How to make corals from branches. How to make corals from polymer clay? Aquarium lighting with halogen lamps
We make corals with our own hands
This is what I need. For a marine theme, there are not enough corals, there is even a dry seahorse!
An easy-to-use technology for creating an original decor for the interior - artificial corals from inexpensive materials.
would need:
Toilet paper
3/4 cup flour
Talc (baby powder) or PVA glue
Hot water + bowl
Floral wire to create a frame
Construction paper tape
PVA glue
wooden skewer
Process
Unroll about half a roll of soft toilet paper and soak in a bowl of hot water (Figure 1-2).
After a couple of minutes, when the paper swells, drain the water and tear the resulting paper mass into small pieces.
After that, 3/4 cup of flour should be added to this loose mass, and mixed well, for which you can use a mixer (Figure 3). The flour itself is already a paste, and you also need to add a little talc (baby powder) to it. Some add PVA glue to this mass, but the author of this MK believes that because of the glue, the mass may not become so loose.
To create a frame, a floristic wire larger in diameter is perfect. The wire must be twisted in several layers, and give it the shape of branches (Fig. 4).
Start wrapping the workpiece with the prepared mass (Figure 6).
If you want to get a large coral, then the mass must be applied to it several times with intermediate drying. Do not try to smooth the mass - you will get a regular branch. The final semi-dry layer must be poked with a wooden skewer, thereby making recesses that imitate the natural pores of coral.
After the sculpture has completely dried, you can cover it with PVA glue and roll it in coarse salt. You can also use a liquid gypsum solution, structural paste, furniture or construction putty, acrylic paint for coating, fixing this layer with a special acrylic varnish. Here everything will depend on the desired result - you can create a coral aged by time and water, freshly cut or dried in the sun. Everything will depend only on your imagination.
My sea buttercream cake
How to decorate a mastic cake? You can make Sea Cake! Its main decoration is edible corals. To make corals for the cake from fondant you will need either purchased mastic for making figures, or you can make your own mastic from marshmallows (recipe with photo). You need to make corals from mastic in advance, as it will take several hours for them to dry and not lose their shape later. Cooked mastic from condensed milk at home is not suitable for making corals, but you can cover the cake with it and make simple figurines, the same fish or pebbles for a sea cake, for example.
Corals step by step!
How to make corals from mastic with your own hands - a master class with a photo:
I studied at the courses with Galina Krasko!
Decide on a color. Corals can be made both white and any other color. It looks best on the cake if there are both colored and white corals.
Break up the mask. To make coral look natural, use food coloring to make two pieces of different color saturation and put them together.
Twist the resulting sausage.
roll out
Roll out into a thin cake (2-3-4 millimeters is possible, 3 is best). Give - cut out the shape of the future coral. Pay attention - the coral should not be made in the same shape as mine, but with a wide base! I really wanted to make it “like a real one”, it looked chic, but this option is suitable if you do not plan to transport the cake. If it is transported, thin “shoots” can break off!
Cover part of the coral with foil so it doesn't dry out prematurely!
Lay out the corals from sugar mastic, giving them the shape you want. Any semi-circular surface will do - cups, glasses, bottles ...
Here in the photo I have a “correct” coral - with a base (you don’t need to make holes at the very bottom), of good shape. This is not afraid of "moving" a cake from mastic.
Leave them to dry for several hours, ideally overnight. Then simply insert into the cake (corals are inserted directly into the mastic coating).
Do-it-yourself corals from mastic are ready!
And a few more little tips, how to make sea buttercream cake:
Just like you made coral from fondant, you can make a "marble" fondant topping for a cake!
To make seaweed, roll out a strip of mastic, cut into two parts in a zigzag. Twist the strips so that you get a sharp tip. Dry - then with the help of the tip of the grass - the seaweed from the mastic is easy to stick into the mastic coating of the cake!
From mastic you can make fish and shells for decorations. Shells are made using silicone molds. You can make your own if you wish. Below is a link to a master class on making filicon molds with your own hands.
Mastic Cake Fungus
Master classes with photos and step by step recipes
Anyone who has ever seen corals in the sun-drenched lagoon of a tropical sea or in the ultramarine depths of Sharm El Sheikh will forever retain the first impression - this is a real underwater paradise. Not all corals are equally attractive: there are modestly colored reefs, there are bright thickets, but together they form a wonderful underwater forest. I would like to take a couple of branches from such a “forest” as a keepsake. This is not always possible, and it is a pity to spoil the deep-sea landscape. I offer you an old, forgotten way to "grow" corals at home.
A ladle and a saucepan, preferably steel, not aluminum and not enameled (it is easy to remove paraffin residues from steel).
Small paraffin candles or white cinders. Having melted, they can be painted in any color.
Oil paints in tubes, or food coloring.
Branches from any tree that have a lot of relief buds and small knots - so the coral with its rough texture and processes from the very beginning will form more naturally than, say, on a smooth twig.
Working process
Small candles in aluminum trays, free from the wick and from the tray. These candles are very convenient because the short wick is easily pulled out of the candle and does not interfere with work. White candle cinders are also an option, but then you will have to catch wick threads from paraffin during melting. Paraffin must not be melted on an open fire or on a cooking surface. Its vapors are highly flammable, in addition, paraffin, melted at a high temperature, becomes too liquid and does not stick to a twig. So melting candles is best in a water bath: it is safe and creates a liquid temperature that is comfortable for work. We fill the saucepan with water, check if there is too much of it by inserting a ladle with paraffin into the filled saucepan. Excess water is poured out. You can start. As soon as the candles are more than half melted, you can remove the ladle from the water bath and start “growing coral. First, add a small drop of paint and knead a little. For me it was first ultramarine paint (for one branch), and then light green (for the second branch). I made the red coral branch in a separate saucepan. We place a branch over a container with paraffin and water-water-water, not forgetting to rotate the branch from time to time. At first it seems that nothing is happening, that the paraffin just flows off, leaving no traces. But after a couple of minutes, interesting stalactites and streaks begin to emerge. Coral is forming, much like it happens in nature. Only the material is different))) and the process is hundreds of times faster!
We continue to water the branch, even when the paraffin begins to solidify, forming ice crystals. Thus, we get a characteristic rough surface with spiky processes, in contrast to the original smooth flow. The whole process of "growing" takes 5-7 minutes.
We leave the finished coral twig to cool by sticking it into a bottle or vase and proceed to the next branch, adding a brighter color to the paraffin. I made turquoise coral, bluish green and pinkish red. From small branches, you can make compositions using shells, pebbles and glass beads for the aquarium.
Bright corals seem to glow from within. It is hard to believe that they are not real, but artificial, "grown" in their own kitchen from the remains of paraffin candles! Try it! Making corals is a great aesthetic pleasure!
Tip: Paraffin residues must not be poured into the sink or toilet. Let them cool, and then heat up slightly and take out whole. Paraffin is still useful for other crafts!
DIY artificial corals + Photo
Today on TUTdizain.ru there is a rather simple technology for creating a very beautiful and original decor for the interior - artificial corals from inexpensive materials. This technology can be used for many ideas!
To create such artificial corals, cellulose papier-mâché is used, which can be purchased at the store. But in this article we will show how to make such a composition with our own hands.
To create artificial corals you will need:
Toilet paper
3/4 cup flour
Talc (baby powder) or PVA glue
Hot water + bowl
Floral wire to create a frame
Construction paper tape
PVA glue
wooden skewer
The process of creating artificial corals
Unroll about half a roll of soft toilet paper and soak in bowls of hot water (Figure 1-2).
After a couple of minutes, when the paper swells, drain the water and tear the resulting paper mass into small pieces.
After that, 3/4 cup of flour should be added to this loose mass, and mixed well, for which you can use a mixer (Figure 3). The flour itself is already a paste, and you also need to add a little talc (baby powder) to it. Some add PVA glue to this mass, but the author of this MK believes that because of the glue, the mass may not become so loose.
To create a frame, a floristic wire larger in diameter is perfect. The wire must be twisted in several layers, and give it the shape of branches (Fig. 4).
Start wrapping the workpiece with the prepared mass (Figure 6).
If you want to get a large coral, then the mass must be applied to it several times with intermediate drying. Do not try to smooth the mass if you do not want to get a regular branch. The final semi-dry layer must be poked with a wooden skewer, thereby making indentations that mimic the natural pores of coral.
After the sculpture has completely dried, you can cover it with PVA glue and roll it in coarse salt. You can also use a liquid gypsum solution, structural paste, furniture or building putty, acrylic paint for coating, fixing this layer with a special acrylic varnish. Here everything will depend on the desired result - you can create a coral aged by time and water, freshly cut or dried in the sun. Everything will depend only on your imagination.
Based on materials from the site: houserevivals.blogspot.com
A sea wedding is unthinkable without these beautiful creations of nature - corals. But natural corals are quite expensive, and not everyone can afford them, especially in the amount necessary for a full-fledged wedding decoration. An inexpensive and very simple replacement for them is papier-mâché artificial corals. How to make them yourself from improvised means, you will learn from this master class.
Necessary materials:
- Toilet paper
- Flour
- Talc or baby powder
— Wire
- Paper tape
- A bowl
- PVA glue, salt, rice, structural paste, acrylic paint (optional)
Step-by-step instruction:
1. The first stage is the preparation of papier-mâché. Take half a roll of toilet paper and soak it in a bowl with hot water. After a few minutes, drain the water and tear the paper mass into small pieces. Add 3/4 cup flour and a little talcum powder (or baby powder) to the bowl. PVA glue does not need to be added - the mass should be loose. Mix well, you can use a mixer.
Note: papier-mâché does not have to be made on your own - you can buy a blank. However, please note that the consistency of the resulting paste may differ from that which is necessary in this case.
2. We twist a “branch” out of wire, thicker is better – at least two layers.
3. Paste the "branch" with paper tape.
4. We cover the "branch" of papier-mâché. We do this in several stages with intermediate drying. The mass does not need to be smoothed - let the surface remain uneven. In the last layer, until it is dry, we make indentations with a wooden stick - we imitate the pores of coral.
You can leave the coral as it is, or you can smear it with PVA glue and roll it in coarse salt or rice, cover it with structural paste or acrylic paint - depending on what effect you want to achieve. Experiment!