What crafts to make from moss?
Forest moss is considered a suitable material for all kinds of crafts. If you prepare the plant properly in advance, then the finished product will be able to decorate the interior for many years.
Preparation of material for work
In order to keep the moss brought from the forest green for a long time, it will need to be stabilized. The essence of the procedure is that the natural material is soaked in a certain solution that limits its development. Several types of moss are suitable for the manufacture of a stabilized product: lichen, forest sphagnum, oak and fern, as well as paniculate dicranum. Of these, the easiest way to prepare reindeer lichen - it has an attractive bright green color and is widespread. Sphagnum is also widely used among needlewomen. By the way, such raw materials are on sale in the form of seams, bumps, balls and simply in bulk.
At home, preparing moss for crafts is possible in several ways. The first is to embalm raw materials with glycerin and methyl hydrate. The plant is cleaned of dust, debris and living creatures, after which it will have to be treated with a mixture of 2 parts of glycerin and 1 part of methyl hydrate for 10 minutes. During this time, the moss is completely saturated with liquid, so at the next stage it will need to be squeezed out and transferred to a towel.
It will take several days for the material to dry completely.
Another method requires the use of only glycerin and warm water, taken in equal proportions. Since this composition will discolor the villi, it is immediately recommended to add watercolor, gouache or food coloring.The cleaned moss is poured with glycerin solution and removed to a shaded place for about a week. After 7 days, the liquid is drained, the procedure is repeated. A week later, the moss can be removed from the liquid and set aside to dry. The final stage should take place at 40% humidity in a place protected from sunlight.
It is more convenient to glue moss on PVA glue or hot glue, but when creating large products, you should additionally secure yourself with wire. To prevent the stabilized product from drying out, it is regularly humidified using a conventional spray bottle or a nearby room humidifier.
Autumn ideas
Fall-themed moss crafts for school or kindergarten are usually created using a variety of natural materials: leaves, bark, branches or cones. For example, all of them can be used in a decorative wreath designed to decorate a festive table. To create it, you need a base, which is purchased ready-made from foam plastic or independently twisted from twigs or hay.
The decoration of the wreath is carried out using dried moss, rowan and apple fruits, citrus slices, rose hips and other gifts of nature. Candles will become a feature of such a product. You can also prepare ribbons, twine, pieces of lace. From tools for work you will need scissors and a hot glue gun. The finished structure is covered with moss, leaving indentations in those areas where candles are later fixed to the glue. At the same stage, the composition is made out with lace or ribbons.
Moss is also useful for getting a hedgehog in a fairy forest. Such a master class is suitable for children 5-6 years old. For work, you will need dry moss, leaves and even forest debris, plasticine, gouache, white thick paper and sticky sand. In addition, you cannot do without a glass of water, a brush, a wooden stick and scissors. Immediately, it is better to prepare two types of tape (double-sided and narrow), an old bowl, a transparent plastic box in the shape of a cylinder, a pen and a pencil.
First of all, the bottom of the box is circled on the cardboard to get a rounded clearing. The workpiece is painted with a mixture of yellow and green colors. The height of the box is marked on the album sheet.
Then it is covered with silhouettes of trees, which are then painted with gouache. The tops of the trees are cut out and pieces of double-sided tape are glued to the back of the woodland.
The wood is fixed inside the box on one of the transparent walls. A rounded clearing is also glued with double-sided tape, after which rainbow sand is smeared on its surface. At this time, the body of a hedgehog is molded from plasticine, and its thorns are formed from dried moss. The clearing is fixed inside the box, sprinkled with forest debris, dry leaves and birch blossom. At the end, the hedgehog is placed on the clearing, and the box is closed with tape with the same transparent lid.
Winter options
Stabilized moss, especially white in color, is often used in winter crafts. Usually it becomes the backdrop for brighter decorative elements, fills in voids or acts as a snow-covered grass.
Wreath
A beautiful New Year's wreath can be hung on a door or wall, or placed in the center of a festive table. The creative process will be impossible without a foam base, stabilized moss, tape and a variety of decor: wooden figurines, plastic balls, pine cones, cinnamon and dried citrus slices. The main tools will be PVA glue, a glue gun, pruning shears, wire cutters, pliers and a thick wire about 1.2 millimeters thick.
Having processed the surface of the foam base with a thin layer of glue, it will need to be covered with small pieces of moss. A flat figurine such as a deer will be attached to two wire pins.
They are done as follows: having separated the fragments with a length of 3 centimeters with the help of nippers, it is necessary to make an eyelet for each on one side, like a pin. The resulting pins are fixed with hot glue on the back of the hooves, after which they are inserted into the foam. A cinnamon stick tied with twine is glued to the orange circle.
At the cones, the top is cut off with a pruner, and they are glued to the base. The wreath is decorated with an orange, a few more pine cones and Christmas balls. The free space is filled with fine decor. A ribbon loop is fixed at the top of the composition.
Star
A Christmas star made from natural materials is suitable for those who are tired of traditional winter decorations. For work, you will need a sheet of cardboard and craft paper, scissors and a glue gun, 10 spruce cones, stabilized sphagnum, as well as small cones and twigs. A star cut out of cardboard is decorated with craft paper. Fir cones are glued along the contour of the base. By the way, it is better to apply glue both to the part itself and to the cardboard blank. The center of the composition is filled with moss planted in hot glue.
The unfilled ends of the figure are also pasted over with sphagnum or trimmed with scissors. The center of the star is decorated with small cones and twigs.
Candlestick
Stabilized moss allows you to make even an elegant candlestick with your own hands. The list of materials includes penoplex, craft paper, moss, wide candle, acorns with cones, candle-colored balls and mossy branches. Of the tools for work, you will need a jigsaw or stationery knife, glue (PVA, construction or hot), wire, nippers and scissors. First of all, a star or any other shape is cut out of the 1.5 centimeters thick penoplex. This is done with a jigsaw or an ordinary stationery knife.
The lower part of the structure, together with the side sections, is pasted over with craft paper. With the help of moss, the upper part of the rays is formed. 4 identical pieces of wire are stuck into the bottom of the candle so that they protrude 1-2 centimeters. Placing a candle in the middle of the star, it remains to fill all the free space with the remaining decor. First, it is better to stick large acorns, and then plant small bumps on the wire. Further, balls and mossy branches are fixed on the surface.
Interior products
A decorative item based on stabilized moss can be placed in almost any room of the house. For example, a panel will look appropriate in the corridor, and a green inscription with the child's name in the playroom. Moss rugs and different-sized pots look original, the walls of which are pasted over with a dried plant. Finally, the greenboard, a fiberboard with a decorative mossy coating, can become the central object of the living room. Such products are distinguished not only by their spectacular appearance, but also by their environmental friendliness - they do not cause allergies and do not provoke other diseases.
The plus is that the moss decor provides additional sound insulation. It serves for many years without losing its aesthetic appeal and without suffering from insects or pathogenic bacteria. The disadvantages of such items can be called the need to maintain a certain humidity and provide protection from bright sunlight, heating sources or low temperatures.
To create a phyto painting with your own hands, you will need dry moss of different shades, a stretcher of the required dimensions, waterproof PVA glue and a thick sheet of cardboard, cork or plastic. Any elements can be used as additional decorations: buds, twigs, cones, chips, pieces of bark, sisal and walnut shells. From the tools, prepare double-sided tape, wood glue and a glue gun.
At the first stage, the planning of the appearance of the picture, including its orientation and subject matter, is carried out. The whole essence of the workflow is to fix decorative elements on a flat base. For lungs, double-sided tape is fine, while heavy ones will require the use of a glue gun.
Pieces can be fastened in accordance with the plan or simply chaotically.
Moss is also suitable for creative painting on the wall. A mixture for creativity is prepared from 2 handfuls of natural material, a couple of glasses of kefir, the same amount of water, 0.5 teaspoon of sugar and corn syrup. First, the washed stems are crushed in a blender, after which they are combined with the rest of the ingredients. Corn syrup is added gradually to form the consistency of sour cream or oil paint. It is more convenient to apply the substance with a brush over a rough wall. To keep the painting as long as possible, it will have to be sprayed with water at least once a week.
Interior lettering is produced in two ways. The first involves sticking letters cut from a green layer onto double-sided tape. In the second case, the inscription is drawn on a stencil with moss paint. Decorative clocks are also quite simple to make. Flat canvases, lumps or strips of moss are simply glued onto the base with the clockwork.
The following video will tell you how to make a modular picture of living moss with your own hands.