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"I was a single parent when I bought myself a Lionel train set for Christmas, something I wanted as a child, but was told girls don’t play with trains. That started our family tradition. After Thanksgiving dinner the Tree went up, and then the train brought presents. When I started the village, the presents became the bases for the houses."
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| Fence Material |
That was over 30 years ago. Since then, Ann’s train village has grown to include the California Creation, Wee Craft, Santa’s Best, and Windham Heights holiday villages and a number of Department 56 figurines.
As a crafter, Ann makes many of her own village accessories and readily shares her tips and ideas.
"I needed a fence to enclose my farm to keep the pigs from getting onto the railroad tracks. At the craft stores and Wal-Mart there are Popsicle sticks with notches in them. I cut them off below the third notch, and using floral wire, wired them together like the store bought ones, but at the length I needed."
When her village needed Telephone Poles she crafted her own.
To make 8 poles that are 4" tall with 2-2" crossbars:
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| Finished Fence |
Materials
Instructions
Cut the dowel into 8-4" pieces - a tip, cut 2-16" pieces, tape together between each 4" segment, then make 4 cuts and vola-8 pieces.
Stack 8 Skinny Sticks together, and tape at each end. Measure 2" and mark, tape between the marks, and measure another 2". Each stick will give 2 crossbars.
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| Finished Telephone Pole |
Mark the center of each crossbar. With small drill bit drill a hole close to each end through the tape. That is for the fishing line.
Paint both dowels circles and crossbars. When dried, center dowel on circle and glue, when dried glue 2 crossbars on the top of the dowel on either side. I used a clamp to hold them until they were dried.
String fishing line between the poles, thru the crossbars, at the distance you want. Use a tacky gum to secure the poles to your display.
Note: I melted the ends of the fishing line to the crossbars with my soldering stick.
Ann offers another tip:
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| Ann's Forest |
"I wanted to fill in the space behind the Hunting Lodge with more trees, so I prowled the artificial flower department at Wal-Mart for appropriate items. I found one bunch of flocked greenery, which I used to make the trees. I snipped them off at the stalk, added floral wire and brown floral tape to make a trunk, and to have something to pierce the Styrofoam, and viola, I have my forest."
This year Ann begins an ambitious project of urban renewal, after having decided to display her village year round.
"I have a friend in construction who I have drafted into bringing me pieces of foam insulation sheets for my new construction project. My base is 4x3'9, and I have 43 major pieces, so I am mapping out a design that will give me 4 levels, with a 360 degree diorama. Because I have so many odd pieces, I am going to make several villages. I have the complete Windham Heights town, and I need a hospital, police station and general store for the California Creations. My Santa's Best and a couple other pieces are large, while the others gradually get smaller, with Windham Heights being the smallest. I can't wait for the after Christmas sales. I might just need 5 levels!"
All photos courtesy of Ann Whiting.