When the stream bed is hard, paint the bottom with a blue paint; lighten this blue color as you paint from the bottom toward the sides. Along the banks of the stream, paint in a light brown color. Let the paint dry completely. Squirt a small amount of Duco or Testor’s along the stream bottom; sprinkle pieces of glass thickly in glue before the glue sets. Push the glass into the glue to be sure it is well anchored. Squirt more cement over top of glass until top surface looks the same as a stream surface. Again, follow nature as closely as it is possible. Base your stream direction, flow, eddies, and riffles on observed knowledge. Mix a little talcum powder in some of the glue and stir quickly and hard to get a froth. Use this white, frothy material along the part of the stream surface that would be frothy. If you want the “water” to be breaking over boulders in the stream bed, place pea-size gravel pebbles in the stream bed at the same time you place the glass fragments.
Another method for a stream uses aluminum foil and light blue cellophane. Using ordinary household aluminum foil, tear off enough to cover the bottom of your stream area. Crumple the foil tightly, then smooth it out and glue to the base with Duco, Testor’s, or Pliobond. Cut a piece of blue-green cellophane to fit over the foil. Crumple the cellophane tightly, then smooth out. Glue the cellophane to the foil with Duco or Testor’s.
Finish both of the above stream methods by painting Elmer’s glue along the banks and shore, covering the edge of the water area, then sprinkle with sand, sawdust, or other texture, and complete the vegetation as previously described.
LARGER DISPLAYS
Most of the methods used in making the cigar box exhibits can be used in preparing larger displays, but the immediate problem presented is that of the setting, since there are no standard size boxes of the correct proportions into which to put your foreground material. This is easily solved. Use Elmer’s glue and carpet tacks to fasten a piece of pebble-board, matt board, or poster board to two 1″ × 1½″ wooden supports.
PEBBLE BOARD 1½″ 1″
Nail on top and bottom wooden 1″ × 1½″ braces to give the curve to the background.
Poke, pull, and bend window screen to form main contours of base.