Trimming technique: numbers, postcards, topiary.

Today I will reveal to you one of the simplest and at the same time original and unique decoration techniques - trimming. It sounds, of course, rude, but in practice the result will amaze you and those around you. You can do trimming with children over 5 years old. Nowadays it’s fashionable to create figures and art objects for holidays with your own hands, make original photo props for photo sessions, decorate the room yourself, the described technique will come in handy everywhere.

We will need:
- Corrugated or thin colored paper;
- Scissors;
- PVA or “Dragon” glue for art objects;
- Old markers or pens according to the number of assistants;
- Semi-cardboard or cardboard for the base;
- For topiary, alabaster and a disposable glass;



Preparing the base. First of all, we decide what we will make. For a large number you will need an old box (for example, from under a TV). We draw a number pattern on it (in our case “2”) and cut it out. If we are talking about a postcard. We take half-cardboard, draw a pattern that we will decorate with trimming (in our case, the number “8”). For topiary, take a ball from a children's dry pool or cut out a shape, such as a heart, from cardboard. You will need two such foundations.Glue them together by first inserting a stick-stem between the forms. Then place the stem in a glass and fill it with alabaster diluted to the consistency of thick sour cream. Wait for it to harden. If the surface will be decorated with different colors, then mark in advance where to use which color, and separate the border. Stripes, like on a two or a heart, like on topiary, there is no limit to imagination.
What to do with paper? Cut colored paper into squares. The size depends on the size of the structure, for numbers we take squares 5*5cm, for topiary 2*2cm, but not less than 1*1cm.
Trimming technique. Take a felt-tip pen and a piece of paper. We wrap the top of the rod with a paper square and, holding it with our fingers, dip it in glue. Then press it tightly to the base, wait a few seconds and remove the rod. The square should remain glued and fluffed up like a flower.



If you use paper that is too thick, it will not be saturated enough for gluing. We repeat all the steps, and glue the next piece close to the previous one, slightly moving the ends of the “flower”. Glue the edges of three-dimensional figures with a separate row of squares so that the joints of the glued bases are not visible.




Painstaking work. Of course, the larger the figure, the longer you will have to sweat. It is very important to note and tell you, dear handicraftsmen, that objects made using this technique cannot be crushed, because... the paper will lose its fluffiness. But you will keep and remember a bright, original painting or craft created together with your children for a long time. In addition, it is easy to restore if necessary, simply by replacing damaged fragments.