Christmas toys made of cotton wool with their own hands

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

New Year is a family holiday, which is spent in the circle of close and dear people. If there is a small child in the house, then the parents will definitely buy a Christmas tree or a pine tree, decorate it with joint efforts. Many try to decorate the room and the Christmas tree with their children in an original way, make toys and decorations with their own hands.

In this article, we will teach you the art of cotton papier mache, 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 TVs or computers, in the evenings after work, people made Christmas tree decorations on their own. Such vintage toys made of cotton wool can be seen in museums and private collections. Our parents basically threw away the simple decorations, as there is a huge variety of store-bought, bright and shiny toys.

Now the fashion for hand made items is back. Masters create real miracles using the most ordinary objects. Let's see what is needed to make cotton toys.

Required Materials

1. Waste paper (old notebooks, newspapers, magazines, napkins).

2. PVA glue. There are jars with liquid contents on sale. This composition is fine. If the glue is very thick, then it must be diluted with water in proportions of one to two.

3. A roll of pharmacy natural cotton wool.

4. A wire that bends well.

5. Glue brush.

6. Round stick or knitting needle.

7. A set of sequins for decoration.

8. Toothpicks.

9. Plastic film.

10. Foil.

11. Scissors.

12. Simple and strong thread.

13. Gouache paints and a thin brush for them.

14. Acrylic lacquer.

Basic Principle

The production of any toys from cotton wool 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 instead of paste.

Work always starts with a drawing. This must be done in order to have an idea about the contours of the future object, which parts and what shape will need to be made. Next comes the layer-by-layer winding of the cotton part and smearing the surface with glue. Time is given to set.

When the craft is dry, the winding of cotton wool continues, then the next layer is again smeared with glue. This is done until the object acquires the necessary shape. All that remains is to paint the figurine and varnish it after drying.

Making the frame

If the conceived toys made of cotton have a complexshape, details that need to be separated from the overall figure, then a wire frame is used. For example, when making a monkey, you need to separately make a long tail and a leg that is bent at the knee.

In order for such parts to hold and not fall, you need to create a skeleton from the 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 is applied to the foil.

Volume

If New Year's toys made of round cotton wool are quite voluminous, then in order not to waste a large amount of cotton, they use junk paper. You can take any notebook sheets or napkins, in extreme cases, you can use old newspapers. One sheet is torn off, well crumpled in the hand and a ball or egg shape is formed for the body of some animal. Then the whole thing is wrapped in foil. By squeezing it in the hand, we form the necessary bends of the body. If you need to clearly distinguish between the head and torso, then a simple cotton thread is used. It must be strong so that it does not tear when pulled hard. The thread is wrapped around the body in the place where the neck will be located, and is pulled together until a dent is formed around the circumference. The thread can be tied in a knot and left on the cotton toy.

This technology allows you to make volumetric figures, such as a snowman or a bear. Let's take a closer look at this manufacturing example.

Snowman

This Christmas treea toy made of cotton wool 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 pressed tightly against the lump made. To separate the lower thick ball from the middle one, you need to use a simple thread, passing the foil between them. The second ball needs to be squeezed a little more so that it differs in size from the large one. The preparation is ready. Next, a layer of cotton wool is applied. The roll is wrapped around the workpiece and pressed down by hand. When the entire surface is covered, you need to take a brush and smear it with glue.

Then we set aside the figure to dry, and we ourselves begin work on the snowman's head. If it is small, then it is enough to twist a lump of cotton wool. If the figure will stand under the Christmas tree on the table, then you will need to repeat the whole process again with junk paper from the beginning. We have small snowmen in the photo, so it will be enough to use only cotton wool. The resulting lump must 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 everything is smeared with glue.

When the necessary figure is obtained, the parts are fastened together with a toothpick. They insert it into the body, and first smear the top with glue, and then put the head on it.

When the work is dry, you can start decorating toys from cotton wool.

Decorating elements

For a snowman, you can make a scarf andcap. To do this, you need to roll a stick out of cotton between your palms and, after smearing glue on the surface around the neck, attach a scarf. You can arrange it in different ways. Cotton wool is a very malleable material, and glue can be used to fix it in the desired position.

Making a hat is similar to modeling from plasticine. A ball of cotton rolls, then it is flattened in the shape of a bowl, put on the head, smeared with adhesive, and covered on top too. The pom pom on the hat is represented by a small cotton ball glued to the top of the snowman. After complete drying, the figure is painted with gouache paints. Then you can coat the entire snowman with glitter 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 snowman out of snow and put a broom to her hand. You can also make this attribute to decorate Christmas tree toys from cotton wool with your own hands. A thick branch from a tree and a bunch of thin ones cut from a bush will come in handy here. They must be the same length. A thick stick serves as a broom shaft, and a bunch is tied from below with a thread. Then the broom is either glued to the outside of the hand, or you can make the snowman's hands separately and wrap a layer of cotton wool around the shaft. It will look like he is holding a broom in his hand.

Swans on the lake

Such beautiful do-it-yourself cotton toys can be made as crafts for an exhibition at school. To create a long curved neck, you will need a wire frame.

Let's take a look at how to make a toy out of cotton wool:

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 a neck and a head with a sharp beak are made from several of its layers.

3. Then cotton wool is wound on the wire and smeared with PVA solution.

4. Leave everything until completely dry. When the surface of the swan is completely dry, work continues further.

5. We wrap the body and neck of the swan again with cotton wool. Pressing down and ramming it in some places, we form the necessary outlines. After smearing with glue on cotton wool, it is carried out with a metal knitting needle, acting like a stack. The contours of the wings and beak are drawn. Wet cotton wool is a very pliable material and quickly takes on the desired contours. Then the work is again placed on polyethylene to dry completely.

6. If it seems to you that the bird is not yet completely done, then it is recommended to apply another layer of cotton wool. If the master likes everything, then after the glue has completely dried, we begin decorating.

7. First gouache paint the beak and head. Then, in order to make toys made of cotton, made with your own hands, shine brightly when the Christmas tree is lit, you can cover the entire body of the bird with a layer of glue mixed with gold sparkles, highlighting the main curves.

8. The work is over, you can make a pond out of blue fabric and take it to the exhibition at school.

Old Mushroom

In order to make this fabulous hero of Russian forests,in addition to cotton wool, glue and wire, you will also need crepe paper. With its help, we will make a skirt on a mushroom cap. First, we make a large twisted oval-shaped lump from the newspaper. So that it does not fall apart, you need to tie it along the entire length with simple threads.

Further with the help of wire, the frame for the hat and hands is twisted, everything is attached to the base. The preparation is ready. It is only necessary to wrap it with foil, smoothing out all the joints and sharp points. Only after that, work on the mushroom continues with the use of cotton wool.

After applying alternately several layers of cotton wool with glue, they smooth out the curves and draw the facial features of the grandfather with a knitting needle or a thin stick. 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 of the magic character during the last layer of cotton wool.

At the end, it remains only to paint with gouache and varnish the product. Everything, the toy is made of cotton wool with your own hands.

Bullfinch

Such a bird made of cotton - a voluminous figurine. Therefore, additional waste material will be needed to give the desired shape to the torso. The necessary bends are made with simple strong threads. Tightens tighter 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 layer by layer with cotton wool. First, the torso and head are created. After the glue dries, a layer is added in the area of \u200b\u200bthe wings. After the wings are missed, you need to draw feathers with a knitting needle from one and fromthe other side of the bullfinch's body. The paws are also wrapped with one layer of cotton, wrapping it tightly around the wire.

After the body has acquired the correct shape, you need to paint it with gouache and cover 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 a wire frame, you need to remove one of its turns from above on your 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 festive collar, again you will need crepe paper folded in half. 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 torso itself, so they are made a separate layer, forming thin jumpsuit straps 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 decorations from cotton wool with your own hands. Making them is quite simple, and there are almost no costs. All materials can be found in the house. The main thing is to want to try this type of hand made, but it will turn out for sure. It will be very interesting for the child to make toys for his Christmas tree.