New Year is a family holiday, which is held in a circle of close and dear people. If there is a small child in the house, then parents must buy a Christmas tree or pine, and together they decorate it. Many people try to decorate the room and the New Year tree with their children in an original way; they make toys and decorations with their own hands.
In this article we will teach you the art of papier-mâché made of cotton wool, tell you in detail how to make Christmas decorations and other crafts using this pleasant, soft and pliable material.
Not so long ago, when there were no televisions or computers, in the evenings after work, people made Christmas decorations on their own. Such antique cotton wool toys can be seen in museums and private collections. Our parents basically threw away simple decorations, because a huge variety of purchased, bright and shiny toys appeared.
Now the mod for hand made items is returning. Masters work miracles using the most mundane objects. Let's see what is needed for making toys from cotton wool.
Necessary materials
1. Throw paper (old notebooks, newspapers, magazines, napkins).
2. PVA glue. There are jars with liquid contents on sale. Such a composition is suitable. If the glue is very thick, then it must be diluted with water in proportions of one to two.
3. Roll of cotton wool pharmacy natural.
4. A wire that bends well.
5. Brush for glue.
6. Round stick or knitting needle.
7. A set of sparkles for decoration.
8. Toothpicks.
9. Plastic film.
10. Foil.
11. Scissors.
12. Simple and durable thread.
13. Gouache paints and a thin brush for them.
14. Acrylic varnish.
The basic principle
Making any toys made of cotton has its own common features. Why is this technology called papier-mâché? Because the principle of work is very similar to the creation of jewelry from paper. Only cotton wool is used instead of scraps or strips, and PVA glue is used instead of paste.
Work always begins with a drawing. This must be done in order to have an idea of the contours of the future object, which parts and what shape will need to be made. Next is the layer-by-layer winding of a part made of cotton and smearing the surface with glue. Time is given for solidification.
When the craft has dried, winding the cotton wool continues, then the next layer is again greased with glue. This is done until the object acquires the necessary shape. It remains only to paint the figure and after drying to varnish.
Frame manufacturing
If the conceived toys made of cotton wool have a complex shape, the details that need to be separated from the general figure, then a wire frame is used. For example, when making a monkey, you need to separately make a long tail and leg, which is bent at the knee.
In order for such details to hold and not fall, you need to create a skeleton from wire. It bends in the right places, forming what is needed by bending. When the frame is ready, you need to wrap it with foil to hide the angular and sharp edges of the craft. Then, the first layer of cotton wool is applied to the foil.
Volumetric
If New Year's toys made of round cotton wool are sufficiently voluminous, then in order not to expend a large amount of cotton wool, use waste paper. You can take any notebook sheets or napkins; in extreme cases, you can use old newspapers. One leaf comes off, crumbles well in the hand and a ball or egg shape is formed for the body of some animal. Then it is wrapped with foil. By squeezing it in the hand, we form the necessary bends of the body. If you need to clearly distinguish between head and torso, then a simple cotton thread is used. It must be strong so as not to tear with strong pulling. The thread is wrapped around the body in the place where the neck will be located, and pulled together until a dent forms around the circumference. The thread can be tied in a knot and left on a toy made of cotton.
This technology allows you to perform volumetric figures, such as a snowman or a bear. Let us consider in more detail this manufacturing example.
Snowman
This Christmas tree toy made of cotton is voluminous, which means we will use the technology presented above. We take a sheet from a notebook and crumple it in our hand, forming an oval shape.
A layer of foil is placed on top and tightly pressed to the made lump. To separate the lower thick ball from the medium-sized one, you need to use a simple thread, transferring the foil between them. The second ball needs to be squeezed a little more so that it differs in size from a large one. The workpiece is ready. Then a layer of cotton wool is applied. The roll is wrapped around the workpiece and pressed by hand. When the entire surface is covered, you need to take a brush and grease it with glue.
Then we postpone the figure for drying, and we ourselves begin work on the head of the snowman. If it is small, then just twist a ball of cotton wool. If the figure is standing under the Christmas tree on the table, then it will be necessary to repeat the whole process again with the waste paper first. We have small snowmen in the photo, so it will be enough to use only cotton wool. The resulting lump should be put on a plastic film and opened with PVA glue. After the parts have dried, work continues. Another layer of cotton wool is applied, and again all is smeared with glue.
When the necessary figure is obtained, the parts are fastened together with a toothpick. Insert it into the body, and from above, first grease the top with glue, and then put the head on it.
When the work has dried, you can start decorating toys made of cotton.
Decorating elements
For a snowman, you can make a scarf and a hat. To do this, you need to roll a stick between the palms between the palms and, having smeared the surface of the neck with glue, attach a scarf. You can arrange it in different ways. Vata is a very malleable material, and with glue you can fix it in the right position.
Making hats is similar to modeling from plasticine. A cotton ball rolls, then it is flattened in the shape of a bowl, put on a head lubricated with an adhesive, and covered on top, too. The pompom on the cap is represented by a small ball of cotton wool glued to the top of the snowman. After complete drying, the figure is painted with gouache paints. Then you can cover the whole snowman with shines mixed with acrylic varnish. Then the toy will look shiny and will not stain the child’s hands with paint.
Additional details
Usually children make a snow woman out of snow and put a broom to her hand. You can also make this attribute for decorating Christmas toys from wool with your own hands. A thick branch from a tree and a bunch of thin ones cut from a bush come in handy here. They should be the same length. A thick stick serves as a shaft of a broom, and the bundle is tied with a thread from below. Then the broom is either glued to the hand from the outside, or you can make a snowman’s hands separately and wrap a layer of cotton wool around the pole. It will look as if he is holding a broomstick in his hand.
Swans on the lake
Such beautiful toys made of cotton with their own hands can be made as crafts for an exhibition at the school. To create a long curved neck, you will need a wire frame.
Let's take a step-by-step look at how to make a toy out of cotton:
1. First, a cotton ball is taken and a small oval is rolled along the size of the swan's body. All this is wrapped in a piece of foil, and the body is formed.
2. A wire is twisted around this oval, and the neck and head with a sharp beak are made of several layers.
3. Then cotton wool is wound on the wire and smeared with a PVA solution.
4. Allow to dry completely. When the surface of the swan is completely dry, work continues on.
5. Wrap the body and neck of the swan again with cotton wool. Pressing and tamping it in some places, we form the necessary shape. After spreading with glue, a cotton needle is carried through the wool, acting like a stack. The contours of the wings and beak are drawn. Wet cotton is a very malleable material and quickly takes on the necessary contours. Then the work is again laid on polyethylene for complete drying.
6. If it seems to you that the bird is not yet completely made, it is recommended to apply another layer of cotton wool. If the master likes everything, then after the glue has completely dried, we start decorating.
7. First, the beak and the head are painted with gouache. Then, in order to make handmade cotton toys that shone brightly under the lighting of the Christmas tree, you can cover the whole body of the bird with a layer of glue mixed with gold sparkles, highlighting the main bends.
8. The work is finished, you can make a pond of blue fabric and carry it to the exhibition at school.
Old Man Borovichok
In order to make this fairy-tale hero of Russian forests, in addition to cotton wool, glue and wire, crepe paper is also needed. With its help, we will make a skirt on a mushroom hat. First, from the newspaper we make a large twisted lump of oval shape. So that it does not fall apart, you need to tie it along the entire length with simple threads.
Further, using a wire, the frame for the hat and hands is twisted, everything is attached to the base. The workpiece is ready. It is only necessary to wrap it with foil, ironing out all the joints and sharp spots. Only after this continues work on the fungus with the use of cotton wool.
Having alternately applied several layers of cotton wool with glue, they even out the bends and draw the facial features of a grandfather with a needle or thin wand. The bottom of the hat is glued with crepe paper, leaving a wavy hanging part of the skirt under the hat. Do not forget to put a cane in one of the hands during the last layer of cotton wool.
In the end, it remains only to paint with gouache and open the product with varnish. Everything, a toy made of cotton wool with your own hands.
Bullfinch
Such a bird made of cotton wool is a three-dimensional figure. Therefore, additional waste material will be needed to give the desired shape to the body. The necessary bends are carried out using simple strong threads. Tightened in the neck and beak. The tail can also be formed from a newspaper, and then wrapped with wire, making two paws. When the base is completed, it is necessary to start winding in layers of cotton. First, the torso and head are created. After the glue dries, a layer is added in the area of the wings. After the wings are smeared, you need to draw feathers on one and the other side of the bullfinch body with a knitting needle. The paws are also wrapped with one layer of cotton wool, wrapping it tightly around the wire.
After the body has acquired the correct shape, you need to paint it with gouache and cover it with acrylic varnish. If such a New Year’s toy made of cotton wool (it’s easy to make it with your own hands) will be hung on a Christmas tree, then even at the stage of creating the wire frame, you need to put one turn of it on top of the head. Then a thread is tied to this loop.
Cat
To make such a funny cat, of course, you have to make a wire frame. For a magnificent holiday collar, crepe paper folded in half again will be needed. The rest is made according to the already known scheme: layer-by-layer application of cotton wool and application of glue. The character’s pants and jacket have a larger volume than the body itself, therefore they make them a separate layer, forming thin straps of overalls from cotton.
After complete drying, the character is painted with gouache and varnished with sparkles.
From the detailed instructions, it is clear how to make Christmas toys from cotton wool with your own hands. Making them is very simple, and there are almost no cash costs. All materials can be found in the house. The main thing is to want to try this kind of hand made, but it will be necessary. It will be very interesting for the child to make toys for his Christmas tree himself.