Making a test Snow Scene/frozen pond

There is a bunch to do here.

1. Making a pine tree - I used the wire, rope, and straw method (as in a different post here).
2. making a landscape with a foam base and plaster over the top and formed to the final shape.
3. Making believable snow on the trees, in drifts, and on the ground
4. making ice to look real.
5. sidewalk options (mainly for coloration purposes)

So first thing is the foundation - I did a little shaping of the foam, but not too much.  Mainly getting a slight depression for the iced over pond.  Once that was ready I covered the foam with plaster of paris.  much more shaping now, this was quite dusty so if you can do this not in an enclosed area I would suggest it.

After getting the pond the way I like, I added a sidewalk flat run using a popsicle stick.  Next step is to work on the pond.  First try was pearl white glass glazing.  Issue I had was it was not thin enough to flatten out.  Magic water was super in flattening out but was clear (unrealistic for anyone in the northern climes can testify to).  Coat 3 I mixed the glazing into the magic water.  This was acceptable, but I will work on it more prior to implementing in my layout.

Next was the snow.  I got the snow bottle (very small white glass beads) from the local model store.  I do recommend a breathing mask for these as it would be pretty easy to inhale these beads.  At the local big box store I got a small can of thicker white latex primer.  I covered the snow areas with the latex and sprinkled the paint with the snow beads.  This added a nice sparkle that snow has.
Next step was to setup the sidewalks.  I decided to go with a dark walk as to add contrast to the all white of the snow.  I used patching concrete that feathers out to a thin layer.  I slowly applied the thinned concrete being careful to not get into the snow.
Next I set in the 2 trees I made bracketing the pond.  Long term if I was doing this on a layout I would also be setting in limp poles to light the walk for evening strolls.
I took the white primer and mixed the beads in 50/50 (what I got from research).  This made a nice paste type fluid that was just thick enough to mold a little without forming sharp peaks.  I smoothed out several drifts and proceeded to drip the snow on the trees to get the snowed on look.  In the future I think I would start with a thinner mix for the trees and move my way up to the 50/50.

Finally I added some people and took the pic.  Not fully happy with the results, but this gives me enough  information to help when I do this on the layout.