Soft Christmas toys with their own hands. Gift wrapping with vintage paper. Boring decor of simple balls

Homemade Christmas tree toys can be made not only by a needlewoman. There are quite simple options that do not take much time. They can be done with children or on your own. The most important thing is that your fluffy beauty will not be like the others. And the warmth of your hands, transferred to the toy, will be noticed by all relatives.

Greetings to all readers of my blog, the New Year is a magical holiday! It carries so much warmth, kindness and inspiration that should be enough for all the next 365 days! Preparing for the New Year is a real sacrament. Buying (or even better - creating with your own hands) gifts for relatives, friends and relatives, planning a New Year's menu, decorating apartments and houses, and, of course, the most important New Year's process ... It's time to decorate the Christmas tree!

But now the next question arises: why? Surely in every house there is a box with Christmas decorations. Someone has old, still Soviet houses with a snowy roof, ruddy Santa Clauses and bullfinches. They, of course, are dear to the heart, but they are already old, tired, and the paint has worn off. By the way, I advise you to read, because the holidays are so fleeting.

Others have bright identical balls in the color of curtains and golden bows.

Stylish, no doubt. But the same - like everyone else. And what to think? The answer is simple: make homemade toys for the Christmas tree! Everything is perfect in this process: from the search for ideas to the preparation of materials, from the first detail to the final result.

Flight of fantasy is not limited! You can create from any materials, by any means and any crafts. But sometimes it's hard to come up with some kind of image on your own. In this case, it is not at all shameful to look: how are others doing? And taking the proposed options as a basis, come up with something of your own, or just repeat some very cute little thing.

That is why I "climbed" the Internet in search of everything tasty and interesting. It is not for nothing that mine was opened. There are a lot of tips. We will look at some of them.

Paper Christmas toys

Cardboard, paper and glue are the most widely available materials. They are always in the house, especially when the baby grows. In addition, such homemade Christmas tree toys are easy to make, do not require special needlework skills and can be made by a child aged 8-10 years old on their own or with a little parental help if your child is younger.

paper balls

These balls are pretty easy to make.

Decoupage glass jewelry with old German newspapers

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We will need:

• 1 ball (you can use foam or plastic balls, which are sold in needlework stores as blanks for Christmas tree decorations) or a hemisphere (for example, molded from plasticine);
• glue (liquid is better, it would be ideal to dilute the paste, but PVA can also be used);
• newspapers;
• thin wire (you can use a paper clip);
• a thread;
• glitter, stickers or scrapbooking paper - optional.

We tear the newspapers into thin strips, spread each of them with glue and gradually glue the ball over them. As soon as the base is not visible under the layer of newspapers, put the product aside and let it dry - 40 minutes. Then we create layers 2, 3, 4 and 5 - similarly to the first. If a ball base is used, it does not need to be removed. If you made only half of the base, then you will first have to make the decoration in separate parts, and then glue them together.

After complete drying, you can apply a layer of varnish and pour sparkles. Homemade toys for the Christmas tree are valuable because they can be decorated as you like and with anything!

When the ball itself is ready, we proceed to the manufacture of the "top". If the work was carried out with New Year's balls, then we fix their holders on top. It’s even easier to glue a tinsel bow to the ball and tie a thread or ribbon on top so that you can hang the product.

To make "named" balls, it is enough to attach a leaflet with a name to the tinsel with a thread. You can write wishes, compliments and any other pleasant things on such stickers.

Gift wrapping with vintage paper

In the same source, I saw a New Year's craft, which is done in 10 minutes! From a sheet with notes, you need to make an “accordion”, alternately bending the paper with strips of 1-2 cm either in one direction or the other. Repeat steps with one more sheet. Bend each harmonica in half and glue along the free side to make it look like a "half-toy". Then connect the resulting semicircles to each other along the sides remaining without folds.

It can be used as a gift for someone dear to you. Take a simple box that you can find at any craft store, decorate it with an antique map and the resulting paper toy.

musical muse

To make beautiful homemade toys for the Christmas tree with your own hands, you need a true love of music!

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Required:

• glue;
• scissors;
• old notes;
• rhinestone (you can just cut a circle out of cardboard in color).

We cut three A4 sheets with notes each into 4 parts. From the first two we will make large rays, and from the third - small ones. We turn the quarter of the sheet into a cone and glue the junction. Please note that first the glue will need to be applied so that both sides of the cone stick together into one. And then carefully glue the rest. You need 8 such elements.

The next step is to cut the quarters of the last sheet in half again. We get 8 parts. The scheme is the same. After that, each beam must be glued to a rhinestone or a cut out circle. The back part can be closed with a layer of music paper, and a thread can be glued under it.

Another tip: to age the paper, you need to soak it in a bowl of strong tea, and then dry it. After wrinkling and ironing with a minimum temperature. I really like how the paper looks burned around the edges.

Be careful, set fire to the sheets only in close proximity to the water source!

DIY vintage toys

Such vintage toys for the Christmas tree with their own hands will harmoniously fit into any interior.

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To make such a New Year's beauty, you will need:

• colored paper (or scrapbooking paper);
• glue;
• scissors;
• wooden stick for the base.

Cut out strips from colored paper. Their length should be the same, but the width of each next one should be 1 centimeter more than the previous one. The number of strips and their size can be any - it depends on how you want to see homemade Christmas toys for the Christmas tree.

Twist each strip into a tube, glue the joint. Then connect all the strips together and all of them together - on a wooden base (can be cut out of cardboard). Don't forget the star and thread!

If ordinary colored paper is used, then I would additionally decorate such a madam with cut-out circles, stars, sparkles, pieces of tinsel. Give space to your child's imagination. Let him paint the stripes, stick bright stickers. Homemade Christmas tree toys for the New Year can be arbitrarily colorful and catchy. The main thing is with the soul!

Christmas tree toys made of cardboard

If the New Year's homework is a do-it-yourself Christmas tree toy for school, then you can make just such an owl.

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For this you will need:

• toilet paper sleeve;
• dye;
• glue;
• scissors;
• colored paper;
• white stickers with glitter.

It will be necessary to glue the edge parts of the base, paint the product with white paint. Cut out all the details from paper and place them on top. I would also knit scarves for the owls and add tassels on the ears of thread.

Another interesting and unusual idea is to make a cup of hot chocolate out of the sleeve.

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You will need:

• sleeve;
• tube for a cocktail;
• colored paper;
• glue;
• scissors;
• cardboard.

We prepare a paper cylinder from the sleeve - we cut it to the desired size. Then, from thick cardboard, we cut out one cylinder of the same diameter - for the bottom, and the other - for "coffee" - a little smaller so that it fits inside, but does not fall out. Spread a small circle with glue and put a slightly larger circle of brown paper on top. Next, let's deal with the mug itself. According to the "recipe" we are offered to glue it with a strip of colored paper, leaving a protruding part on both sides. At the bottom, cut it with a “fringe” and glue each of its fragments to the bottom separately.

But I would just wrap New Year's homemade toys on the Christmas tree with packing material, fixing the joints with glue or a stapler. Or even just foil! But if according to the recipe, then do not forget to glue the circle to the bottom.

After the packaging is ready, you need to put our "hot chocolate" inside, applying glue to the paper from the inside. After we deal with the upper edge: carefully cut the free edge, glue it piece by piece. We insert the “drink” into the vessel. Here, in the side edge, we make a hole for the future thread.

Now for a pen: rolled paper soaked in water and left to dry is fine. Glue to the circle.

The base is ready, then - decorations. There are no restrictions here: you can do it like the author’s, you can decorate it differently, for example, add a “lemon slice” using a curly eraser, or draw a “foam” pattern using a corrector or contour. Homemade Christmas tree toys for the New Year can be very non-standard.

There are many guides on the Internet on how to make Christmas tree toys with your own hands, incl. video. For example, to make a ball, you need:

• foam base;
• many different buttons;
• hot glue;
• ribbons.

We glue the ball with buttons, make a bow from a ribbon - and you're done!

For me, threads are a closer material. About how many different favors you can tie, write and write, this will be a life-long post. In addition, this activity is for moms, hardly for a child. So I'll just show a few interesting things that I found, without details.

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Knitted ball can be made in any color and any size. The thread is easy enough to sew on. You can tie a foam base, or you can fill a toy with padding polyester or other similar material.

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But from threads you can make things much easier. Homemade Christmas tree toys made of thread always look very interesting, tasty and unusual.

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These wonderful decorations can be ordered, but easier to make!

You will need:

• leg-split;
• foam base for the ball;
• double-sided thin tape or hot silicone;
• scissors;
• lace.

If you do not have adhesive tape, you can try to do it with silicone, but this is more painstaking work. Carefully, one row after another, it is necessary to wrap the base with a rope, gluing the thread.

If you decide to use adhesive tape to make these homemade toys for the Christmas tree, then it’s enough to make a “belt” for the ball from an adhesive strip (from left to right), and then two more lines perpendicular to the belt (from top to bottom).

Be careful not to glue one strip on top of the other so that there is no problem removing the protective tape. Attach the rope to half of the balloon. Then form the free part by unwinding some twine, and, as if making a “dead loop”, return to the winding of the ball in the same direction as you started. Once the first round is over, fix the "reference point" with a small pin or carnation. And start moving around this pin, gluing, when necessary, new fragments of adhesive tape.

In principle, you can use any thread - thin or thick wool, yarn. In addition, felt strips, woven from fabric or pigtail threads and anything else are suitable. When the winding is finished, you need to let the product dry and soak, if an adhesive mass was used, and then proceed to decorate.

Here you can learn how to decorate the base for the ball with twine. In addition, a wonderful option is offered to decorate the resulting craft with ribbons, lace and beads.

In the same way, you can wrap any figures. The convenience of this manufacturing method is that the subsequent decoration can be made by any elements. They can be sewn, glued, tied, attached with Velcro and anything else you can do with them!

Here is another option - this is the famous striped candy wrapped in twine. Fortunately, now these plastic imitations can be bought in bags and quite cheaply. Working with them is easier than with balls. You just need to fix the twine with silicone from a hot gun, and then wrapping it along the entire length, do the same from the other end.

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And another option is to do without foam at all. For example, as in this video on how to make toys for the Christmas tree with your own hands. The neck of an ordinary plastic bottle is used as the basis. First, close the cover area with mounting tape, making it even. Then put the bag on the bottle. And with the help of glue, carefully wrap the container to a certain level (depending on what size you want to get the bells in the end. As soon as the product dries, you should remove it from the neck and release it from the bag. And the final step is decoration.

Homemade toys for the Christmas tree can be made from threads with your own hands, using practically nothing but this very thread!

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To make such an adorable snowman, you need:

• white yarn;
• a small cardboard box;
• scissors;
• needle;
• some felt.

The whole action is based on the principle of making pompoms for a hat. You have to wrap the cardboard in 30 circles with wool, cut the thread. Carefully remove the resulting skein, bandage it in two places, preparing areas for the head, abdomen and legs. Prepare another hank, smaller, for the hands. Remove it from the cardboard, make two narrowings. Then push the threads apart in the second segment in the frontal plane and thread the future handles through the hole.

Schematically, the snowman is ready. Cut the loops of thread on the arms and legs. And then start decorating. Trim all the ends of the wool so that nothing sticks out. From felt, you can make our gentleman's face and scarf, as well as a hat. And you can link. Decorate a belt or buttons on the stomach. Tie a thread so you can hang the toy.

Christmas tree star

So, the decorations for the branches are ready! Now our beauty is waiting for her "finest hour" - when we put a star on her top. But how, from what can it be made?

While I was flipping through the pages in search of something interesting, an idea came to my mind: why not decorate the Christmas tree ... with a Christmas tree ?! And here is an option!

We will need:

• a sheet of cardboard;
• glue;
• green tinsel thread;
• candy bag.

We make a cone from cardboard, glue it along the joint. Glue a layer of tinsel on the base. Then - a layer of sweets, one by one. Then again tinsel, and again sweets! And you can replace sweets with a garland of lights and then our top will sparkle and shimmer, as it should be in the New Year!

If you made musical decorations, which were discussed at the very beginning of the article, then the star must also be musical!

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You can do this by cutting out the details by template. Then you have to fold along the dotted line, glue the joints - voila, you're done! The only difficulty is that you will have to redraw the template, or print it initially on music paper. However, you can use any other material.

For balls pasted over with newspapers, an appropriate star is suitable.

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Making such a decoration is quite difficult. There is a special master class for its manufacture, consisting of two parts. The first is about how to make an even pentagon, and the second is about how to make a star out of it.

A star can also be made from book pages, just like a toy can be made from musical notes.

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You have to fold the cones-rays from the pages or their fragments and stick them to the base.

A good option would be to make a three-dimensional star, for example, from papier-mâché, cardboard, or buy a blank.

1. We dismantle an old book.
2. Divide each page in half.
3. From half we make an envelope.
4. A cardboard or plastic blank of a star is pasted over with ready-made envelopes according to the diagram in the photo.
5. Grease the edges with PVA glue and sprinkle with sparkles.

To make it more convenient to install such homemade toys on the Christmas tree, I would advise you to make one large cone as a support. In addition, in order for the star to turn out to be voluminous, the rays must be glued not only on one side of the base, but also on the other.

Christmas is a holiday, for many, as important and significant as the New Year. Therefore, a festive tree must be decorated with themed decorations.

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You can make them, for example, using:

• a wooden ring (you can use a special blank, a spare ring from the eaves or a foam ring);
• several beads;
• cap for beads;
• roundel (separator);
• crochet hook;
• scissors;
• threads.

But this DIY Christmas tree toy can be made only if shells are lying around in the house. However, today it is not so difficult to find decorative material in stores (in the same Leonardo chain, which has representatives in 35 cities of Russia).

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To make such a charm, you will need:

• shells of different sizes;
• hot glue;
• a thread;
• jewelry for every taste.

In my opinion, it would be superfluous to talk about the production process, everything can be seen without words.

This master class tells in great detail how to make an angel from a sheet of cardboard, thread, Christmas ball, ribbons and a set of decorations. These homemade Christmas tree toys are suitable and can be used as New Year's or Christmas table decorations.

I sincerely hope, dear readers, that such a selection of tips on how to make homemade Christmas tree toys will help you find your inspiration, catch a wave and get carried away with work! I wish you new ideas and great results!

New Year is probably the most favorite holiday of adults and children. A beautiful Christmas tree exuding a fresh coniferous aroma, all kinds of toys, and even a festive feast - all these are attributes of a wonderful celebration, symbolizing the onset of a new, promising year. Therefore, the mood during the days of the holiday is special, the whole world is waiting for something beautiful.

New Year is coming to us
He brings laughter and joy
Christmas ornaments glitter
And the lights of Bengal crackles ...

Moreover, the pre-holiday fuss captivates us no less than the holiday itself. What a long-awaited and desired occupation, decorating a Christmas tree. He is especially loved by kids who strive to hang their favorite Christmas tree decorations in the most honorable place - those that are made by themselves.

But making toys with children is a fascinating pastime. If you have not done this yet, be sure to try it, and we will tell you how to make a New Year's toy so that it is no worse, and even better than the usual store ones.

How to make Christmas toys with your own hands?

As you understand, the material for making Christmas tree decorations can be different, as well as the toys themselves. Therefore, there cannot be a specific scheme for how to make New Year's toys with your own hands.

Let's take a look at how and what New Year's toys can be made from paper, beads, cones, plastic bottles, felt and buttons, threads and glue.

New Year paper toys

Surely many people remember how various applications and crafts were made from paper in kindergarten and school. That is, we already have experience with this material. Today we will learn how to make a New Year's toy out of paper. Also, you can.

New Year is a special holiday. And in the pre-New Year's turmoil, the second most powerful, after the desire to quickly sit down at the table, is the desire to make New Year's toys with your own hands. It is not customary to reckon with the expenses for the New Year; the festive industry, we must give it its due, the demand is trying in every possible way to satisfy and does not prescribe insane markups: the goods are in demand, profit will be so. But the variety is so great that do not expect uniqueness from the purchase, somewhere the same is still on sale. So I want something from my own hands and with a piece of my soul.

In this article - part, however, is quite extensive, of the boundless sea: how to make Christmas decorations with your own hands. Let's touch on a very popular wreath on the door and styles of decorating the Christmas tree. Of course, there are more than enough New Year's themes for home craftsmen with craftswomen and their little helpers: decorating a room, a festive table, a homemade Christmas tree, and much more. Making a lush and fragrant Christmas tree with your own hands, for example, is not difficult, and living trees remain on the vine, and do not go under the ax. But you can’t immediately embrace the immensity like that. Therefore, for now, we will limit ourselves to Christmas tree decorations. But! Take a look at fig. Part, and most, of all these Christmas tree decorations is made by hand. Including the bell at the top right next to the red apple. See? It used to be a glass of yogurt. Like? Then, as they say, you are here. We will do no worse.

The material is designed primarily for New Year's do-it-yourselfers who do not own complex technologies and do not have a home workshop at their disposal. To make the Christmas decorations described below, you will need scissors, an awl, a sharp knife with a thin blade (scalpel or mounting), thread, a sewing needle, nail clippers or side cutters, and tweezers or small pliers. Also - PVA glue, superglue (cyanoacrylate instant) and, in some cases, "Moment" or its analogues. For certain types of toys - some other small household tool or household utensils. What other materials will be needed, simple and affordable, we'll see along the way. All the work can be done on the table, covering it with a film or covering it with cardboard.

Miscellaneous tricks and tricky differences

No workflow is possible without the right technology. We don’t need workshops with robots, we need to make do with what is at hand. In order for homemade New Year's crafts to please both the hands at work and the eyes ready, you need to learn a few simple ways to prepare blanks and materials for Christmas tree decorations and the rules for their use.

Shine

Now, for some reason, almost everything shiny for the New Year is called glitter; in Russian - shine. Reading the manuals, sometimes and with considerable personal experience, it is difficult to figure out what is meant: sequins, colored laminated paper, thin shiny plastic film, metallic paint, or some new product in general.

We'll start with the glitter; can't do without them. Sequins for Christmas decorations are inexpensive, but in the outback they may simply not be on sale. In this case, a manual noodle cutter (see the figure on the right) and a foil baking sleeve will help out. The noodle cutter needs to be manual; the powerful motor of the food processor does not feel the unusual material, and the nozzle will immediately become clogged, or even broken. Manually, the work goes well:

• From the roll, the sleeves are cut off with a knife, a part about 10-12 cm wide.
• Gradually unwinding the aluminum tape, pass it through the machine.
• Then, and it is possible in the course of work, if there is an assistant, they finely chop the “noodles” with scissors. The kids like it if there are not enough scissors for everyone, not far from the fight.

Instead of foil, you can also use glitter, which is a shiny colored plastic film. And another note: do not try to replace shredder assistants with mechanization in the form of a meat grinder. “Noodles” instead of sequins will turn into pellets, and you won’t clean the meat grinder later.

Toys usually “shine” by sprinkling a surface covered with dry PVA, varnish or paint. But you can “shine” with spots; if there are multi-colored sequins - multi-colored. To do this, a portion of the sequins is collected in a straw of the desired diameter, from a very thin one for juice to a hose under 2 cm in diameter for a smoothie or shrimp cocktail, and the desired area is gently blown with sequins. Having adapted to blow, you can also display patterns. In any case, to blow out the stripes (see. Fig.), Long training is not required.

colored varnish

Transparent colored varnish is prepared on the basis of nitro solvents 646, 647, etc. Dye - paste for ballpoint pens. OK. 50 ml of solvent is poured into a glass cup (in a ventilated room!), a writing tip is pulled out of the rod with pliers (carefully, do not get dirty!), And the paste is blown into the solvent. The tone of the paste is very dense, so more than 1 rod is unlikely to be needed. The finished varnish is poured into a vial with a gas-tight stopper and a lid. Pharmaceutical vials from hydrogen peroxide are well suited, they do not need to be washed. The glass (beaker) is washed from the remnants of varnish with the same solvent.

Blanks for balls

In shops and departments "Skillful hands", "Everything for creativity", art, and on New Year's Eve and in gift shops, foam and transparent plastic blanks for balls are sold. Transparent balls are most often filled with something colorful, see fig. on right. For decoration, it is better to take plain ready-made balls, they are cheaper and are sold everywhere. We'll see what we can do with them.

In the meantime, let's see where to get away from the centers with a large trade turnover and how to prepare very convenient foam balls for work, we will also deal with them for the Christmas tree. The first question is solved simply: there will surely be some kind of fishing and hunting shop within reach. And in it - cheap floats for fishing rods and nets from the same foam balls of different sizes. Are they perforated? So what, it will be easier to attach the suspension loop.

However, the foam corrodes almost any paint and varnish. Almost the only thing that definitely does not spoil it is PVA. Here is PVA and you need to cover the foam blanks before letting them go further into work. Better - twice, with the complete drying of the 1st layer before applying the next. PVA film is quite resistant and will accept painting well.

Note: PVA is also desirable to process inflatable gel balls in those places where the pattern will be applied. And if it was drawn with a gel pen, then it would be nice to protect the drawing in the same way from accidental smearing with wet hands.

Papier mache

Sticky semi-liquid paper mass - papier-mâché - is indispensable in the manufacture of New Year's toys in many cases: knobs are made from it, they mold the basis of funny faces, etc. Usually, for the preparation of papier-mâché, it is advised to take old newspapers, but due to the admixture of printing ink, the tone of the product then comes out dirty. For papier-mâché, it is better to buy clean white newsprint (not glued) paper at the stationery store. Cigarette and mica are no good! Papier-mâché is made like this:

1. The sheet is passed through a noodle cutter or finely cut with scissors.
2. Spread the trimmings in a glass, crushing tightly.
3. A full glass is poured with boiling water and left for 3 hours. Absorbed boiling water must be immediately topped up to the top of the settled paper!
4. The mass from the glass is poured into a bowl and kneaded until the dough or plasticine is thick, gradually adding PVA; should take about 2 tbsp. spoons of glue.
5. The finished papier-mâché is laid out in a jar with a tightly screwed lid; shelf life in a canned vegetable jar lasts up to 6 months.

old light bulbs

Burnt out incandescent light bulbs are an excellent basis for Christmas decorations. However, if you want to fill the flask with something (see Fig.) or cover it with transparent varnish, the question arises: how to separate the flask from the base, open and remove the stem with internal fittings?

The base is separated by boiling: the bulbs are placed in a saucepan with cold water, heated over low heat until a slight boil, and boiled for up to 10 minutes. The fallen off base will not fall to the bottom, it will hang on the wires. After the lamp has cooled down, they are bitten off with side cutters, the tips of scissors or manicure tongs, thrusting them deeper into the socket of the stem.

Next, an emery bar is placed in a large bowl or small basin and water is poured to cover it. Then, with light pressure, in smooth circular motions, erase the side of the flask until the stem falls out; takes 1 lamp up to 5 min. The base, if needed, is glued back with superglue.

Note: you need to work with light bulbs in cotton household gloves, which are used, for example, when cutting fish. Glass is a dangerous material! The second important thing is that only incandescent lamps can be disassembled! In the light tubes of housekeepers - mercury vapor! A negligible amount, but still - mercury is mercury, it is not excreted from the body.

Salty dough

Excellent Christmas toys can be made with your own hands from salt dough, see fig. From its thin layers, figures are cut out with cookie stamps (pos. 1.2), cut out with a thin sharp knife by hand (pos. 3) or according to templates (pos. 4.5). Salt dough is not edible, but it will take any paint with varnishing very well and will allow you to cut very thin contours.

The composition and method of preparation are as follows:

• White wheat flour - 200 g.
• Fine table salt - 200 g.
• Refined sunflower oil - 3 tbsp. spoons.
• Water - 125 ml (a little more than half a glass).

Salt is mixed with flour, then butter is gradually added, kneading all the time. Then water is added also with continuous kneading until the consistency of clay or plasticine. Spread the mass in a plastic bag, and put it in a jar with a tight lid and store it in the refrigerator in the vegetable compartment, up to six months.

In a layer 3-4 mm thick, the dough is rolled out with a round rolling pin. The cut figures are placed on a baking sheet, a sheet of tin, galvanized iron, etc., and dried on a radiator. It is impossible to dry quickly in the oven or just on the table without heating! Drying takes several days; completely dried figures are painted, painted with gel pens, varnished. They, with careful storage, will be enough for more than one New Year; salt dough - the material is quite durable.

Note: You can learn more about Christmas toys from dough from the video below:

Video: Christmas toys from dough

Decoupage

Decoupage, simply - decals - is widely used in New Year's decor. However, not everyone is suitable for Christmas toys. Christmas tree toys need to be decorated with plastic decoupage, which lies on curved surfaces without wrinkles. It can be distinguished (sellers do not always know what they are selling) from the usual one by its protective coating: in this case it is not a film, but a porous napkin. Moisturize and remove before use. The picture is superimposed on the base, unlike flat "translations", in the center, and carefully, in smooth circular motions, smooth to the edges. The best base is a slightly rough layer of PVA applied with a foam swab, or the same layer of white nitro paint.

Note: children decouple most accurately - their fingers have not yet become calloused.

Popcorn

Small popcorn glued with PVA or superglue can in many cases replace papier-mâché. It, like the latter, before use, it is desirable to process the PVA in the same way as the foam, and for the same purpose.

Christmas tree decorations

Snowflakes

The first and simplest way to decorate both the Christmas tree and the whole house is snowflakes. Probably everyone knows how to cut them; just in case, we give a diagram (fig. below) of how to cut snowflakes with gaps in the rays.

However, in reality, water crystallizes in a hexagonal pattern, i.e. real snowflakes have 6 rays. Cutting them out in the same way will not work: if the sheet is folded three times, it will not turn into a snowflake, but six times - you get 12 rays. Therefore, if you do not feel sorry for the work of real snowflakes, we give a diagram of the crystallization of water, see fig. on right. It can be used to compose an uncountable set of figures, and for inspiration, or as samples for templates, in fig. below are photographs under a microscope of real snowflakes from a real snowfall. Is it true that human imagination is far from nature? Experts say that 2 identical snowflakes have not yet been seen.

A word about boxes...

Preparing for the New Year in advance, do not throw away small warranty boxes that are no longer guaranteed. They make excellent toys, see fig. Yes, and with surprises can be done. It is interesting then to observe what kind of barter negotiations the “high contracting parties” then start, having discovered that he got a baby doll, and she got a model car.

... about eggs ...

Also excellent toys come out of bird eggs, see fig. below. It is best to take goose or turkey eggs, they are large and strong. At the poles of the eggs, with a gypsy needle or awl, holes are carefully turned and the contents are blown into a cup or bowl; on an omelet or scrambled eggs, in dough, cream, etc. it suits well. And the shell is treated with PVA, like foam, painted, varnished, sprinkled with glitter, rag fragments are glued on, etc. The pink "bump" in the center, for example, is pasted over with dyed popcorn.

… and about nuts

One of the oldest types of Christmas decorations is foil-wrapped walnuts. The thread of the suspension loop was passed along the seam between the shells; now you can just glue it on. Neither is a hindrance to eating. Especially for this, the Nutcracker was placed under the Christmas tree, about which P. I. Tchaikovsky wrote ballet music, which was then used for the opera.

balls

Christmas balls - an immense world in the vast world of Christmas decorations. And in the vast world of Christmas balls there is an immense world of paper balls, if we consider the body of rotation in a smoothly curved surface and regular polyhedrons as a ball. We will deal with all this immensity in the immensity in the immensity now, remembering: everything should be within the power of the child, and in order to do it it was possible at home on the table.

From blanks

First, let's try to change the monotonous finished balls in our own way. The technique is simple, see pic:

1. We select plastic balls cheaper, with a matte dull surface;
2. We paint with white nitro paint;
3. After complete drying, we decouple;
4. Well, how? How much is this in the store? Under the New Year?

Note: and if you don’t feel sorry for the money for a glue gun, and there’s nowhere to put old beads, glass beads, artificial pearls, then here’s another option in the pic .:

Now let's get to the foam. Here the options are much more diverse, see fig. below. Pos. 1 - you will need a figured hole punch from the same craft store. If from the Internet, then order ahead of time; how parcels go on New Year's Eve is known. Next - pins with bead heads, pos. 2 and you're done. The suspension loop is fixed with a piece of a toothpick or a match and a drop of PVA.

Suddenly there is no curly stamp for paper, but there are pins and beads, it turns out a ball-colored hedgehog, pos. 3. Beads are strung on pins, and the tip of each, so that it sits tighter, is dipped before being stuck in PVA. And pos. 4? Guess! Chupa Chups with sticks bitten obliquely (to make it easier to stick in). You can eat directly from the Christmas tree, if adults do not mind. Or quietly, on the other side.

For pos. 4 and 5 already require a glue gun and a workpiece protected by dried PVA. Finishing materials - cord and glass beads or artificial pearls.

From light bulbs

Light bulbs, as mentioned above, blanks for Christmas decorations are difficult, but grateful, see fig. Low-power lamps with a narrow “minion” base and a frosted embossed bulb, pos. 1; it is considered that the finished balls. Light bulbs - "candles" are also not bad, but if you do not remove the stem, they must be immediately after painting / varnishing, until the paint / varnish has dried, sprinkle thickly with gloss, pos. 2. Burnt-out housekeepers of low power in double flasks-“cones” are made on purpose for the New Year: all that remains is to decouple, tie a loop on the base, close it with papier-mâché, and you’re done (pos. 3).

From ordinary light bulbs, you can also do a lot of New Year's things. The easiest way is to get penguins (pos. 4): here you don’t need to be able to draw at all. Barbosov-Shreks can also be made without art education - the shades on the background are made through with a small foam rubber swab, and the line drawing is drawn with gel pens. In the same way, toys are created that require, in addition to talent, and sufficient skill, poses. 5 and 6. In general, a matter of taste and imagination.

Gossamer balls

Thread balls are all the rage right now, and in this case, she didn't go crazy. There are several varieties of them. The first one (pos. 1 in the figure) is an ordinary cheap ball, on which a plastic mesh is stretched, in which garlic and other trifles are packaged in supermarkets. Let's add another bow from the ribbon - already something. Just like the same cheap balls decorated with tulle or organza trimmings, pos. 2.

"Real" gossamer balls are made from glued colored threads, pos. 3, 4. It is best to take threads for satin stitch embroidery, but simple ones will also go with additional decor. The technique is simple: the thread is pulled through the PVA and immediately wound onto an inflatable template lubricated with petroleum jelly. After the glue dries, the template is blown off or simply pierced and removed.

For small Christmas balls-spider webs, the template can be inflated, perhaps, only from a medical fingertip: it has a roller that allows you to hold the workpiece against the lips when inflated; nothing will come out without a roller. Gel and latex balloons are not suitable: so that they do not slip under the thread, they need to be inflated to too large a size.

There are plenty of devices for pulling a thread through glue; one of the simplest ones is shown in Fig. The glass allows you to economically spend glue, and the tray does not let its excess onto the table. The glass is pierced with a needle and thread, glue is poured, pulled, wound. It is only necessary that the assistant hold the “broach”, otherwise, if the thread gets hooked, the glue can turn out onto the table, knees or chair upholstery. An alternative to the helper is a piece of double-sided tape, with which the tray is attached to the countertop. You need to wind dexterously, because. PVA impregnated thread dries quickly.

More about yarn balls

Beautiful thread balls can be made not only in the "spider" technique. The method of making one of the oldest Christmas tree decorations from threads - a pompom ball - is shown in fig. To pos. 5: cut the thread along the rim with a sharp knife or a safety razor blade. Pompom balls look especially impressive if the ends of the threads are tinted with silver, bronze or metallic paint in a contrasting color.

Paper balls and more

We now proceed to the immensity in the immensity - Christmas tree decorations made of paper. It's a whole big world; for example, masters of modular origami create creations from it, clearly confirming: paper is one of the most wonderful materials invented by man, see fig. But we will leave these difficulties for later, and let's deal with what can be done, as they say, with kondachka, and which also looks spectacular.

How to make a simple paper ball for a Christmas tree is shown in fig. Material - thick colored paper, PVA. It is not forbidden to paint, varnish, sprinkle with glitter. If the ball is made of glitter (laminated paper, plastic), you need to glue it with "Moment" or superglue.

Openwork

Next in terms of ease of manufacture, but not in appearance - openwork paper balls; of them, in addition to the Christmas tree, a magnificent decor of the room is obtained. The larger the openwork ball, the easier it is to make and the better it looks. The technique is simple, an example in Fig. deliberately very rough was chosen to show how tolerant the openwork balls are to the neglect of the material and flaws in the work:

1. Paper circles are quilted with a thread or (worse) sewn with a stapler in diameter. Their even or odd number is taken depending on the gluing scheme, see below;
2. They are glued together in pairs in a checkerboard pattern until the entire “book” closes into a ball;
3. A loop is glued;
4. The ball is decorated.

And now about what can be achieved from an openwork ball if you do it carefully, patiently and with understanding. First, the generating figure can be any body of revolution. The main thing is that the workpiece should be bilateral, i.e. its right and left halves should be mirror images of each other; quilt a stack of blanks along the axis of symmetry.

Secondly, the places of gluing must also be accurately marked on the “booklet”, by striking with handles along the edge of the foot. Handles - because the places of alternating gluing are marked with 2 different colors. And finally, you need to glue it carefully, putting a drop of glue on each joint. Squeeze to setting not with paper clips, but with your fingers through a plastic wrap. What can be achieved in this way is shown in Fig. on right.

Some stereometry...

Regular polyhedrons are often taken as the basis of a Christmas ball: they look great with skillful decor, and gluing them out of paper is easy if you know how. The very polyhedra suitable for the Christmas tree, without "impurities" of other flat figures, are made up of equilateral triangles and pentagons. Since not everyone knows the basics of stereometry and planimetry, we give their templates inscribed in circles, see fig. The segments (wings) of the circumcircles are not cut off, but are bent and glued together. The balls are glued with the wings out, and the plafonds of the lanterns are inward (see below, about garlands).

The simplest regular polyhedron is a tetrahedron, a trihedral pyramid. However, the ball, which is already a ball, is an octahedron: two 4-sided pyramids glued together with bases without bottoms. How to assemble it can be seen at the top in fig. Even more spectacular are the regular 20-sided triangles of the icosahedron and the regular 12-sided dodecahedron of 5-gons. Many ways of gluing icosahedron balls have been described; dodecahedrons are ignored for some reason. However, if there are templates at your disposal that are inscribed in circles and printed in the desired size, it is easiest and most accurate to glue according to the patterns, below in fig. Coloring, decoration, of course - to your taste.

Note: regular 3- and 5-gons can be used to form polyhedra with any, up to infinity, number of sides.

… and topology

Curved, complex shapes are already dealt with by another science - topology. Not without its application to Christmas decorations. Most of the "topological" decorations, however, are quite difficult to make, so we give only 1, but a very beautiful ball that can be woven without special knowledge and experience. First you will need to print a pattern of blanks on colored paper (see Fig.) And cut them out.

The next step is the layout for gluing according to the template, see next. rice. It is better to draw the template yourself (radii - after 30 degrees), using a compass and a protractor, and a larger size so that you can make balls of different sizes. The sidewall blanks are laid out so that their spouts touch the center and the corresponding radius.

Then, on the center of the “octopus”, more precisely, the twelves, carefully, so as not to knock down the calculation, stick a circle, pos. 1 next. rice. In the same way, they glue the second centipede, turn it over, put the first one on it and intertwine the “tentacles”, pos. 2 and 3. As a result, a ball is obtained such as in pos. 4.

Note: if the "centipedes" are assembled not in one color, but from blanks of alternating colors, then the finished ball will turn out not from rhombuses, but from spiral stripes.

hedgehog and vice versa

A compass with a protractor will also be needed in order to make a papillot ball. It is called so because its "horns" look like paper hair curlers, which curled the style of the past. In fact, this ball looks like a hedgehog. How to do it is shown in Fig:

• Cut out 10 circles and divide into 2 equal piles, 5 in each.
• The circles of each pile are cut along 8 radii at 45 degrees, pos. 1 in fig: 1st half, last 5/6 of the radius; intermediate - gradually increasing the depth of the incision. You need to cut accurately, so it’s better to draw smaller circles right away on the circles - markers.
• The petals are folded into papillotte cones and glued along the seam.
• Each pile is folded in order of increasing incision depth, with the “needles” displaced along the circumference, pos. 3, and pull it together with a thread in the center so that the “needles” flutter.
• The two halves of the “hedgehog” are folded with their bottoms and finally pulled together with a thread, pos. 4.
• The ball is painted, the ends of the needles are gilded, silvered, sprinkled with sparkles, etc.

Good balls on the same principle can be obtained in a simpler way. To do this, many papillots are folded from circles separately; better - from a silver or golden plastic film. The diameter of the blanks may be different. Then they are placed on the table and leveled in height, trimming the tips. The next step is gluing to the base (large bead, foam or ping-pong ball) with the points inward. It turns out a “hedgehog inside out”, or an anti-papillot ball, see fig. on right. Paper can still be decorated, but shiny is already good.

More paper

The basis of the next series of Christmas tree decorations is an accordion or a paper fan. A small part of what can be done from them is shown in Fig:

The craft on the top row will fit old buttons and a little help from an ordinary clerical hole punch, and for the one below, you will need another scotch ring, etc. However, the ring can also be glued from several layers of paper on a mandrel from a bottle, can, etc. In this case, the mandrel must first be wrapped with plastic wrap so that the ring does not stick. And to make it easier to remove, the paper tape must be wound onto the mandrel not tight and closer to the bottom or neck.

Note: a ring with small additions and coloring will go on jewelry by itself, see fig. on right:

You can also stick Chinese lanterns from paper for the Christmas tree and for the whole house. This theme is also boundless in the boundless; for example, we give the simplest, see fig. below. Best of all, these look made of multi-colored glitter, which in this case is colored glossy paper or plastic film.

Cones, icicles, bells

Spruce and pine cones are often advised to be turned into Christmas decorations by painting and pendants, on the left in the figure:

But traditional New Year decorations made of cones look much more impressive: the edges of the scales are tinted with bronze or aluminum powder (silver) and a bow, beads or small balls are added, right there. Such decorations, in addition, according to all beliefs, are a full-fledged replacement for bells on a New Year's wreath, see below.

Good icicle toys are made from salt dough dyed with silver. The blanks are cut out of the layer straight or slightly swollen in the middle, with pointed ends, or in the form of a spearhead elongated in length. Then twisted into a spiral; hang to dry.

Bells, except for plastic cups, are obtained from small PET bottles, for example, from ketchup. On fig. on the right - the original product, a blank for decoration from it and how the tongue of the bell is arranged. The “spindle” (thread for smoothing) is pulled through the dispensing spout of the cork and fixed with a standard cap. You can also pierce it with a needle, but the cap, as if on purpose, is made under a papier-mâché face. The whole body of the bell hangs freely on the top button. Of course, a bead would have gone better on a beater, but it was not at hand.

Garlands and beads

The simplest of the New Year's garlands - the so-called. English, see fig. She needs the same paper accordion. On it they draw, with some protrusion beyond the edges, the desired figure. First, internal holes are cut out with a scalpel (better) or a mounting knife. To tear the paper, at their corners and, with some intervals, at the sides, holes are punched with a hole punch, and jumpers are cut with a knife. Let's unfold the accordion - we get a tape like the one on the upper right in Fig. Below it are several patterns of stars suitable for an English garland.

The simplest of glued garlands is a chain of rings, at the top in fig. on right. But glued garlands of paper fans look much more magnificent, two poses. under it, double (interception in the middle of the accordion) and single. Fan garlands are best made from corrugated thin paper, and from dense - chain, two poses. at the bottom. It is clearly seen there that the blanks for them must be bilaterally symmetrical (bilateral). They are cut out of a sheet folded in half, this is, as it were, 1 element of an English garland.

Corrugated paper will also go well for "shaggy" garlands. How to do them is clear from pos. below: the roll is unwound, stretched (stretch), folded into an accordion stack (fold), then one side is cut with scissors along the corrugation to almost half (cut halfway through fold), turned over and the other side is also cut (flip + cut halfway on the other side). Then the accordion is unfolded and folded into a spiral. In order for the “corkscrew” to hold, you can, after securing its ends, sprinkle a little, literally a little, with water from a perfume spray bottle. It dries up and stays that way. But, if the water is transferred, it will spread.

There are also garlands strung. One of the simplest can be assembled from small ball-books like openwork, only without gluing the sheets. How is clear from Fig.

The strung quilling garland is also simple and effective, see next. rice.:

Christmas garlands, as you know, are luminous. Modern from microbulbs allow you to supply yourself with shades. The simplest ones are made from ping-pong balls: holes are turned with the tip of a knife and light bulbs are inserted inside. Fix by inserting a sliver or a piece of toothpick between the wires. This work is quite safe, unless the garlands are homemade for 220 V. Then - let the master manufacturer ennoble.

Very beautiful shades are obtained from polyhedral balls, but glued with wings inside. For what? And from the wings on the sides of the ceiling, bizarre shadows will fall from the inside. Finally, plafonds for a luminous garland can also be made using the classic origami technique. By the way, many Japanese do not recognize modular origami, with gluing elements, considering it an invention of armless Euro-Americans. Real origami, they say, should only be folded out of paper. How to make origami shades, shows fig. below.

Translation of explanations:

• Repeat on the opposite side - repeat on the opposite side.
• Repeat on the other 3 corners - repeat on the other 3 corners.
• Repeat steps 11-13 on remaining 3 flaps - repeat steps 11-13 on 3 flaps where required.
• Blow in the opening to inflate - inflate into the inflation hole.

Christmas tree beads, which look like factory ones (on the left in the figure), can be made from aluminum foil, salt dough and colored plastic tubes.

First, the foil is cut into squares from 10x10 to 20x20 cm, depending on the desired size of the beads. Bead blanks are rolled into balls between the palms, on the right in fig. Next, circles with a diameter slightly larger than the size of the beads are cut out of the salt dough, they are wrapped around the workpieces and smoothed. The beads are dried on a newspaper, painted with bronze or silver, or colored metallic. It remains to string mixed with tubes, and you're done.

Rain and tinsel

The old-fashioned silver rain on the Christmas tree can be made on the same manual noodle cutter as the sequins, but you no longer need to shred the “noodles” with scissors. The rain will be less confused and will last longer if you put on it not a baking sleeve, but silver or gold, or just colored, shiny plastic.

But the “shaggy” home-made tinsel is made just from an aluminum baking sleeve, like a corrugated paper garland. Then the ribbons twisted into a spiral will not unfold themselves. As for the tinsel-"sausage", it is still better to buy it. Without special equipment, long pieces cannot be made, thin strips interlock and stick together. You can make short cuts for the branches of a table tree, but this is another vast in the vast.

Wreath

The New Year and Christmas wreath is older than the New Year holiday and older than any of the current reckonings. His lineage is lost in druidic antiquity; it is only known that the ancestor was made from mistletoe and holly branches with red berries, and the meaning of the wreath of the Druids was such that it would not be said by night.

In Russia, the New Year is celebrated relatively recently. Before Peter the Great, the years were counted “from the creation of the world” (now according to the Orthodox Slavic calendar 7524 GM, there is also the Orthodox Byzantine; according to the Hebrew - 5775. In what.); the beginning of the new year fell on March 1st and this day was not distinguished by anything special. For the first time, by decree of Peter, "with great noise and revelry" and "decorations from branches and trees of pine, spruce and juniper", was celebrated on January 1, the year 1700 from the Nativity of Christ.

The Christmas wreath entered the festive life of Russia just a few years ago. None of the world religions attaches sacred significance to the branches of coniferous trees; all the beliefs associated with the New Year's wreath are pure folk art. In general, it is believed that the wreath should contain small red balls (a hint of holly berries), and it should be crowned with a bow with bells, see fig. higher. 2 bells - for the family, 1 - for bachelors and unmarried people (who, nevertheless, can celebrate the New Year by no means and by no means alone); a couple of different sizes - for divorced and single mothers.

All this, of course, is pure convention. From what only New Year's wreaths are not made, see fig. below. The use of a wreath is not forbidden and in the most frivolous way, see fig. on the left above, and the goblin with kikimors of swamp actions seem to be not satisfied with it.

As for a real wreath-amulet and a talisman, it is not difficult to make it with your own hands: spruce branches, natural or artificial, cones, wire frame, balls, bells, bow, and - go ahead, see fig.:

Learn more about how to make a wreath of spruce branches - in the video below:

Video: do-it-yourself wreath of cones and spruce branches

If the wreath is large, with many symbols of abundance and happiness, then a light frame may not be enough, and the blank is needed more impressive. In such a case, see the video:

Video: blanks for New Year's wreaths

An original and popular craft for the New Year is a wreath of pine cones. It is also easy to make, see next. rice. Tinted cones are provided with loops, pos. 1. For this, special sets are also sold, pos. 2, but you can get by with clips bitten by side cutters. The holes under their legs are pricked with an awl, and, having inserted a loop, superglue is dripped under them. It remains to string on a cord or wire, pos. 3, roll the thread into a ring, pos. 4 and decorate the wreath with a bow, pos. 5.

About Christmas Tree Styles

Designers, of course, do not pass by a decorated Christmas tree. But with the style here is a complete mess. Obviously, the same style is called each in its own way, or exactly different - by the same name. However, there is still something in common; especially for small artificial Christmas trees on a conical base. They are very thick, so they decorate them in a minimalist style: 3-4 types of toys of approximately the same size. The canons of style do not concern decorations, they can be arbitrarily pretentious. There are 2 trends in Christmas tree minimalism: “warm”, in fig. on the left, and "cold", in the same place on the right. The choice of one or the other is determined by the general style of the room; finally, just the taste of the owner or customer.

Here you will find both New Year paper crafts and crafts made from unusual materials. Making such crafts will be interesting for both the smallest children (from 2 to 3 years old) and older children.

• Volumetric Christmas toys made of paper

For this craft, it is better to take the simplest patterns - stars, Christmas trees, bells, balls, etc. It is necessary to prepare in advance 4 templates for each Christmas tree toy. It is important that all 4 patterns are exactly the same and symmetrical! Therefore, before cutting out, for example, a Christmas tree from paper, fold the sheet in half, and draw half of the Christmas tree on it, and then cut it folded.

When the templates are ready (older children can cut them out on their own), invite the baby to glue Christmas toys out of them. Do not forget to glue a ribbon or thread inside so that the toy can be hung on the Christmas tree!

• Christmas toys from dough

The process of making such toys is a lot like baking. If your little one loves to play with dough, this craft is for you.

In order for the toys to be strong and can be painted, it is necessary to prepare a special salty dough . There are many options for salt dough recipes. But the main thing to remember when choosing a recipe: the more salt you add, the stronger and rougher the dough becomes. For drying simple Christmas toys (as in the photo), in my opinion, this recipe is great:

1 cup flour

1 cup salt (Extra)

½ glass of water

If you plan to make toys with a lot of small embossed details, then you will need more. Soft dough is also good for playing if you do not plan to dry the toys at all.

So, having prepared the dough, roll it out, and with the help of molds cut out figures from it. Do not forget to fasten the thread or ribbon inside the toy. To do this, make a small hole in the top with a knife or fasten the thread at the back with a small additional piece of dough. You can also use a paperclip instead of thread.

You can dry the figurines at room temperature, but this process will be very long (several days, or even weeks). The process will go faster if you put your Christmas decorations near the battery, or even better - in the oven. At the same time, the temperature in the oven must be very low so that the toys do not crack. We dried the figurines in the oven at a temperature of 50 degrees with the door ajar, it took about 4 hours. It is important to put toys in and out of the oven when it is cold to avoid sudden temperature changes.

After drying, paint the toys with acrylic paints or gouache.

DIY Christmas decorations from walnuts

For such New Year's toys, first of all, you need even halves of a walnut shell. Next, you need to prepare the appropriate templates from cardboard - the silhouette of a turtle, fish, bear, sun, etc. The baby is required to paint the shell with a suitable paint (it is better to use acrylic paints or gouache) and attach them to a cardboard template. It is convenient to do this with plasticine.

Do-it-yourself bird feeder from a plastic bottle

For the competition of feeders in kindergarten, my daughter and I made just such a bird feeder.

Generally speaking, the main part of the feeders at the competition in kindergarten were very intricate, and even an adult has to work very hard to build them. I, thinking over the idea of ​​designing a feeder, as usual, was guided by the principle of accessibility for a small child. In fact, all you need to be able to create such a feeder is to paint the bottle. And Tasya really enjoyed painting the snowman from start to finish. But, of course, I helped her with this, and also painted on eyes and carrots.

For the feeder, we needed a five-liter plastic bottle and acrylic paints (the bottle is covered with one layer of paint).

It seems to me that now on the Internet this is the most popular craft. This is not surprising, because despite its festive appearance, the ball is made quite simply. The main thing is to know a few secrets. First of all, you will need a glass jar (preferably close to a ball in shape) and a beautiful figurine that fits the size of the jar, we have a candle in the form of a snow-covered Christmas tree. You will also need glitter, super glue or a glue gun, as well as glycerol(liquid), it is sold in a pharmacy.

Glycerin is needed so that the sparkles fall slowly and smoothly. When choosing sparkles, buy the smallest and lightest, large stars and other decorations will sink to the bottom of the jar too quickly.

First, the figure needs to be glued to the lid with glue (our candle did not succumb to super glue, but the glue gun did the job). Then pour into a jar of water almost to the eyeballs, add glycerin and sparkles. Then screw the lid on and enjoy the beauty. Perhaps, here an adult wields only super glue, the child can handle everything else.

New Year's applications from unusual materials

In fact, the materials are not so unusual, we always have them at hand - these are cotton wool, cotton balls, cotton pads, pieces of sponge, napkins, semolina. Applications with these materials look very wintery. I will give a few examples.

• Craft for the New Year "Snowflake" from pieces of sponge

For younger children, you can mark the lines on paper in advance on which you need to glue pieces of sponge.

Another option for winter crafts from cotton pads.

• Mittens with cotton appliqué and lacing

For this craft, mom needs to make a blank in advance: cut out mitten templates from cardboard and make holes in them with a hole punch.

Taisiya (she is now 3 years 2 months old) has recently had a real passion for embroidering on cardboard, so she made this craft with special pleasure.

• Winter crafts from paper and napkins

Interesting, colorful Christmas toys can be made from a variety of materials. This article will provide detailed instructions, thanks to which the needlewomen will be able to figure out how to make New Year's toys with their own hands - paper, fabric, plastic. Namely, the processes for making paper Christmas balls and paper openwork snowflakes will be described, options for making plastic toys will also be presented, and methods for making fabric Christmas tree decorations will be described.

Balls with weaving

In order to make paper Christmas balls with weaving, you will need sheets of colored paper, sheets of white paper, templates, a pencil, scissors, pva glue, a brush, clothespins and pieces of satin ribbon.

First of all, you need to prepare templates for all the constituent parts of the ball. Below in the photo three options for patterns will be offered, each of which allows you to make a ball decorated with unusual weaving. Having chosen one of the templates, it is necessary to cut out two sets of parts: one set from colored paper, the other from white paper. Then the colored parts should be laid out in the shape of a flower, and a circle should be glued in the middle so that the parts are kept in a single structure. It is also necessary to lay out the details cut out of white paper, only the details must be laid in the opposite direction. Then you need to lay a structure of white parts, and put the structure of their colored parts on top and interlace them, that is, put each row of strips on top of each other in turn. After the rows are woven, you need to attach a piece of satin ribbon.

openwork snowflake

In order to make an openwork snowflake, you will need an old book, fishing line, scissors, glue and sparkles. First, on the sheets of the book, you need to mark up, that is, mark the strips of the same width, but of different lengths. Then the strips should be cut. Then each set of five strips must be bent into a drop shape so that one of the snowflake crystals is obtained. The edges of all drops must be connected and secured with fishing line. Similarly, several more such elements should be made. Next, one selection of strips must be twisted in the shape of a circle and secured with a fishing line. After that, blank crystals should be glued to it in a circle. The side parts of the elements that make up the crystal must also be glued. At the final stage, you can decorate the snowflake with sparkles and attach a loop of fishing line or ribbon.

Christmas toys from ordinary bottles

Christmas decorations made from plastic bottles will look great. The process of making such toys does not take much time, besides, plastic bottles are sure to be found in every home. Below is a master class.

In order to make snowflakes, you will need plastic bottles, acrylic paints, satin ribbons, narrow double-sided tape, and a knife.

1. To form one snowflake, you will need two identical plastic bottoms, so the first step is to cut off the bottoms of the bottles with a knife.
2. On the inside of each blank, draw a snowflake pattern.
3. Then the resulting blanks must be connected using double-sided tape. Then you need to decorate the adhesive tape with a satin ribbon that matches the color of the paint in tone. The edges of the ribbon can be tied into a bow and a paper clip can be attached to make it convenient to hang the toy on the Christmas tree.

From felt

Soft Christmas toys are also a wonderful decoration for the Christmas tree for the New Year. In order to make a New Year's toy from fabric, for example, from felt, you will need the fabric itself, scissors, a needle and thread, and a ribbon.

First, four identical circles must be cut from a piece of fabric, which must be connected in the middle with a seam. Then each half of each circle must be connected in the middle with small seams. A ribbon should be attached to the top.