What is the name of artificial grass for decorating crafts. How to make grass out of paper. What is the herb made from? From sawdust and grass, of course

Educational toys are extremely popular in our time. And this phenomenon can be easily explained, because every parent wants the child not only to have fun, but also to learn something new or gain practical skills. A very interesting and, what is important, completely safe and natural toy - grass. It is not difficult to make it with your own hands and believe me, it is much more interesting than buying a factory-made version.

Grasshopper - what kind of animal is this?

A few years ago, eco-men or herbalists appeared in many flower shops and children's departments. When packaged, the souvenir resembles just an interior toy. This is a small figurine of a man, a fairy-tale character or an animal. Often grasshoppers look like just "weirdos" or can be just pouches with glued eyes. The essence of the game-experience is simple - inside the grass, in addition to the main filler, there are grass seeds. It must be soaked or sprinkled with plenty of water and put in a bright place. Very soon you will be able to watch your "pet" begin to grow green "hair".

DIY materials

Before discussing how to make a grasshopper with your own hands, let's see if you have all the materials for this toy? The craft consists of a stuffing bag, filler, seeds and decorative elements. As a basis for the grass, you can use nylon socks or tights. If you want your do-it-yourself grass to be bright, try using children's golfs. There is no need to make any special holes, through the fabric of tights the grass sprouts will independently find a way out to the light. As the main filler, you can use sawdust, synthetic winterizer or cotton wool.

Do-it-yourself simple herbs: a master class for the little ones

Invite your child to make such a toy together. This work can be entrusted to three-year-olds. Prepare nylon socks in advance, if a very small child does the craft, it is best to choose something soft as a filler: cotton wool or synthetic winterizer. Tip - if you want the grass to germinate in a certain place, place the seeds there. However, many people like herbs, in which green sprouts climb in a chaotic manner. In this case, the seeds should be mixed with the filler. So, your goal is to fill the sock with padding polyester or cotton. Don't forget to add the seeds, positioning them according to your idea. Sew a bag, you can form a circle or an oval. In fact, it is very easy to make a herbalist with your own hands, you have almost completed this task, it remains only to arrange the craft. Glue eyes on waterproof glue, you can also draw something on the figure, but only if you are sure that the paints will not flow when in contact with water.

How to germinate grasshopper?

The meaning of the game-experience with the herb is to germinate grass seeds. To do this, you need to immerse the finished craft in a container of water and leave for 5-10 minutes. Then take out the toy and place it on a saucer or some other stand. Now you just have to wait for a miracle - after 5-7 days the first shoots will appear. Knowing how to make a herbalist with your own hands, if you wish, you can collect a whole green zoo or a family of eco-men. Try experimenting with shapes and sizes.

Educational toy, pet and interior decoration

The grasshopper is a long-playing craft. The child will receive a lot of positive emotions during its manufacture and will be able to show taste and imagination during its design. After finishing work, a do-it-yourself grass toy will not become another useless souvenir. After soaking, you can observe the appearance of the first shoots. From time to time it is also useful to spray the herb, and you can even water it carefully. But the game with the eco-figure does not end there either. If you decide to make a grasshopper with your own hands, be sure to try cutting it. Such a game will bring a lot of positive emotions to any child. What is especially interesting, the “hairs” will grow back and, if desired, they can be cut again and again.

We make curly grasses

An interesting and unusual craft is a grass hedgehog. With your own hands, you can make it according to the same principle as simpler toys of this type. The animal can sit upright or stand on four legs. Your craft will look most interesting if the grass grows only on its back and head, depicting needles. Accordingly, when filling the stocking base, arrange the seeds accordingly. The paws are most conveniently made separately in the form of small balls. They can also be pulled with threads, forming fingers. Sew them to the body of the hedgehog with threads. A small secret - nylon heavily stuffed with synthetic winterizer or cotton wool - a very plastic material. It can be given the most interesting shapes, fixing them with simple thread stitches and tightening them well. You can work out in detail the features of the muzzle of the animal, make him plump cheeks and a pronounced sharp nose. How to make a grass hedgehog with your own hands, what details will help emphasize the image of this animal? In addition to the eyes, sew a large bead nose to the toy. If you have paint that is not afraid of water, you can draw eyebrows, mouth and blush on the cheeks.

One of the most popular questions among those who are making eco-toys for the first time is where to get grass seeds and which ones are suitable? You can use lawn mix. However, this only makes sense if you plant such grass in the country, as it is sold in large packages. If you don't have your own yard, get a small bag of house cat grass seeds from the pet store. Almost any agricultural crop is also suitable: oats, wheat, rye. An interesting idea - you can put seeds of herbs in herbs: dill, parsley or basil - in this case you will get not only a beautiful toy, but also a constant source of fresh herbs in your own kitchen. It is possible to make crafts using the described technique more complex. An interesting idea: to sew a doll, and place grass seeds in only one of its elements. Do not be afraid to stuff each element of the toy quite tightly, following this simple rule will help keep the figure in shape. When making a souvenir, remember that it will have to be soaked and sprayed with water. Accordingly, you should not use elements made of cardboard, paper and other materials that are afraid of high humidity for decoration. Be sure to try making your own herbs. The master class given in our article will definitely help you with this and you will succeed!

Many novice needlewomen, looking at photos with the work of quilling masters, are wondering: how to make such beautiful crafts yourself? Naturally, various MKs come to the rescue, teaching the art of making flowers, animal figurines, portraits and landscapes using the paper rolling technique. But the most important questions for beginners relate to the basics of needlework in general, and not complex compositions. For example, what to make a background for a picture from or how to make an imitation of grass on it.

Today we will deal with exactly how a grass quilling master class is made in the technique, which is suitable even for small children, and adults will be able to come up with new, their own ideas based on it.


Necessary materials and tools

In order to make beautiful grass with your own hands in addition to your paper flowers, it is enough to prepare the necessary materials and then follow the instructions step by step. What you will need:

  • quilling stripes of green shades;
  • scissors;
  • PVA glue;
  • toothpick or quilling tool, pencil or thin brush.

Quilling strips can be cut from green or plain white paper, then you still need a long ruler, a pencil and a cutter. Using a sharp cutter, you can independently make strips of any width.

Additional materials:

  • paint, markers or colors of different shades of green;
  • sponge or sponge for applying paint.

These items will be needed for those who make quilling strips on their own. You can color paper in a variety of ways - after some experimentation with different colorants, you will be able to choose exactly those that suit your work. For example, in the picture, the quilling strips were painted with: emerald acrylic paint, salad acrylic paint, two-color markers, water-based color (from left to right, respectively). As you can see, the best result was obtained when using color.

There are no detailed descriptions and diagrams in this lesson - only basic ideas for implementing ideas. Grass can be absolutely any shape, thickness and color, depending on your preferences and imagination.

Fluffy grass from a wide quilling strip

Cut off a wide strip of paper from a whole sheet. Its width is the height of the grass, but you also need to leave a small distance below so that the chopped fringe does not fall apart.

Using such a template - strips of thick paper or cardboard - we cut a long fringe. This will help make it the same length, and also not accidentally cut your quilling strip ahead of time.

Using a toothpick or a quilling tool, we slightly twist the resulting grass in different directions. This must be done carefully so as not to tear off thin strips and not wrinkle them. We cut off the desired length, glue the blank on a postcard or panel and straighten the uneven blades of grass with our fingers.

The thinner you can cut the fringe, the fluffier and more realistic the grass will look.

Grass in fantasy style

With the help of strips twisted with a pencil or brush, you can create such curls. They will fit well into various paintings and fantasy-style crafts. The tip of the strip, which will be at the top of the blade of grass, needs to be cut at an angle, narrowing it. Sketches with such curls can be supplemented with simple quilling elements that will serve as leaves of an unusual plant.

Dense openwork blades of grass for large paintings

Such grass can be used in voluminous quilling works, or where the emphasis should not be on too small details. Such grass will look beautiful even without flowers: you can plant ladybugs or other quilling insects on it. For this tutorial, you will need a toothed comb or comb.

The end of the strip is bent on the third tooth of the comb and smeared with glue. Next, the loops are thrown over the teeth through one.



In total, you need to throw five loops.

Now we take a strip of a different shade and do the same, but we fix the end on the second tooth and make one more loop.

You should get these parts.

The resulting blanks are smeared with glue along the edges and glued together.

Such a funny grass will decorate any panel, for example, in a cartoon style. And how to make animals and voluminous flowers in the same technique, novice masters can learn from the video and photo tutorials, where the intricacies of paper rolling are described in stages.

In horticulture, composting is one of those processes that they say: "Useful and profitable." They are disposed of to plant residues (in fact, waste), which allows you to save on the purchase of fertilizers. In addition, you can be sure that the finished mass is an environmentally friendly top dressing for plants. So it turns out: “If you want it to be good, do it yourself!”. In the article we will tell you how to make compost from cut grass, consider several recipes.

Features of grass compost, its advantages and disadvantages

The quality of the compost depends on:

  • From the components laid in the pit (or container).
  • Seasons and weather conditions.
  • Water and air access.
With all the advantages, one major drawback must be taken into account. In the process of converting from one substance to another, an unpleasant odor is released. Therefore, warehousing is best done away from home and places of rest, not only your own, but also those of your neighbors.

Experienced gardeners build a pit with a total height of 1-1.5 m, while 0.5 m is deepened into the ground. The length and width depend on the amount of waste. If the lawn is small in size 1 - 2 acres, a capacity of 200 - 300 liters is enough. Garden centers sell containers made of high quality polymers.

Purchased containers have a number of advantages:

  • Easy to assemble.
  • The material from which they are made can withstand ultraviolet and low temperatures.
  • Doors are provided at the bottom to conveniently get ready-made compost.
  • They look decorative.

Unfortunately, their cost is high - from 4000 rubles. with a volume of 300 liters.

What herbs are best and what not to use

In the arrangement of lawns, narrow-leaved grasses are used for decorative lawns and coarser broad-leaved plants intended for free-growing meadow areas. Both can be put into the compost, but it is better to pre-grind the large ones with the help of garden shredders.

Particularly useful are fertilizers in which other plant residues are placed. For example, mixtures of lawn grasses with white clover are often found. Its root system attracts a nodule bacterium that produces nitrogen. When the clover is composted along with the sod, the process continues and the result is a nitrogen-rich fertilizer. But this is not the only way to improve the quality of the compost. In addition to cut grass, food waste can be added to it.

Tip #1. It is undesirable to use meat and bones, because these products decompose for a long time.To increase fertility, it is better to apply bird and rabbit droppings, cattle and horse manure.

In autumn, dry leaves are placed in the compost. But only those that are not infected with diseases and pests should be burned or taken to a landfill. Only healthy raw materials without any damage are suitable for fertilizer.

There are some plants that should not be composted, even if they are in perfect condition. We are talking about those that contain specific substances that suppress other representatives of the flora. Usually, there is little to get along with them. Most often these are trees and shrubs:

  • Nut,
  • Hornbeam,
  • Poplar,

If their leaves are put in compost, then you will get not a useful fertilizer, but a harmful substance.


Note! Neither leaves, nor fruits, nor branches can be placed in the compost.

Optimal seasonal timing for laying compost

The formation of humus occurs throughout the year, but the process is activated at a positive temperature of + 10 0 and with a day length of at least 14 hours. Such conditions are typical for the period from April to October. This period coincides with lawn mowing. Compost is constantly replenished with a new portion of raw materials, in spring and early summer every week, later once every 10 - 14 days. During this time, the grass is mixed and watered several times. The mass is supplemented with a layer of earth, sand or peat. This improves the quality of the fertilizer, and brings its ripening time closer.

Full period of formation and ways to speed up the process

The natural process of humus formation from plant residues to humus lasts

2 - 3 years. In gardening, compost is used as fertilizer after 6 months. In order for the reaction of oxidation, fermentation, decay to take place more actively, it is necessary to provide access to water and air. For this, plant residues are constantly mixed and watered. For convenience, three sectional boxes are used.


The figure shows that the raw materials are divided into compartments according to the degree of maturation. When fertilizer has already formed in the first compartment, only a fresh portion of mowed grass is laid in the third. This makes it easier to take out the finished mass. If you put the compost in one hole, then in order to get the bottom mature layer, you first need to take it out and put aside the fresh top one. It is not comfortable.

It is possible to reduce the time of compost formation with the help of EM preparations. Adherents of organic farming technology recommend using:

Name Application
1. Emma - Bokashi 1. The cut grass is laid in a layer of 25 - 30 cm.

2. Sprinkle with the drug at the rate of ½ cup per 1 m 2.

3. Water 5 - 10 liters of water per 1 m 2.

4. Sprinkle with a layer of earth (sand, peat) - 5 cm.

2. Baikal -
3. Radiance 3 (BakSib F) The concentrate is diluted in water, 2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water. Water the compost at the rate of 1 liter per 1 m 2.

With the use of EM preparations, the compost is ready in 3-4 weeks, it can be used as a mulch or an improving additive to the soil mixture.

Step by step instructions for composting from start to finish

Step 1. Choose a place for compost away from living quarters and recreation areas. The distance to the water source must be at least 30 m. If the pit is built on a slope, it must be lower than the water source. This is necessary so that the decomposition products of plants do not get into drinking water.

Step 2 Build a compost pit:

  • Most often, the height is 1 m, ½ m below ground level, the upper part rises by the same amount.
  • Width 1 m.
  • Length 1.5 - 2 m.

These sizes are optimal. If one hole is not enough, you need to build several.

Tip #2. Note! During the construction of the pit, only the walls are fixed, the bottom remains earthen. This is to aerate the compost.

Step 3. Make a cover. For this, boards, plywood, chipboard, fiberboard are used. The pit is covered from heavy rains and drought.

Step 4. Lay mowed 25-30 cm grass and other organic waste on the bottom, with a layer of 25-30 cm.

  • Sprinkle EM - preparations, water and compact the grass.
  • Do the same with each next layer.
  • After laying, cover the pit with a lid or plastic wrap.

Step 5. 2 times a week, the mass must be watered. Once every 2 weeks - mix and add the EM preparation again. If substances are not used, then compost is formed no earlier than after 6 months.

Step 6. After 3-4 weeks, the matured compost is removed from the pit and used as mulch or organic fertilizer.

Step 7. When the pit is free, the process starts again.

Compost recipes with chicken manure, manure, sawdust, lime

The composition and purpose of compost differs depending on the additives introduced. The introduction of organic components has the following features:

Name Purpose disadvantages
chicken manure Contains a large amount of nitrogen in a form available to plants. The decomposition time depends on the composition.

Compost with litter of cellular (fine) composition is formed the fastest, and litter decomposes longer on coarse straw.

In the compost is placed in a dry form in a thin layer between the grass, at the rate of ½ bucket per 1 m 2 of surface. Then the next portion is laid and the litter is added again. Fertilizer is ready in 3-4 months, with the use of EM - preparations, after 3-4 weeks

Short term of storage and transportation, no more than 1 month. It is better to put fresh manure in the compost.
Manure Enriches compost with nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium.

Neutralizes acidity.

For each layer of grass 25 - 30 cm, manure is applied 3 - 5 cm thick.

Fresh manure is best composted for the winter.
Sawdust Before laying in the compost, large sawdust is best crushed.

Conifers increase the acidity of the compost.

Nitrogen fertilizers or chicken manure are added to the compost with sawdust in a ratio of 1: 1, that is, manure and sawdust are mixed in equal parts and laid on the grass in an even layer. Litter can be replaced with mineral nitrogen fertilizer 20 g per 1 kg of sawdust.

Water and mix more often than regular compost to increase the access of water and air - once every 2 weeks.

Do not apply fresh to the soil. When compost rots, they absorb nitrogen.
Lime Add to compost, which is planned to be used on acidic soils.

200 g per 1 m 2 raises the pH level by one unit.

Cannot be used with organic fertilizers and

EM drugs.

How to make compost in bags

Recently, resourceful gardeners have successfully used a mobile container for composting. This method is good because you do not need to specially build a waste box, but use bags. The method of laying raw materials is the same as in the pit:

  • A layer of grass 20-25 cm is sprinkled with additives and EM preparations.
  • Watered.
  • They are ramming.
  • Put in a shaded, well-ventilated place.

For compost, it is better to use bags that allow air to enter, such as filament or sugar bags. It is better to make small holes in plastic bags.

The advantage of this method is that the bags take up less space, they can be placed in several places. The disadvantage of the method is that the material of the bag is destroyed by ultraviolet radiation and low temperatures, so the finished compost cannot be moved in the package, it must be reloaded in order to be delivered to the garden or garden.

Rubric: "Questions and answers"

Question #1. Is it possible to prepare improving supplements if there are no EM drugs?

You can make your own mixture:

  • Dissolve 10 g of loose yeast and ½ cup of sugar in three liters of warm water and infuse for 3 days.
  • In a 200 liter barrel are placed:
  • ¼ bucket of ashes
  • ½ bucket of bird droppings (or mullein)
  • ¼ bucket of sand or garden soil
  • 1 bucket of rotten hay (or straw)
  • 1 liter of sour milk or other similar product.
  • Top up with water to the brim.
  • Infuse for a week, mixing thoroughly every day.
  • The finished infusion is added to the compost at the rate of ½ bucket per 1 m 2 of each layer of grass when laying in the compost.

Question number 2. Where is the best place to use grass compost?

  1. As a mulch, they are laid out in beds, in flower beds, under trees.
  2. How fertilizer is applied to the soil in the garden and in greenhouses. In this case, large undecayed residues must be removed from the compost, otherwise, with further decay, they release substances harmful to plants. Read also the article: → "".

Serious gardening mistakes when creating and applying grass compost

Mistake #1. The location of the compost pit (or container) in the scorching sun.

Moisture is needed to form compost, and in an open place the mass dries out quickly, you will have to water it often. In addition, beneficial microorganisms that process plant residues into fertilizer die at high temperatures.

Mistake #2. Laying in the compost poorly rotting substances.

Do not place meat waste, inorganic materials - plastic, polymers, metal in the total mass. Even if they got into the compost by accident, they must be removed before using the finished mass.

Many of the beginner needlewomen and needlewomen, looking at a variety of photographs with the works of masters in the quilling technique, are wondering how to make such a beautiful craft on their own? It goes without saying that a variety of workshops and programs come to the rescue, teaching such art as making flowers and animal figurines, as well as portraits or landscapes. Quilling is a paper rolling technique and you can create almost anything with it. However, the most important questions for beginners mainly relate to the general basics of needlework, and not to individual, very complex compositions. One of the most common questions will be what can be used to make a background for a picture and how to make a believable imitation of grass on it.

What do you need to create paper quilling grass?

For grass, you will need quilling strips, preferably green, as well as scissors, PVA glue and a toothpick or quilling tool. You will also need a pencil or a thin brush.


quilling

Quilling strips can be cut independently from green or plain white paper. Later it will have to be painted. In this case, you will also need a long ruler, a simple pencil, colored pencils and a cutter. Using a sharp cutter, it is possible to independently make strips for grass of any width. The narrower they are, the more believable the grass will be.


The choice of paint for paper

Additionally, materials such as paints and markers, or colors of various tones of green, may come in handy. A sponge and sponge for applying paint will also be useful. These items are most likely to be needed by those who decide to create quilling strips on their own. Grass paper can be painted in virtually any way - after some experimentation and trying different dyes, it will be easier to decide and choose the ones that are best for your work. Many crafters prefer to paint grass paper with acrylic-based emerald paint, or lettuce acrylic dye, and use 2-color markers. Others prefer water-based color to everything. However, the best results are obtained with the use of color.


Advice

Grass can have any shape, thickness and color - it depends on your personal preferences and on the flight of fancy.

Manufacturing technique

First you should cut a wide paper strip from a whole sheet. The width is the future height of your paper grass. It is important to leave a small distance below, otherwise the cut fringe will simply fall apart. Using a simple template in the form of a strip of thick paper or cardboard, you need to cut a long fringe from a paper sheet. Thanks to the template, the height of the grass will be the same everywhere. In addition, this technique will help you not to accidentally cut your quilling strip earlier than necessary. Next, using a toothpick or a quilling tool, you need to slightly twist the resulting grass so that it sticks out on different sides. This task is carried out very carefully so as not to accidentally tear off thin strips or wrinkle them. Then you should cut off the desired length and glue the blank on a postcard or on a panel, along the way spreading individual, unevenly lying blades of grass with your fingers.


Advice

Grass can even be made using the origami technique, that is, without the use of glue and other attributes for creating applications.

Conclusion:

For various applications, as well as for creating three-dimensional paintings, it is often necessary to make grass as a background. It is not at all difficult to create it from paper. There are various ways to do this, one of which is the quilling technique.


Sticker Grass


DIY Grass

The main elements of landscaping in layout are trees of various species, hedges, shrubs, flower beds, etc.
What are these trees, shrubs, grass on the layout made of?

Let's list the main materials.

  1. Wire.

It is used in the manufacture of frames for small trees and shrubs. Depending on the scale and the task ahead of you, wire with a diameter of 0.2 to 1 mm is most often used.

For the manufacture of trees, stranded wires are most often used, because. a bundle of several individual wires is assembled in them.

  1. Wooden skewers.

The next material used in the manufacture of trees is wooden skewers. They are suitable for making trunks of tall trees. For greater realism, skewers can be pasted over with thin paper, for example, napkins, and then twisted branches twisted from wire.

  1. Flock.

Flock is often used to create grass on a layout. These are finely chopped or chopped textile fibers from raw materials of various origins - wool, cotton, viscose, etc. Flock is used to imitate grass cover on relief, flowerbeds, etc. Sometimes for sprinkling trees.

There is a special flock for layout, which has a large selection of colors and sizes, which allows you to use it when working with different scales. Here are some of the largest manufacturers - Noch, Auhagen, Faller.

  1. Sponge.

For prototyping, a medium and finely crushed dyed foam rubber sponge is suitable.

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It is used in the creation of trees and shrubs.

There are special dusting sponges for layouts (Noch, Auhagen, Faller).

However, it is not at all difficult to make a sponge at home.

How to make a sponge to create trees and shrubs yourself?

1. Prepare the adhesive solution. We mix PVA glue with water in a ratio of 1: 1;

2. With the help of a color scheme, we will give the solution the desired color. For example, dark green. Green can be obtained by mixing yellow with blue;

3. Thoroughly mix the solution;

4. In the solution prepared earlier, we lower a piece of foam rubber and carefully soak it;

5. Dry the dyed foam for 24 hours.

6. Now the dried foam rubber needs to be crushed. This can be done with a mixer or coffee grinder. If they are not at hand, then an ordinary iron grater will help out.

Natural materials for creating trees, grass and shrubs on the layout.

  • thin branches. They are used for the manufacture of trees and large shrubs.

  • Crushed dried leaves. Used as a powder to simulate the foliage of trees, bushes and flower beds.
  • Moss. It is used to simulate small shrubs.

In our mock-up workshop, all employees are trained under the guidance of a master.

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Crafts with children. Do-it-yourself herbalist

Do you want to broaden your child's horizons? Then make a herbalist with your own hands! Such an original craft with children develops responsibility, gives an idea of ​​the growth of a living organism, and is also ideal as a visual aid for self-study of natural history at home and for a living corner in kindergarten.

Read this article:

The grasshopper, or eco-man, is very popular these days. This is a craft, and a toy, and a pet at the same time. This is such fun - three in one! In appearance, the herb is a small fabric bag or vessel on which a pretty forelock of grass-ant grows, a kind of miniature green lawn.

What is the herb made from? From sawdust and grass, of course!

Such crafts from the category of "new is a well-forgotten old." Seeing what it is, people of the older generation would say that they also made herbs in the lessons of botany at school. Now the blank can be purchased at a flower shop or ordered through an online store, but it is much more interesting to invite children to cook everything from start to finish on their own.

To make a do-it-yourself herb craft, you need to stock up on the following materials: nylon stocking; needle and thread for sewing; sawdust; lawn grass seeds; water; plastic tray or plate.

Instead of a stocking, nylon tights, an old sock, a wide bandage or a piece of gauze will fit. Sawdust can be bought at a pet supply store or asked from friends who keep a guinea pig or a hamster (sawdust is usually sprinkled on the “floor” of a pet cage). You need quite a bit of sawdust, not a bag! Just a few handfuls.

How to make grass from technical linen

Although, in fact, the amount of sawdust must be calculated, focusing on the estimated size of the craft.

If it is problematic to get lawn grass for sowing in your area, then it will be successfully replaced by oats, wheat, rye, barley. Beforehand, it is better to sort out the grain, winnow from the husks, spikelets and straws.

Step-by-step instructions on how to make a herbalist.

1. We cut the stocking with scissors so that we get a piece of nylon in the form of a “sleeve” along a length of 10-15 cm. You can immediately cut the fabric across into thin strips - these will be ties.

2. We tie one end of the stocking, pull it with a tie or a strong thread. Turn inside out to make a bag with a knot inside.

3. Pour grain inside the bag first (it would be good to soak it for 5-6 hours in advance), and then sawdust. We tamp with our hands and form the “body” of the herb so that the grains are on one side of the bag. It is better to moisten sawdust before this. We also tie the top edge of the bag.

4. Now turn on the fantasy. Who is your herbalist? Try to see in it a hedgehog, a turtle, a frog, a tiger cub, a dog, a bear, a caterpillar - whatever you want! Even a miracle Yudo or an alien. Ideas can be peeped on children's art sites or invent something of your own.

How to make an animal? To do this, you only need to separate part of the "calf" and with the help of ties form either a muzzle, or ears, or horns, or paws, or a tail. Do not forget to check how stable the herb is.

5. We revive the herbalist. We glue or sew the mouth and eyes. You can use buttons, pieces of cardboard drawn and cut out in the shape of an oval, eyes from an old plush toy. If desired, you can give the figurine brightness by painting the surface with acrylic paints. Watercolor and gouache are not suitable, as they get their hands dirty, and then they will be washed off when water gets on the grass.

6. We wet the herb. Yes, the finished craft needs to be well saturated with water, just leave it for 2-3 hours in a bowl of water. It is desirable that the liquid be warmed up. If you prepare several herbs, then you can conduct a scientific experiment: “give a drink” to one craft with ordinary water, and the other with water with the addition of a product that stimulates the growth of indoor plants. And to track in which grass sprouts will appear first.

Care, cherish and ... Cut!

And so you made a herbalist with your own hands. And now your new friend is ready! How to properly care for him? Now you need to install the herbalist on a plate or pallet, put it somewhere in a bright place and monitor the wet state of the fabric. Periodically, the fabric should be sprayed with water, from a watering can or a sprinkler. This is a task that kids love to do! And they run every minute to see when the grass begins to grow.

And small green leaves can be seen on the surface of the herb already for 2 days. The sprouts will break through the holes in the fabric forward, to freedom, higher and higher!

You can keep a diary of observations (draw a plate in a notebook or on a regular A4 sheet) and note in the morning, afternoon and evening how many centimeters the stems have time to stretch. Be sure to take a photo and tell your friends what you got.

If the grass stretches out a lot, if the forelock starts to disintegrate in different directions, that is, it loses its beautiful shape, then arrange a haircut. Don't feel sorry for the plants! You don't need a lawn mower here, use scissors or just gently cut off the sprouts with your fingers, about 2/3 of their length. This will give the grass new strength, and the appearance of the lawn will improve after a while. Of course, a cat can cut your hair for you, because these cunning animals love to gnaw on fresh greens. Be on the lookout so that the herb does not die "the death of the brave" from cat's teeth and claws.

Attention! Near the radiator, the grass will dehydrate faster. If you plan to leave home for a couple of days as soon as you make this craft, then it is better to wrap the craft in a bag - this will reduce the evaporation of moisture. But upon arrival, remove the cover and take care of the grass, as usual.

And there are more than enough benefits from the herbalist! Let's count together. Firstly, this is a beautiful and unconventional flowerpot, it is pleasant to keep it at home and give it to someone. Secondly, for children, the joy and opportunity to be responsible for an important matter, almost like a military strategic assignment. Thirdly, fortified food for a cat, dog or parrot is at hand. What else have we missed?

Imagine that now you have snowdrifts outside your window, everything around is white and white, the ground is bound by cracking frost. And on your table settled grass, which you carefully made with your own hands. Little living soul. Emerald Isle of Summer. Cheerful look oasis. Just a miracle of nature!