Being creative in spending your leisure time and decorating your home, pay attention to such a simple and affordable material as plaster. From it you can make crafts with children and quite serious work for decorating a room.
Plaster of Paris photo frame
To make a frame, you need a transparent plastic lid from a cake or other disposable container, in which the middle is smooth and the edges are embossed. It should be the size you want the frame to be. Examine the form carefully. If there are any dents on it, correct them. Otherwise, all this will be imprinted on the finished product.
Pour water into a deep bowl and gradually add dry gypsum to it. Stir well with a tablespoon or fork. It can also break the resulting lumps. The mass should be homogeneous, similar to liquid sour cream.
If you dilute the gypsum with warm water in which a pinch of salt is dissolved, it will set faster.
Pour the dissolved gypsum into the mold in a layer of just over 1 cm. Lightly shake the container or knock it on the table. Then the liquid mass will fill the entire relief, and air bubbles will come out. Apply a layer of gauze or bandage over the entire surface. This reinforcement will make the finished product more durable. Immediately pour another couple of centimeters into the mold.
If you want to make a large frame, you need to make a "sample" to lighten the weight of the plaster product. Step back from the edges of the slightly hardened craft by 3-4 cm and scrape the entire middle of the frame with a spoon to a layer of gauze.
Make a loop out of a piece of stainless wire so that the finished frame can be hung on the wall. If there is no wire, bend the mount with a large paper clip. When the plaster of paris has hardened a little, insert the loop into place perpendicular to the plane. Give the final shape to the fasteners after the workpiece has completely solidified.
Leave the frame to cure at room temperature. Touch it occasionally with your hands. While the plaster is curing, the workpiece will be very warm to the touch. When it cools down, after about a couple of hours, remove it from the mold and place it on a flat surface for final hardening.
Gypsum is a pliable material for processing. With a sharp knife, cut off unnecessary nodules from the finished craft, if any. Sand down any irregularities with fine-grained sandpaper. Just be sure to cover your nose and mouth so as not to breathe in the plaster dust.
Prime the plaster frame with Porous Surface Treatment. After it dries, you can decorate your product with acrylic paints. They do not require lacquer fixing. Varnish the reverse side of the craft. Place a photo or painting that fits in the middle of the frame. You can make a printout on the computer according to the specified parameters.
Sculpture from a children's toy
The volumetric figures that are obtained by casting, children will be happy to paint. Be patient right away. A large blank for a toy will dry for several days. Therefore, it is better to make several pieces at once.
Use a sharp knife to cut the bottom of the rubber toy. Dilute the plaster and pour it into the resulting shape. Shake it so that the mass penetrates into all the corners and curls of the figurine. Leave your craft to dry for a few hours. Then, bending back the rubber from the plaster, take out the cast sculpture. Pour a fresh batch of plaster into the mold, and leave the toy to dry for another three days. Then you can paint it.
