Reed crafts

Reed is a unique plant that can be used to make appliqués or decorative figures, as well as baskets or trays. Both children and adults can make such crafts with their own hands.

Young reeds, which will be used for work, are harvested in advance. You need to collect it between July and September. It is worth remembering that the stems of this plant are very fragile. Therefore, you need to cut them off in small bunches. You can use a long-handled sickle or a sharp knife for this.

Before sending the reeds for storage, it must be dried. This is best done outdoors. It should be borne in mind that direct sunlight should not fall on the stems of the reeds, as this will lead to the fact that they become too fragile and lose their natural color.

Store dried reeds in a dry place. It is not allowed to put the stems and inflorescences in plastic bags. This will lead to the appearance of mold on the surface of the workpieces. Before using the reed, it must be carefully examined. It must be of high quality and smooth. If the material is damaged by insects or rodents, it must be disposed of. After all, products made from damaged reeds are of low quality and short service life.

A simple workshop on creating an applique depicting a lake house is suitable for the little ones.

The reeds must be well dried for work. Its stems must be cut into equal halves in advance. The edges of these parts must be carefully trimmed. The base of the house is formed from them. Part of the structure is made from stems cut into short pieces. The windows of the house are laid out with pieces of straw.Ordinary branches can also be used instead.

The roof of the building is formed from dry reed inflorescences. These parts, like the stems, are attached to the cardboard base using ordinary PVA glue.

You can decorate the background of the picture with dry autumn flowers. From the remnants of materials, you can make a beautiful even frame. The finished craft must be dried well.

Dry reeds are also suitable for creating various figures for kindergarten or school.

The base of this reed painting must be prepared in advance. It can be printed on a printer and painted or painted with gouache. It will be possible to decorate the craft only after the base is completely dry. To decorate the hedgehog figurine, you will need a small amount of reed inflorescences. The back of the animal is coated with glue. The reed is glued to this part of the figure in a chaotic manner. When the picture dries up, the remnants of the inflorescences must be removed from the picture.

By the same principle, you can arrange a figurine of a fox, hare or wolf. Such an autumn applique will turn out to be very cute.

Another original craft on the theme of "Autumn", which can be made by junior schoolchildren, is a voluminous duck made of reeds. For work, you will need the following materials:

• dry reeds;
• grass;
• glue and wire;
• threads;
• newspaper;
• plasticine;
• scissors;
• thick cardboard;
• sackcloth;
• plastic cover.

The step-by-step instructions for creating such a figure with your own hands looks quite simple.

1. To begin with, you need to make a blank out of newspapers and threads. The body and head are connected with a strong wire. The bird's neck arches at the right angle.
2. Dry reeds must be divided into segments. This must be done carefully so that future feathers do not crumble later.
3. Each such detail must be carefully coated with glue and attached to a paper figure.
4. The bird decorated in this way must be left to dry overnight.
5. The next morning, a bird's beak should be molded from red plasticine. It is glued to the bird's head with a glue gun. Duck eyes can be made in the same way.
6. Wings of the same size must be cut out of a dense piece of cardboard and decorated with reeds. Their wide part is attached to the body with glue.
7. After that, you can start creating a nest for this bird. The plastic lid from the bucket must be pasted over with sacking.
8. The nest is decorated with dry grass or straw. The material is attached to the base with a glue gun.
9. When the nest dries out, you need to seat the finished duckling inside.

This original autumn-style vase is made from a bottle of a suitable size and dried reed stalks. For those who already know how to weave crafts from vines or newspaper tubes, it will be very easy to cope with the creation of such a vase.

1. To begin with, two bunches of reed stems must be folded crosswise. The stems are intertwined with each other in a checkerboard pattern.
2. In the center of this cross is a bottle.
3. After that, the walls of the future vase must be carefully lifted. They should be smooth.
4. Loose branches are used to braid the main stems.
5. When the walls are ready, the edges of the stems must be carefully bent and woven into the base.
6. The neck of the bottle can be braided with dry reeds in a circle. The edges of the stems are tied with a knot.
7. In order for the craft to last longer, it is advisable to cover the wicker base with varnish or high-quality stain.

The base of the vase can be left transparent or painted with acrylic paints... Such a wicker craft will be an excellent gift for a loved one.

To decorate a room for the New Year holidays with your own hands, you can make an original Christmas tree from vinyl records and reeds. The process of its creation consists of the following steps.

1. The first step is to carefully cut the reed inflorescences from the stems.All parts must be the same size.
2. To create this craft, you need to pick up 4-5 plates of different sizes. In a circle of each of them, reed inflorescences are attached. You can fix them on the surface of the plates with tape or hot glue.
3. The same must be done with the rest of the records.
4. After that, paper clips are attached to each of them.
5. Through them you need to stretch a rope, which will connect the individual tiers to each other. Plates are located at any suitable height.
6. From above, all the pieces of twine are connected together. The figurine looks like a real Christmas tree.

A loop is attached to this knot, for which a Christmas tree made of reeds can be hung from the ceiling. If desired, the finished product can be decorated with sparkles or painted green or silver.

The following video will tell you what other crafts can be made from reeds.