Realistic Village Vignettes is the fifth book created by Village Display Tips, resources for collectors of miniature porcelain and ceramic villages. These books, as well as five Village Scaping DVDs, provide creative ideas and techniques to develop and enhance any village display. Whether creating an individual vignette or a mega display, there are hundreds of ideas included to improve any miniature village setting. For many collectors, lack of time and space has become a major challenge. Thus, a different solution to displaying favorite village pieces in small places has been sought. "Realistic Village Vignettes" - Book 1 of the Village Vignette Book Series - is a compilation of numerous village collectors from around the United States and Europe. The second book in the series is entitled "Stylistic Village Vignettes." They both concentrate on placing a single building or a series of related pieces into realistic or stylistic settings. Realistic Village Vignettes is based on natural settings. It offers several easy to create landscaping techniques to form actual scenes surrounding a prized village piece or pieces. There are also numerous water development treatments such as the creation of an icy stream, a rocky coast, or a sandy beach surrounded by rocky cliffs; plus numerous others ways to form a water scene. Backgrounds are a pleasing addition to a realistic vignette. They can substantially enhance a setting, whether the builder has an artistic talent or not. Realistic Village Vignettes provides insight into adding backgrounds to a vignette. There are numerous ideas to effectively condense a realistic display into a small footprint. Or, several individual vignettes can be coordinated and unified into a single display. Scatter several small vignettes throughout the house as a replacement for a large village layout. Ideas presented can also be merged into focal points within a mega display. The Christmas Holidays are not the only time that village settings can be appreciated. Ideas to showcase your favorites throughout the year are also provided. Since these vignettes don't take up much space, many can be left up longer, stored easily, revamped, or replaced by a spring, summer or fall display. Halloween has become extremely popular. Be prepared for those "Trick or Treaters." Realistic Village Displays also includes several ideas to showcase those intriguing pieces. And, there are ways to make a spooky display even if you do not collect a Halloween inspired village. Build a vignette around a special piece or select a theme and find a piece to illustrate it. Realistic Village Vignettes offers over 160 pages of helpful hints, ideas, tips and techniques to further enjoy a hobby of village collecting and displaying. No collector should be without this informative display resource. Village Display Tips books by Leigh Gieringer: The Original Village Display Tips Village Display Tips: Volume II More Village Display Tips Display Building on a Budget Realistic Village Vignettes Stylistic Village Vignettes Village Scaping DVDs for visual display building: Halloween: 101 Halloween: 102 Village Vignettes Creating Large Displays A Christmas Story Each DVD is one hour+ in length.