New Year is getting closer, and for those who know how to do DIY Christmas toys, the time for fruitful work comes. Making toys is a tradition that arose at a time when the mass production of decorations for the Christmas tree had not yet been established. Today, there is an abundance of factory-made toys in stores, but the tradition of making them on their own has not disappeared anywhere. The explanation is simple - special warmth emanates from handmade jewelry and toys, they look homely and cozy. A nice bonus - you can be proud that a toy made with your own hands exists in a single copy.
How to make DIY Christmas toys?
New Year's outfits for a green beauty have undergone many changes during the existence of the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree. In stores, you can still buy standard jewelry - glass balls of all kinds of colors and sizes, reminiscent of the Soviet past, stars, glass cones, fruits and other traditional products. And you can also bring an element of creativity to the Christmas and New Year holidays, and try to make New Year's toys for 2017 with your own hands.
DIY Christmas toys from scrap materials
The choice for work is almost limitless - any material at hand can be used. Christmas tree toys are sometimes made from the most unexpected materials. The New Year's creativity also has its own "leaders" - the materials that are used most often:
- Wood, plywood;
- Paper;
- Beads;
- Felt;
- The cloth;
- Beads;
- Natural materials - branches, vines, cones, etc.
Christmas toys made of salt dough
DIY Christmas toys for the New Year 2017 can be made even from flour. One of the simplest and most inexpensive materials for making Christmas toys is salt dough. There is flour in every home, the process is interesting (especially for children), as a result, a quite worthy replacement for ceramic and glass toys is obtained.
For work you will need:
- Wheat flour;
- Water;
- Salt (fine);
- Paints;
- Varnish (optional);
- Twine;
- Butter;
- PVA glue.
Important! To give the dough plasticity, you can add a little baby oil (you can replace it with vegetable oil, olive oil).
Dissolve the salt in warm water, add flour, knead the dough. To get a variety of figurines, you can use dough molds. Lack of forms is not a problem, figures from salt dough can be sculpted by hand. Anything can be used to give texture - pencils, plastic bottle caps, lace. Until the dough is dry, you need to make holes for the rope holder.
After drying (1-3 days, depending on the thickness of the product), the toy can be painted, patterned, pasted on small photos and covered with acrylic varnish.
Christmas tree toys from branches
DIY Christmas toys are often made from scrap materials. A simple but effective way to decorate a Christmas tree or house for the New Year is to make toys from natural materials - for example, from branches. To make a stylish toy "Eco-style ball" you will need wire and branches.
Life hack! The branches are best harvested in October or November, when they still contain a sufficient amount of moisture. Vines and branches harvested later may be brittle and unsuitable for making toys.
Make several (5-6) circles from the wire. Form the "skeleton" of the ball from them, fasten the circles together with hot melt glue or wire. On top of the base, gently wind branches or a vine of a small diameter. In order for the branches to hold tightly, they can also be fixed with hot melt glue. It is easy to thread a ring of twine or ribbon into the finished ball. The stylish eco-ball is ready!
New Year's toys made of beads
Spectacular Christmas toys with your own hands can be made from beads. It will not be easy for beginners to make massive or complex jewelry pieces. But without any problems, you can make hearts, Christmas trees, stars. To make such a toy, you will need wire and beads. First, you need to string the beads onto the wire, and then form the desired shape, tightly fastening the ends of the wire. Tapes can be used for suspension.
Christmas toys from light bulbs
For those who are still puzzling over the question "How to make Christmas toys with your own hands?" the option using items that previously had a utilitarian function is perfect. New Year is coming soon, so do not rush to throw out the burned out light bulbs. They make charming Christmas tree decorations. A little imagination, and you don't have to settle for the usual glass balls.
Attention! For the first (background) layer, it is better to use spray paint. It is easier to apply, moreover, such paint lays down in an even layer. It is much more difficult to create an even coverage with a brush or sponge.
DIY Christmas toys made of paper
Paper is a versatile material, and Christmas tree decorations and decorations are cheap, practical and simple. For starters, you can choose flat (not voluminous) decorations. It can be snowflakes, Christmas trees, other themed figures.
Important! Do not take too thick paper or high-density cardboard: when cutting, the edges of these materials "shaggy" and the product does not look neat.
Another affordable way is to use paper to decorate ready-made toys - for example, balls. An ordinary glass ball will look much more original if you stick paper-cut jewelry on it. Or, for example, a small photo collage.
A more difficult way is to make toys using the origami technique. With the help of individual paper blocks, you can assemble a variety of decorations - for example, a herringbone.
Even children can make New Year's toys out of paper with their own hands. Most of the patterns and patterns are simple; it will not be difficult for a child to cut out a snowflake, a Christmas tree or a silhouette of a bird. And from individual paper figures and silhouettes, you can make a New Year's garland to decorate a Christmas tree or room. To do this, you can use a ready-made scheme from the Internet or come up with a design yourself. Christmas garlands can be decorated with snowmen, balls, patterns, trees, animals.
From felt
Felt is a soft, fairly dense felt. This material is perfect for making New Year's toys. It is easy to work with it - you do not need to process the edges, in the store you can buy felt of almost any color and shade. To make a stylish Christmas toy, just two or three colors of felt cuts are enough. For example, a combination of red and white, classic New Year colors, is perfect for creating simple decorations. It is not necessary to choose complex patterns; it is enough to cut simplified silhouettes out of paper. For example, such:
You can transfer the pattern to felt using chalk or a bar of soap. Then the figurine of each type must be cut in duplicate. Large DIY Christmas toys can also be made from felt, as it is sold in sheets of different formats.
Attention! Felt lends itself well to cutting, but you need to choose sharp scissors for work. It is better to secure the pattern on the fabric with pins to get a neat silhouette.
In the photo: DIY felt Christmas toys:
It is better to sew felt details with contrasting threads - if the toy is red, then you can use white or beige threads. If the toy is white, the trim with red, green, brown threads will look harmonious.
And don't forget the buttons!
Small felt toys can be used both for decorating a Christmas tree and for making interior garlands. As a basis, bright ribbons, ordinary white clothesline, twine can be used.
Fir-trees, hearts and houses are traditional details of New Year's design. Recently, toys in the form of animals, with which the New Year is associated - deer and elk, have become more and more popular.
DIY Christmas toys made of felt look bright and festive and without additional decor. If you wish, you can give them an additional flavor by decorating with buttons, sequins, ribbons, or, for example, embroidery.
The advantage of a homemade garland is that it can be made taking into account the size and color scheme of the room that needs to be decorated. You don't need a sewing machine to make a garland - the felt parts are sewn by hand.
Due to the pliability and softness of the material, it takes very little time to make toys - about half an hour for each. If there is a need to make the toy bulky, it is stuffed with cotton wool or holofiber.
Important! For stuffing, you can use both cotton wool and holofiber, but it must be borne in mind that when washing the cotton wool inside the toy, it gets lost, the product loses its shape. If you are going to use toys in the future, it is advisable to use holofiber for stuffing - it perfectly transfers moisture, the product does not lose its shape.
From fabric
To make a New Year's toy from fabric with your own hands, it is not at all necessary to have sewing skills. For example, a ball like this can be made using scraps of fabric. A regular Christmas ball or a foam blank is used as a base.
The fabric can be tightly wound on the base, or glued. Any glue that is available can be used for working with fabric, but:
Important! When PVA dries, it can leave a yellowish mark on light-colored fabric. Stationery glue will hold the fabric on the backing, but since it is not designed to work with textiles, the product may be short-lived. Hot melt glue is a good option for fabrics, but it should be applied as thinly as possible.
DIY Christmas toy Cockerel
The upcoming 2017 is the year of the Fire Rooster, so toys in the form of birds will be especially relevant. Do-it-yourself Christmas tree toy rooster is simple - just draw or copy the sketch you like from the Internet.
The easiest way is to make a rooster out of felt or paper. To do this, you need a piece of felt, a pattern, threads, scissors. The toy can be flat or three-dimensional. From dense felt, you can make details for a garland, or toys - pendants.
For decoration, you can use beads, for the manufacture of a suspension - suede or waxed cord, twine.
There are many manufacturing options, and the approaching New Year is the best inspiration for creativity. It is advisable to start preparing for this holiday in a good mood - toys made with a positive attitude radiate special warmth.
