Creating a unique atmosphere at home is not an easy task. Although there are many finishing materials, furniture, styles today, they are not all unique. And I want something of my own, personal, personal, something that no one else has. There is, of course, a way out. Even two. The first is to order some kind of product-work from the master. The second is to do it yourself. And no one has yet come up with a better interior decoration than paintings, but not everyone knows how to draw. And it is not necessary. You can make paintings from unusual materials. Such works will definitely be unique and unrepeatable.
From felt and on felt
Infrequently, we can see paintings and panels made of felt. In general, in recent years it has become a curiosity, as well as products made from it. We perceive hats and some other small things normally, but felt paintings are definitely rare. So, when describing paintings from unusual materials, let’s start with felt. For starters, you can make a landscape, flowers. They are easier to implement. With experience, you can make more and more interesting panels.
For felting, special wool is used. When creating paintings, it is laid out in layers and the base (non-woven fabric), forming the desired pattern. When creating paintings from wool, the process takes place in several stages. First, the background, relief is laid out, then smaller and smaller details.
Making the background
To begin with, we take those shades of wool that create the background. We spread them on interlining, trying not to leave voids. It is advisable to make two thin layers. The resulting background is transferred to a foam rubber substrate (5 cm thick or more). Then we take a special needle (for felting). Holding it vertically, we often pierce the laid wool. This is how we ensure that it connects with the base. If you look at the back of the interlining, threads that have come out should be visible.
Then the workpiece is placed on polyethylene (it is larger in size than the picture itself), the wool is moistened with soapy water (one tablespoon of rubbed baby soap per 1 liter of hot water) and, in fact, the felting process itself begins. To begin with, wet wool is kneaded with hands (we press down, gradually increasing the pressure). Wet woolen threads interlock with each other with a pile, forming a single surface – this is the process of wet felting. The result is felt. Only for paintings, we do not need to achieve high density. We stop when the base is sufficiently dense. Wet excess moisture with a terry towel.
Add details
Now you need to add the details of the picture to the background: trees, flowers, stones, etc. With dry hands (wool sticks to wet ones), we lay out the trunks of trees, bushes, stones. On new details we pass well with a needle, moisten, crush with our hands. Then they use more rigid means – a wooden rolling pin. The wet picture is carefully passed back and forth with a wooden rolling pin.
Last we lay out voluminous small details: flowers, clouds, stones, thin branches, stems, leaves … To make them voluminous, we use up to eight layers of wool, we make petals from balls, stems from twisted bundles. The procedure is the same: laid, folded (poked with a needle), wetted, piled, removed the remaining liquid. If the part is not large enough, you can repeat the process.
Photo of works: paintings from wool (felt)
Pictures / panels from threads
Perhaps the most common way to create pictures from colored threads is embroidery. But this is a very painstaking and lengthy process, although the craftswomen enjoy it. But there are also faster ways. Much faster. These are glued pictures from threads and stretched (winding). So it cannot be said that these paintings are made of unusual materials. But the techniques are definitely unusual.
Gluing
We take any threads, it is possible for knitting. Pictures are made on a rigid basis: on cardboard, plastic, glass. The technology is simple. First, the contour of the drawing is applied to the base. On cardboard and opaque plastic, it is drawn, on glass and transparent plastic, you can not draw, but put the drawing down. Then the production begins:
- The contour is smeared with PVA glue, a thread of the required color is glued to it. In some cases, it is contrasting (black, for example), in others it matches the tone of the detail.
On the drawn contour, we begin to glue the threads - The resulting contours are filled with threads. You can glue the base, lay a dry thread on the glue, you can moisten the thread with glue and lay it on a dry base. Spiral filling looks good. This method is good if it is part of the body, background or other similar object. The second method is pieces of thread of the required length, which are laid along one of the faces. This method is used when the direction of the thread is important – to draw the relief, the direction of the wool, etc.
When the contour is ready, fill the core - Filling in the background. It does not have to be made from threads.
This is all. When everything is filled, we leave the finished panel of threads to dry for several days. After the glue dries, it can be covered with a transparent varnish (take a water-based one – it dries quickly and does not smell).
Cartoon characters, drawn characters, pictures and sketches are well made from threads. Everything is stylized and very individual. An exact, photographic match will not work, since this technique is not intended for this. But it is simple, understandable, requires very little time. This is the perfect craft activity for kids to do.
From thread and nails
Interesting pictures are obtained from threads and nails. This technique has its own name – “string art” (string art). From the English word string – string (thread).
In appearance, it is difficult to confuse them with something, since the technique is original, the images are graphically clear. Depending on the object, they can be suitable for a children’s room decorated in a fantasy style or for a living room in a modern pop art, art deco style. You can find options even for minimalism … The pluses include the fact that making a picture from threads and nails (pins) takes a little time. The smallest can be done within an hour. The technique is simple, so you can involve children.
What materials are needed
Threads can be taken any. The most commonly used thread for knitting. Depending on the invoice, a different result is obtained. Smoother ones give sharper lines, “shaggy” ones create a denser background. They are pulled on small carnations or pins. Carnations of any color and thickness. The main thing is that the hats are neat, but not small (not finishing nails). Length – depends on the scale of the picture. For small ones, a centimeter and a half is enough, for larger ones, three-centimeter ones are also possible.
Pins are suitable if the pattern is with a fantasy touch: butterflies, dragonflies, flowers … In this case, we find pins with beads. They also serve as decoration at the same time.
The base is used any in which carnations can be hammered. It is most convenient to use high density foam. It is lightweight, and cloves and pins can easily enter it. Wood, chipboard is also suitable (can be laminated, can be sanded).
Basic manufacturing technique
The creation process itself is simple. Choose a drawing. To begin with, it is better to choose something simple, with not a very large number of elements. Let’s take a stylized flower as an example.
A contour is applied to the selected base. If you know how, you can draw by hand, if you are not confident in your abilities – cut out the stencil, apply it. Further, we nail carnations along the contours in increments of about 1 cm. In places of sharp bends, it is possible more often.
After all the cloves are stuffed, we take the threads, make a loop at the end, and fasten it to one of the nails. The first nail is chosen absolutely arbitrarily. Having fixed the thread, in a chaotic manner, we begin to entangle the carnations. Filling can be made more or less dense. In any case, it is desirable that it be clear that these are separate threads. This is the charm of this work. When the entire volume is filled, we fix the threads on one of the nails. That, in fact, is all. You can only score a little cloves, if necessary.
Options and variations
Now a little about the nuances. In the example above, only the shape bounded by the studs is filled. But it can also be the other way around. What is filled with threads is outside the limits outlined by the nails. Pictures are also interesting.
In both the first and second cases, the difference in color between the background and the threads should be significant. This gives clarity to the image. In more complex versions, the threads are not stretched randomly, but creating a certain binding. This is far from easy, experience comes with years of practice. These pictures look amazing.
Another way to create unusual paintings from threads and carnations is to draw only some elements of the picture in this way. Here it is important to divide the image into fragments, the place of each carnation is calculated, since they are also elements of the same picture.
This technique is a way to draw a landscape using nails and thread. You need a special vision that allows you to break the picture into lines, which in general will create a whole image.
Photo of finished paintings from threads and nails
This is really an unusual material for creating paintings – buttons. Different sizes, shapes, textures, colors. They all go to work. They can be used as they are, they can be painted, decorated with sparkles, sequins, etc. It all depends on the idea and desire of the author. The basis for pictures from buttons is any. Cardboard, wood, foam, fiberboard, chipboard, MDF, plastic sheeting, glass. Depends on the idea and the desired effect. Buttons are glued to the base. Glue – universal, which, when dried, remains transparent.
Technique – start simple
Sometimes buttons are used only as part of the picture. Since they are voluminous, flowers, foliage, and other small and medium-sized convex details are made from them. The background, large fragments are performed in any other technique, but in most cases it is a drawing or appliqué. Such pictures are easy to make on your own or with the participation of children.
Basic technique
If desired, any image, silhouette or even a picture can be made from buttons. You should start with the simplest drawings. There seems to be nothing complicated in the process, but a lot of work takes a lot of time. To begin with, it is better to see the result in a few hours. Choose a simple shape: a heart, an apple, a moon, a sun, a large flower of a simple shape, an image of an animal, a bird. Just remember that portrait likeness is not for this technique. You should get a recognizable shape.
The manufacturing process is simple. First of all, apply the contour to the base. It turns out – draw by hand. No – cut out of paper. The drawing can be printed. Cut out the drawing along the contour, attach it to the base, circle it with a pencil. If you need multiple colors, draw borders that separate them (colors).
Next, fill in the contour with the existing buttons. For some drawings, a clear, even edge is important. With the help of buttons, even the smallest size cannot be achieved. In this case, you can use beads, beads. The voids inside can also be closed with beads or beads. All this looks very organic.
With experience, it will be possible to take on more serious canvases. But your patience and perseverance must be simply enormous. Here the shade and size of each button is already important.
Panels and paintings made of fabric and lace
Fabrics and lace are also quite non-standard material for making panels and paintings. This is not about applique or patchwork techniques – they are difficult to perform and require specific skills. The thing is that now there are such fabrics, the pattern or texture of which can be an adornment of a modern interior. Lace has also ceased to be the lot of the rich. And if you have old napkins or you know how to knit them yourself, you can make very interesting paintings, panels. The main thing is the idea and the ability to see the future panel in an ordinary piece of fabric.
Panel of fabrics and textiles
The first idea is to find two-tone fabrics. The main condition is that the colors must be the same, the drawings must be different. The easiest way to find black and white options. All other shades – running around the shops are tormented. Although, the Internet can come to the rescue. Selected fabrics are stretched on frames. Frames can be the same size and shape, they can be different. Both options look good.
Next idea: find fabrics with matching colors. There can be three or four flowers here, and they should be found in different combinations in the selected patches. As a rule, two basic colors are taken: white + black, white + gray, black + gray, and one or two colors are added to them. Just keep in mind that “additional” colors should be present in the interior design. So, firstly, the panel will not be too colorful, and secondly, it will easily fit into the interior.
The fabrics found are again stretched onto frames of different sizes and placed on the wall. One moment: if it’s hard to miss with the same frames, then it can be difficult to beautifully arrange different sizes and shapes. Take a look at the photo and do something similar.
The third idea: find a large bright drawing, divide it into several fragments. It will turn out a kind of modular picture, which are so popular in recent years. If the fabrics you see do not inspire you, try to find scarves. Russian, Chinese … with any ethnic motifs. Such paintings are 100% unusual and will help to highlight your home.
Lace fairy tale
Lace is a work of art in itself. It can simply be pulled over a contrasting substrate. Here you have pictures from unusual materials.
There is an idea that will help to make many different pictures from several napkins. Napkins, however, will be spoiled. So, we cover the frame with colored plain paper of a saturated tone. We apply lace, spray paint from a spray can. The paint must be contrasting.
Using this technology, you can make single paintings, triptychs, modular paintings, etc. The best effect is obtained with knitted napkins. They have a more embossed pattern. The drawing of factory lace is harder to transfer to paper, although it is also possible.