I don't know if anyone has ever tried this method before, but one of my favorite snacks to carry in my lunch to work each day has turned into a gold mine for scenic purposes. I am talking about grapes, and it doesn't matter whether they are red, green or white, because the grapes themselves you get to eat. It's the stems they cling to that I have discovered are a great starting point for making trees.
I simply hold on to any stem that looks promising as trunk work. I set them aside and let them dry (not too long, as they become incredibly brittle if fully dried out, but quite tough and even bendable if slightly dried out. I then give them a light coat of gray spray paint, enough to coat the stem but still allow the green and/or brown stem color of the stem show through.
I brush on Tacky Glue over the tips and some inner "branches" then push on Woodland Scenics foliage clusters. I tear them off in small pieces and spread them out so I can see thru them. I prefer the cluster material to simple turf foam, as the "netting" allows for a more lacy look. I have done up a number of both deciduous and pine trees. An example of a deciduous tree below:
Joined: 2007-02-07