There are many moments in life when the question arises: "What to present to a friend for the holiday?". For example, Easter. A wonderful, bright holiday for which it is customary to present purely symbolic small souvenirs. Or a situation when a completely specific theater mask , already drawn by the imagination, asks for a wall . But, unfortunately, the industry does not keep up with the flight of your imagination. In these and many other cases, the ancient papier mâché technique, which originated in France at the beginning of the 16th century and was originally used in the manufacture of dolls, can help. She came to Russia during the reign of Peter the Great, who supported crafts at the state level. In those days , even furniture was made from papier mache : chairs, beds, wardrobes and much more.
Translated from French papier mâché - chewed or torn paper. There are three main techniques for making molds:
- Layering by layers of wet paper in a pre-selected shape. In the classic version, from several to 100 layers were performed to achieve the desired thickness and strength of the product. As glue, starch paste was used.
- The work is carried out using prepared paper pulp. Torn into small pieces paper is soaked in hot water for a day, then boiled, squeezed water, dried and crushed. The resulting mixture is mixed with chalk until smooth. Then, with constant stirring, an adhesive mixture of starch paste and wood glue is introduced . The mass is poured into molds or applied evenly over the workpiece and left to dry completely. Depending on the thickness of the layer - from 1 to 5 days at room temperature.
- Flat products are glued under pressure from cardboard plates.
The remaining techniques used by craftsmen today are derivatives of the three listed above.
The workpiece obtained by any of the methods described above is puttyed, then ground with fine sandpaper or carefully cut off irregularities with a sharp knife. After that, they must be primed with two layers of a conventional emulsion, allowing everyone to dry well. And decorate.
Papier-mâché Easter Egg
The product can be made using the technique of layer-by-layer gluing, and also formed from paper pulp. In the latter case, the drying time will increase significantly. Today handmade lovers often use cardboard trays for eggs to obtain masses using the second technology. Souvenir Easter eggs can be decorated using different decoration techniques: decoupage, painting, quilling or any other means suggested by your imagination.
A papier-mâché egg is not limited in size, it can, for example, participate in interior decoration, as in the photo below.
And this work is able to maintain the spirit of antiquity in any home, it is made in the technique of layer-by-layer gluing and decorated with Petrikov painting. Here, a papier-mache egg is coated with a layer of varnish for extra gloss. Set it on a suitable openwork plowing - and you can start collecting the collection.
A papier-mâché egg decorated using the quilling technique looks good.
Today, in such ways you can make any wall decoration, for example, such an elephant.
Of course, the technique described above for making papier-mâché decor items requires patience, perseverance and perseverance. To withstand the technology must be strictly. It will be a pity if, because of the impatient “faster,” the work of the whole day will disappear. But if everything went well, there was enough patience and inspiration, then the result will bring joy to you and others for more than one year.