Minecraft Diaries: 01

DO YOU WANT TO BUILD... A SNOWFLAKE?!

so here's how it should look like when it's done.

 

   I would say first that I had this in mind, for like, two whole weeks after making the final blueprint I drew on my buff paper. The first version I did was a 9x9 but while filling the blueprint I deemed it really small for this project. The final one (pictured above) was 27x27.

   Before I get to the jump, I would like to note to you guys that I recommend reading and observing everything. Why? Because I think I have OCD already and I keep changing things here and there, even without prior notice. I'll also list my inventory at slides for convenience.

First up, line them up with dirt to mark the boundaries.

     Inventory: Ice, Snow, Blue-stained glass, Light Blue-stained glass, Dirt, Packed Ice, Glass, and Lapis Lazuli block.

   To achieve what I want, the Frozen-feel, I flew around for a while to find a pretty high mountain--and Extreme Hills biome will fit. You can check the elevation on my debug screen (clouds have irritated me the whole time for like, 9/10 times). Of course, it have to have snow, as you can see. Firstly, I made the dirt square of 27x27. The four corners I placed a torch on top. Simple as that.

 note: the white-stained glass there is for my counting purposes.

   Next up, I did three more inward squares of snow. This isn't permanent, so scroll down for more.

  that's how it should look like after placing ICE. (PACKED ice is different)

I changed the dirt boundaries to Stone. 

 this part is soooo tricky, if you want to do it anyway

   I had a fiasco back here. First, I didn't realize soon enough that the glowstone would be some sort of raw light to melt the ice. Second, packed ice doesn't melt (as compared to plain ice). I removed the glowstone on the dead center of the snowflake (coordinates of [14,14]) and fixed these water holes. I will resolve this later.

 Blueprint...initiating...

 I used the blue-stained glass to etch the snowflake pattern.

 I used a redstone torch to light the dead center, because you know that redstone torches aren't bright enough to melt the ice.

Here's another bird's eye view.

   You see, I had quite a lot of OCD remarks here: The pattern isn't easily visible. The snow ruins it. So what I did is to completely replace EVERYTHING surrounding the snowflake pattern with PACKED ICE. You'll see the contrast.

 currently replacing everything with packed ice, with extra snow to work out

 i'm almost through. the redstone won't melt anything, and yes I took care of the passive spider over there.

  night falls and there's something I liked about the dim light on the center. wait.

   As of this slide, I'm greatly annoyed by the transparent effect of the pattern given by the blue-stained glass. Let's fix that. (and yes, if you look at the left and right of the dead center there's a difference. fixing that later too)

 I added a layer of PILLAR QUARTZ underneath, to shut off the glass from being translucent.

 another view. this addon is finished.

And this should be the final product.

    Thanks for stopping by! The comments section is open for suggestions--such as more Minecraft build ideas and how would I finally build Elsa's ice castle, Minecraft rendition?! :) At this time of blogging, I have the floor plan. If you liked this, follow me on Twitter and share this with your friends! Will help me a lot :D
 [ if you're gonna go around with this original snowflake blueprint, don't forget to mention meee! :D ]