Hi Carol I always use blocks of syrofoam that appliances are packed they are easy to cut and are light weight and you can cover them with almost anything. They are usually easy to fing behind your nearest appliance store. Happy decorating Marj

I'd use styrofoam. It's easy to cut especially with an electric knife. You can cover it with quilt batting for a snowy effect. That makes it easy to store for next year too.

Post pics when you get done!

~~Mimi

One of the neatest village displays I've ever seen is on one of the other ponding forums. A member has an indoor pond that has a wood frame and ledge around it. She puts a train set and the village around the perimeter of the pond and so it serves as the 'lake" for the village. Its realy pretty cool. She has the village staircased up several rows on the section that is against the wall.

My village is huge! I have no idea how many buildings, etc. I have anymore...I've lost count! It takes days to set up! Actually, I have a regular sized village and a little one that I set up on the shelf in the armoire above the TV in the familyroom. There are trains for both.

I use styrofoam and books to create different levels. To make slopes, I pad under the "snow" connecting the different levels with fiberfill. My skiers have to have hills! chuckle

I have a built in wall of bookcases next to the fireplace in my livingroom that I do a couple of levels on. When I use the train on a shelf, I make tunnels at either end with fiberfill, so it looks like the train disappears into the snow at either end of the shelf. The shelf is just wide enough, front to back, for the train to "run" in front of the stores and houses. I also set up vignettes on end tables and on top of cupboards throughout the house. But the best place is a shelf my son-in-law made for me that hangs below my fireplace mantel. It's lovely at night with the village on it lit...with a fire in the fireplace and candles on the mantel.

The village is a lot of work...but we love it and keep it up even after the holidays for our own enjoyment. The grandkids love it, and are dying to take the old fashioned cars to add to their own collections! LOL

~Sandy~

I use the boxes my buildings come in as mountains etc then cover it with batting and loose fake snow.Its a good way to store the boxes for the season,then I just put them back in their boxes and into the closet.I love the fake snow you can apply ,it has the consistancy of wall mud.I add it to roofs and chimneys and if you have a building with a chip or crack in it just cover it with snow! You can pick the snow up at craft stores.It dries and looks so realistic you may want to put a thin layer over the ceramic snow the manufacturer used.

Goldenpond,
I've never seen the fake snow you're referring to. How does it come and how do you apply it? Does it dry hard on the houses or is it easily removed before you store the houses? I know I don't want to use something that is light and airy and will flutter around the house! LOL

Using the boxes under the batting is a good idea...except for me. I have so many pieces, if I don't take each piece out of its box and put that box right back in the big carton it was packed in...I would never get things packed up right again. Every box and carton is labeled, so I know where to find everything. Every piece has its own little cubbyhole!

Sometimes, I wonder just how much money I've invested in this village. But then...I don't think I really want to know!

Here are a couple of pics of my village setup. This is just a tiny sample!

This shows the tunnels I sculpt with fiberfill.
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This is the shelf my wonderful son-in-law made to hang above the fireplace. He made the metal brackets that hang it from the mantel. They just sit on the top. We hang the shelf from the basement ceiling when not in use up here.
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I can't believe it's almost time to set it up again! Where does the time go?!!

~Sandy~

It comes in small tubs like Mod Podge.It is grainy kinda like the salt maps we made as kids but really looks like snow.Ill have to dig out one of my pieces and send a photo.
It stays hard and looks very realistic.
NOW

Too funny, Goldenpond!

Up here, in NW Ohio, I'm just praying we don't get snow to cover and bury our half-acre of foot-high leaves (by the this weekend) before we have a chance to rake!!

I don't need "snow" floating around the inside of my house. There will be more than enough outside before long!

I will be interested in seeing your pictures, as some of my houses came with "snow" on them...and some didn't. I really would like them all the be "winterized" and match!! LOL

~Sandy~

Sandy, your Christmas villages are awesome! That is so pretty! I can easily understand why you keep them up well after Christmas. I'd hate to take them down too.

I would agree with the styrofoam. Maybe even glue a thin layer of glitter on it. Batting is great for the hills. I have also used mirrors for ponds.

Carol, I look forward to seeing pictures of your finished village!

I hesitate to post, think this should be on Conversation side since it's indoor stuff, but hopefully its ok here. I do use stuff from the garden in my village setup. LOL
Sandy, your village set up is wonderful !!! I started collecting some village things a few years ago but then really had no place to set up a lot, so tried to keep myself reined in.
I think the fake snow mentioned is Snow Tex. I use it often when crafting things and it's great. Dries hard.
While its wet and soft, I sprinkle diamond dust or glitter on it. I get it with the 40% off coupons at Michaels cause it's kinda pricey.
In my Inspiration Album on PhotoBucket, where I am collecting pictures of holiday decorations to share with my friends over on Holidays Forum, I have a neat photo of a village on a fireplace. Here it is. (and including link to my album in case any one here is interested in ideas for decorating). Fall and Christmas decor all mixed up, no order, and about 8 pgs of photos. Some came from GJ members in fact.
{{gwi:198829}} hugs, Karen

Here is a link that might be useful: Inspiration Decor

Wow...Karen...what a collection of lovely decorating ideas!! I think my favorite is the cheesecloth window treatment with the tiny lights in it!

I started my collection when my brother gave me and each of my daughters a house for Christmas several years ago. I just took off and ran with it! He gave us each one every year after that, and when he died, I started giving them to the girls...until it occurred to me how many pieces they would have when I'm gone...with my huge collection. It was really getting out of hand! LOL

That fireplace village is amazing! My livingroom is too small for that!

~Sandy~

I feel like I just went on a little vacation ~~~~~ looking at those lovely villages !!!!
Wow Girls, Karen, Sandy those pics are out of this world...
It's sooooo cool get ... * * ** *SNOW>>> * * * * villages.... Snow... * ** * *
well enough of my silliness...
It was a good question redpandasmom.... and I see that these gals... have some good advice.... Ms Princess Mimi...
Golden Pond... not to mention the story of the pricess gift on the DSIL shelf for Sandy which is just a FANTASTIC show place of Sandy's TREASURES !!!! I adore her Christmas story...
and then Karen's story with her whole fireplace village
cascading scene of the snow village....
Out Standing !!!!!!
Here I am freezing in Illinois... griping and moaning about me killing my shoulder helping little ole ladies shovel snow...then my DH saying "What were you thinking... YOU ARE A LITTLE OLE LADY !!!????" so he bought me a SNOW BLOWER!

Well... these lovely pictures are making me start to like the * * * * * * white stuff * * * * the fluffy stuff * * *
more... so
I'll say thank you for the Beautiful pictures and the lovely pictures of your villages and Homes!!!
God Bless each of you through the * * * *snowy Holidays !!!
* * * *M E R R Y + C H R I S T M A S *******!!!!!!!!
susiesunshine
* * *See sunshine * * * *fluffy stuff...???!!! oh my ;(*^*); It's beginning to look alot like Christmas !!!

Wow, Karen, what great ideas!! I especially like the one for the cobblestones, walkways, etc.!! I will certainly be doing that! It will be a lot more flexible than the stiff stuff you buy...which I have a bunch of and don't like.

Thanks!

~Sandy~

I can't wait to try some of those tips myself, Sandy.
Oh, Susie...that neat village on the fireplace photo is just one I found on a website. In fact none of the photos in my Inspiration Album are of my stuff. Its just ideas I'm compiling for holiday decorations inside and out to share with Forum friends easily.
I'd love to try a village like that but have a feeling Ty the Brat Cat would enjoy it a bit too much, if you know what I mean. He does love Christmas,LOL.
I've been spray painting dead branches silver and gold to use inside. My neighbors must think I'm nuts outside looking up at the trees perusing which dead branches have a shape I might want to use. Its interesting what a little silver or gold paint can do with dead yard stuff. LOL

hugs, Karen

Thanks, another great idea, Karen! I never woulda thunk that one up! Although, heaven knows, I'm always outside spray painting something! Just never thought to do it to a dead branch! With all the trees we have, you can bet I'll be doing it now!

Hmmmm...maybe I could just find a nice branchy branch...spray paint it and put lights on it for a Christmas tree!!!! Sure would be a lot easier than the tree I usually do...which reminds me...I need to get some more dried statice!

Had to laugh about the cat too. One of my cats climbed my Christmas tree one year. I came downstairs in the morning to find the tree lying in a chair! I had to pretty much redecorate the whole thing.

{{gwi:198831}}

And remember when we used tinsel? How many time did I see tinsel trailing out the back end of one of my kitties! Kitties love tinsel!!

~Sandy~

If you find a pretty branchy-branch, I saw one painted gold once and hung on a wall going lengthwise (across I mean instead of up and down)with the pretty Xmas birds clipped to it. Little "snow" sprayed on it. Also I've actually seen the dead trees decorated with lights and ornaments, they are kinda cool looking. Can't remember what magazine but also saw one about 4 ft high, spray painted white and hung with red ornaments and the tiny white lights. It was real pretty too. Think it was set into one of those big urns, was in a familyroom.
Some dead small trees, and old branches, have great shapes.
Seems a shame not to find some way to use them! I love anything to do with wood tho.
hugs, Karen

I buy syrofoam sheets at the home improvement store and break them so the edges are jagged.I've also found aquarium gravel works well in landscaping. For mountains I use the expanding foam spray you use to fill cracks.I make a pond by painting a piece of cardboard blue, then adding small rocks around edge to form a slight bank. one more idea is to sift baking soda over buildings for snow!!

Sorry I haven't gotten back to you sooner with pictires of my additional snow on the roofs but here they are now
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I started my village years ago at the same time mom started hers. We found some real pretty ceramic houses at a craft store and bought as many as possible. Then we would sit and paint them as we watched TV. Mom finished painting her houses several years ago whil I still have at least 5 more to go. I keep getting distracted with other projects I want to try!

With 2 active indoor cats I have to keep my christmas village up high. I used to arrange it on top of the china cabinet but there really wasn't enough room. This year I put it on top of my new entertainment center and it work great there. To make different levels so that all the houses are visable I take different size boxes and arrange them however I want and then cover everything with an old damask table cloth. I used to use fake snow but was woried about the cats getting ahold of it and eating some (the youngest will eat anything that even remotely looks like food!). As I finish painting more houses they can be arranged on the bookcases on either side of the entertainment center.
{{gwi:198836}}

karalynn, I want to do something similar so am glad you showed the photo of the layers you made with boxes. This year my village is going on a large end table, and I am hoping the cats will ignore it, LOL. But its the only place I can use this time, so cross your fingers I can fit it on there somehow....and Ty, the Brat Cat, behaves.

hugs, Karen

does anyone know where I can find the pic mentioned above about the indoor pond with the village and train? I would love to do this!
Glenda

I hope this will help (I hope I did this right). These are some really beautiful Christmas Villages (although I think a couple of them should be renamed Christmas Cities LOL). I don't have one, but after seeing these, I could get inspired.

Merry Christmas

Ms. Faith

Here is a link that might be useful: Indoor Christmas Pond Tub

I will try to do some hunting and see if by chance I can find the pic of the indoor pond with the village around it. I don't even remember which ponding forum it was on or who it belonged to. Its been probably two Christmases ago that it was posted.
I remember it was a wood frame pond and the top had a really wide ledge around it so they could set plants, etc. on it. During Christmas they would put a train set around the inside perimeter and the building around the outside edge of the shelf. It looked really cool.

http://www.msnusers.com/GardenJunk/msgattachments/14620

Here is an idea that Lily on gardenjunk msn has. Her husband built it for her... Isn't it great...

That was a surprise...evidently you have to join to look. Must be something new! Boo hoo! I don't want to join...I don't think!

~Sandy~

Here is a pic of Lily's Village Display. Thought you all would like to see it... it is with her permission.
Dottie

Here is a link that might be useful: Lily's Display