Days 341-346 & 347- The 4th Car

10th Saturday, 30th June 2012

The 4th car took quite a while longer than I had expected even though I knew it would be tricky. Before we started work on the 10th Saturday, all 3 of us watched a how-to video again to learn how it could be done. It was our 2nd time watching the video, the 1st being on Durian Day. Of course, the video made everything seemed really easy. 

This was the part that Nat was really looking forward to making for 2 reasons : the idea intrigued him plus he loved painting. Watching him finally taking an interest in the project again was a reward in itself and the treat was doubled with Jewel's infectious enthusiasm. 

The painting of the dark patch was to give an illusion of depth or so the How-To video claimed we could.

I was painting too, except it was the 4th car. If you had noticed the mallet and the hammer in the previous picture, you might have guessed that the hammer was used to knock a few holes in the roof here. The mallet? My dear nephew was using it to try and kill ants! 

After the kids finished with the painting and moved on to the preparatory work for the hubcap garden, I took over the junkyard to finally glue everything down for the blue garden since we had demarcated the area for the 4th car. 

I also planted some cactus and bamboo for the yellow garden. Nat did not like the cactus because he thought they didn't look realistic. Too thin, he insisted, too thin. I was surprised when Jewel agreed with him.

Picture taken on 9th July 2012

I wanted the cactus for the yellow but I took into account what the children said and added another more succulent species of green desert plant to give an illusion of thickness to the ensemble. I completed both the blue and yellow gardens rather quickly because we were all impatient to start....drum roll please...

Picture taken on 30th June 2012 after 1st failed attempt at water, 10 minutes after Realistic Water

...on the 4th and suppose to be sinking car! 

The Tree from What Dreams May Come, a movie I love.

Some of you may remember Nat and my shopping trip on 1st June 2012. It was then that we bought a bottle of Realistic Water and another one of Water Effects from Woodlands Scenics- click through for video. A water feature was therefore in the pipeline since then. The idea of a pond was in fact suggested by FaiZ as early as May when he saw the empty patch meant for the 4th car. I then thought of using a convertible as our 4th car so that I could have a sort of weeping willow growing out of the car. The effect would be like a fountain but instead of water, we have drooping branches from a tree assimilating cascading water. Nat then threw a spanner in the works when he persistently refused to let me have the mini cooper. The light bulb moment came when I thought why not a sunken car? Then all I needed was a roof and I could  still have a tree growing out of the roof. I knew Nat would buy into the idea because his current craze was sunken ships.

1st July 2012 after the 2nd failed attempt

You must therefore appreciate how anticipated this day was when we could finally build the pond and how disappointed we were when 10 minutes after we poured the Realistic Water into the grass mat, the water disappeared. I found out later that I was supposed to water proof the catchment area using white glue. I tried but the white glue just left a real mess on the grass mat. Thinking that maybe the 1st pouring might have waterproofed the area, I then pour another round of realistic water. The next day, the water disappeared again. The grass mat was so porous that the Realistic Water had seeped through. 

Taken on 5th July 2012

Plan B- Forget Realistic Water and use the resin and hardener method which I did for my pail of water. In order to seal up the catchment area, I placed tiny orange pebbles at the edges. Each and every piece of the pebble was painted because they were originally pinkish red. Very finicky work as the pebbles kept getting stuck to my brush. I then made stones out of egg carton and lined the stones behind the pebbles with craft glue. 

Egg cartons are really ideal as stones. I didn't even have to do very much. Just tear, glue and a few dashes of black water.

Third try at the water and it was a success. I even managed to create a ripple effect for motion. The car however did not sit properly so I had to add more.

7th July 2012


more water, a bit of grass 

7th July 2012

and a tree that Jewel helped paint.

Can you spot them?

The 3 cars and a roof?