How to Carve Chalk | Making a 3D Mural with Chalk Pieces

Bonjour Craftopedia,

Hope you all are doing great. I tried Chalk Carving (again, one of my favorites!) for my 3D Mural Assignment at my 2nd semester. I would like to share the procedure with you.
You Need -

• Plaster of Paris Chalks (80-100 pieces)
• Wood Varnish
• Plywood base
• Needle
• Fevicol/Hot Glue Gun

I bought a box of Plaster of Paris Chalks and started carving various patterns on it. Then to harden it, I coated it with Wood Varnish.

The Varnish gave an off-white beige shade to the chalk. Hence, I painted my Plywood base with grey enamel color.

After the Chalks dries, I arranged the chalks representing a city skyline abstractly. I stuck them with fevicol.

Make a Stunning Vase with Plaster of Paris and an Old Piece of Cloth

Truly, Plaster of Paris is a wonder material. Let's see what exactly it is -

Plaster is a building material used for the protective and/or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "render" commonly refers to external applications. Another imprecise term used for the material is stucco, which is also often used for plaster work that is worked in some way to produce relief decoration, rather than flat surfaces.

The most common types of plaster mainly contain either gypsum, lime, or cement, but all work in a similar way. The plaster is manufactured as a dry powder and is mixed with water to form a stiff but workable paste immediately before it is applied to the surface. The reaction with water liberates heat through crystallization and the hydrated plaster then hardens.

Plaster can be relatively easily worked with metal tools or even sandpaper, and can be moulded, either on site or to make pre-formed sections in advance, which are put in place with adhesive. Plaster is not a strong material; it is suitable for finishing, rather than load-bearing, and when thickly applied for decoration may require a hidden supporting framework, usually in metal.

Gypsum plaster, or plaster of Paris, is produced by heating gypsum to about 300 °F (150 °C).

CaSO₄·2H₂O + heat → CaSO₄·0.5H₂O + 1.5H₂O

Procedure - 

1. Mix Plaster Powder with water until you get a thick liquid consistency.
2. Take a square shaped cloth (Of any material, my favorite choice is jute rag as it gives fantastic texture)
3. Dip the cloth in plaster and completely soak it with the mixture.
4. Take a tumbler/bottle and cover it with a plastic sheet.
5. Invert it and put the cloth on it as shown - 

    

      6. Let it dry for 24 hrs 

      7. Remove the hardened vase and paint it with Acrylic/Enamel paints.

Make a Textured Bowl for your Table Top with Plaster of Paris

Making a Plaster of Paris Bowl

Hello Guys, Welcome to DIY Craftopedia!
This is the first time I'm working with Plaster of Paris. It was fun and most importantly, It was economical. The kind of products which we can make with POP is a lot costlier in the shop than the POP packet itself. I have made a Wood Textured Bowl with it.

Materials needed -
- POP (Gypsum Powder) - Two bowls of the same shape but different size - Any old container to mix POP - Crushed plastic sheet. - Water - Spoon to mix. - Newspaper and gloves.

Procedure -

• Mix POP powder and water appropriately until you get a thick consistency.
• Cover the inner surface of bigger bowl with plastic sheet;
• Pour the mixture into the big bowl.
• Press the smaller bowl into the POP mixture.
• Put some heavy stones in the smaller bowl to hold it in place.
• Leave it to dry overnight.
• Remove the smaller bowl and slowly remove the plastic sheet as well.
• Paint the bowl with acrylic/enamel paints.

Procedural Video - 

How to make an Ice Cream Sticks Candle Shade | Popsicle Stick Art

Hello People, Welcome to DIY Craftopedia.

We have done many candles in the last posts. Hence, we need a candle shade for them. Isn't it? Ice cream Sticks seems to be the perfect material. For this awesome looking candle stand, all you need are Popsicle Sticks (Ice Cream Sticks) and Glue (I would have preferred Hot Glue Gun, if it didn't produce so much of glue strands!)

Procedure - 

1. Join four Sticks to form a Square.
2. Make as many squares as possible with the Popsicle sticks supply you have.
3. Attach one square on the other having a sight twist in the placement as shown - 

     4. Continue attaching the half of your Frames with increasing angle.

     5. Stack the remaining half of your frames on top of each other without twisting (simply straight as shown)

   
       6. Attach both the spiral half and straight half where the straight half goes at the bottom and spiral comes up.

       7. Leave it to dry. Then light a candle inside.

Procedural Video - 

Marble Painting on Glass Bowls

Swirl Painting on Glassware

Transform boring looking ordinary glassware into stunning swirly painted artworks.

Different Types of DIY Fabric Painting Ideas

Fabric Painting 

Painting you dull fabrics and transforming them into the master piece is an art of appreciation. Learn this awesome hobby without much effort and money at "Craftopedia"!

Tie and Dye Technique

• Wet the fabric and squeeze the excess water
• Tie the fabric with tie cords/ Rubber bands at required areas using different kinds of ties such as beads, coins or grains.
• Paint the untied area with thick coats using desired shades of fabric colours with applicator brush.
• Allow to dry for 24 hours and then untie the cords. 
• Iron the reverse side to fix colour on the fabric. 

This technique of tying  and dyeing helps to create Fabulous patterns on a plain fabric. 

Blending Technique 

• Dampen the fabric.
• Dilute the fabric colour with water.
• With light strokes or dots apply two or more diluted colours on the fabric.
• Allow the colours to blend with each other.
• Dry for 24 hours.

Stenciling Techniques

• Position the stencil design on the fabric holding it firmly with adhesive tape.
• Prepare fabric colour in a pallet with a little water. Dip your brush in the fabric paint. Dab excess paint from the brush and stipple or apply on the fabric. 
• use different colour combinations and shades by applying different colours in different areas of the stencil.
• Remove the stencil to see the overlay full effect.
• Let dry for 24 hours.

Stenciling allows you to reproduce a pattern or a design as many times as you like. 

Block printing Technique 

• Draw a design such as a flower on the raw surface of a potato. Carve out the design. You can also choose vegetables and fruit having textured surface when cut (eg; lady finger, onions, pineapple etc). Leaves having interested shapes can also be used as block.
• Hold the fabric in the place with adhesive place.
• Apply a thick coat of fabric colour on the block with brush or sponge.
• Place the block carefully on the fabric and press in firmly.
• Lift the block without sliding or tilting.
• repeat the procedure using different colour combination and different types of blocks.
• Dry for 24 hours. 

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Making Leaf Skeletons and Painting them.

Making Leaf Skeletons – Painting them 

When the chlorophyll (Green) is removed from a leaf, the skeleton of the leaf is left behind. This skeleton is almost transparent and does not dry up. These skeletons could be painted and could be used for decorating walls. It could be used as bookmarks or on greeting cards and more. Usually, these leaf skeletons are made using the leaves of evergreen trees. For example - Peepal, Jackfruit, Maple, etc. My favorite is peepal leaf. In this post, I will teach you how to make a peepal leaf skeleton and paint it.

Coming soon : I will also show you 4 DIY Ideas with Peepal leaf skeletons.

You need –

·                    10-15 peepal leaves

·                    A Tub full of water (You may take a bowl also if your peepal leaves are small) (Make sure that the bowl/tub is NOT MADE OF METAL)

·                    A Heavy weight (A Stone)

·                    A Cloth/Plastic sheet (To cover the Tub)

·                    An Old Toothbrush.

Procedure –

1.         Clean the freshly collected Peepal leaves from any dust.

2.        Pile them all and submerge them under water

3.        Place any heavy weight on them so that they remain submerged.

4.        Cover the Tub with a Cloth/plastic sheet to avoid smell and mosquitoes.

5.        Wait for 15 days

6.        Remove the old water and add new water (The old water would stink horribly).

7.        Wait for another 10 days

8.        Then, remove the leaves from water. (They would stink horribly)

9.        Take an old tooth Brush and start scrubbing the leaf surface. (You will find that the green layer starts to wear off)

10.     Carefully scrub off the green layer from the both sides of leaf.

11.      After scrubbing, rinse it in clean water.

12.     Let it dry in sun.

13.     If the leaf curls up after drying, keep it between the pages of a big and heavy book (Dictionary).

Your Leaves are ready – 

Painting Leaf Skeletons

Leaf skeletons are easy to be painted. I have used acrylic paints. Keep the skeleton on a paper. Paint it with diluted acrylic paint. This is how to do it 

These are the painted leaves - 
Soon I will give 4 DIY Ideas to decorate your home with theses skeletons - 

Learn the Innovative Way to Decorate a Mirror - Mirror Painting

Mirror Painting 

You need - 

• A Mirror
• Glass paints
• Glass Liner.
• Some Creativity ..........

Procedure - Follow this Video -

DIY How to make an Embossed Painting - Paper Mache - Chalk Powder

How to Make an Embossed Painting on Cloth using Paper Mache and Chalk Powder.

Importance of Paper Mache 

Paper Mache is strips of paper or fabric that is ripped up, dipped in a glue mixture (water and glue mix, water and flour, or ceramic/chalk powder mix), then applied around a form. The forms could be anything, balloons, wires that give a general shape. Another method is to soak paper in water for 48 hours and grinding it in a grinder. Then, it could be mixed with glue and used as clay for moulding.

The strips are applied in several layers so that the whole structure is sturdy and stable. In some cases, the inner form is removed before completion or the whole thing is created in pieces, removed from the form, and then put together with more layers. This is so it is as light as possible. Then it's sanded, painted.

Paper Mache came about as an easy, cheap, and lightweight solution to make objects. It's not a new thing; the Russians used it to make boxes, trays, jewellery, etc., in the 1700's. People may look on it as pretty rudimentary or as just a kid's craft project now, but artists, both now and in history, that have worked with it have produced some really amazing pieces. It could also be called as an eco-friendly craft work as it reduces and recycles a large amount of paper waste. In many cases, it could be replaced with plastics (Home decor, bowels, packing material, etc) which further reduce the problem with plastics. Nowadays it is also used for making embossed paintings. This is a tutorial on how to make one such painting. 

This is one such Embossed painting which I have made with paper mache and Chalk powder.

You Need - 

- Paper mache

 - Chalk powder/Ceramic Powder

- Acrylic paints

- Cloth 

- Brushes

- 2-3 Bowels

- Sponge

How to make Paper Mache for this Project -

Tear some newspaper into small pieces and soak them in water for an entire 24 hrs. Then, grind the soaked papers in mixie or grinder. Then mix 500 gm of chalk/ceramic powder in 3 cups of paper mache. After adding the powder, mix it with hands to get a dough like this -

Then follow these Steps -

1.  Take a cotton cloth and cut it in a shape required
2. Fix it on a hard board using tweezers.
3.  Mould the paper clay into the design required and paste it on the cloth.
4. Cover the entire background with chalk/ceramic paste using hands and sponge to give a good texture.
5. Leave it for 2-3 days to dry.
6. After drying, Paint it with acrylic colors.

Follow this Video for further assistance 

Thanks for viewing

Any questions ? you are free to comment below.

Embossed Ceramic Painting

Embossed Ceramic Painting 

This Video teaches you how to create a Embossed Painting using Ceramic powder. You need - 

• Ceramic powder
• Cardboard base
• Glue
• Mixing bowel
• Paints
• Brushed
• Touchwood or Varnish (Optional).

Newspaper and flour beads.

Ceramic work - A dry tree

Materials-

1. Ceramic powder
2. A termocol flat piece.
3. toothpicks
4. binding wire
5. A waste cloth or tissue paper.
6. Thread or tape.
7. fevicol or glue.
8. Acrylic Paints and Touchwood.

Method- 

Bend the wire into a tree shape with two or more branches. Attach it to the thermocol piece.

Wind some cloth or tissue to give the trunk broad base and shape.

then, mix some ceramic powder with glue to make it a tough paste.

Apply the paste to the tree and to the thermocol piece.

make some valleys and slopes in surroundings of tree to make it look real.

Make some roots and attach it to the tree.

Take a toothpick and make some marks on the trunk like a bark.

Make a man as shown.

• Paint the tree with brown color and the land with green.
• Paint the man with any color of your choice.

Sponge cloth craft - Simple flowers - For Kids

                 Things needed - 

• Foam sheet [ 2 colors ] 
• stapler
• scissors.

Method - 

 Cut the foam sheet into strips and fold into loops.

 Join all the petals to form a flower.

Icecream stick craft - Wall Hanging - With handmade paper.

Things you need-

Method -

 Cut a square of handmade paper and stick the icecream sticks on the edges.

 

 Paste the remaining sticks as some other decorations as shown.

 Decorate it with glitters.

 Your hanging is ready !!!