 30 minutes – about 12 hours or so. The point is they are thick and made of another kind of wood, I think… But wooden stirrers are thin and become flexible after 30 minutes in hot water.
About measurements. The total length of “runners” is 7.5 cm. The seat part is 4.5 cm x 3 cm. And the height of the sled is 1.5 cm.
And sure, what Zen Garden could be without rake! So the last thing I show is how to make miniature rake. You will need 5 paperclips, super glue and a wooden stick (for a handle).
