There are situations when you urgently need to touch up or paint something, but you do not have a brush for work at all, or you have forgotten about it, but you do not have the opportunity to buy it in the store at the given moment of time. Do not despair, you can make a paint brush with your own hands from scrap materials.
Materials (edit)
To work you will need:
- foam or a piece of dense foam rubber;
- sharp knife or scissors;
- glue;
- Chinese chopsticks.
Step 1... Decide on the size of the brush tip. To create a blank, you will need two times the width and length measurements. According to the obtained data, using a knife or scissors, cut a rectangle out of a piece of foam or dense foam sponge.
Step 2... Take one chopstick. With a blunt, flattened end, attach it to the cut out piece of sponge, placing it in the center in the lower part.
Step 3... Lubricate the side of the sponge facing you with glue. It is better to take glue hot or the one that is sold in handicraft stores for making wooden crafts. Grease the flattened end of the stick with glue.
Step 4... Fold the sponge in half. Pinch it well with your fingers so that the glue sets. You can put a sponge under the book, but not heavy, and leave the product in this position until it dries completely.
The paintbrush is ready! You can safely dip it in paint, and then wash it. The only thing is that you cannot use acetone-containing products to clean the brush. They will dissolve the glue and the homemade brush will disintegrate.
If you are determined to become a nail art guru, or at least learn how to perform some popular techniques, then you cannot do without brushes. After all, they are used for almost any design! From this article you will learn the elementary truths: what are the brushes for manicure, which one is useful for what, and you will receive the simplest lessons on their use.
What brushes are needed for manicure: fluffy classification
If you come to the store unprepared, then the variety of brushes can easily be confusing. Different thickness and shape, price category, how to figure it out?
The first classification is by purpose. Simply put, there are tools for building, and there are for nail art. So if you just want to practice with non-trivial patterns, then the range of choices is narrowed.
The rest of the brushes are divided according to three criteria:
- Manufacturing material... It can be artificial or natural. It is clear that the latter is more expensive. The best are sable brushes or a column (this is a predatory animal). But, in truth, in practice they are not much different, except that natural ones last longer.
- Pile thickness. The thinnest one is indicated by the numbers 0 or 00, and the fattest one will be the sign 8.
- The form . There are tools with a pile a little thicker than a hair, and there are those that are open like a fan, and they all have their own purpose.
Varieties of manicure brushes: which one is for what?
It is logical that the thinner the brush, the more elegant the patterns are drawn with it. But on this conclusion you will not go far, so it is better to familiarize yourself with all the types and nuances of use.
1. Spot
The accumulation of villi makes the tip look like a lance. This silhouette is convenient for drawing the smallest details. They draw flower buds, lace, shell edges ... How to use it? Hold the brush upright and dip only the tip into the varnish. Once you've placed a point, stretch it to form a pattern. The set may include a point brush, bent like a boomerang, it makes painting a little easier.
A short video will clearly show the "spot work":
2. Liner (aka "hair" and "stripes")
It is a round, thin brush with a couple of centimeters long bristles. She draws long lines or curls. A set usually contains 3 of these brushes.
The longest is more convenient to display stripes, and those that are shorter are suitable for curved details of the pattern. To do this, you need to dip the entire pile in varnish, blot excess and paint.
The liner is indispensable for fashionable geometry, monograms and drawing of stems.
Video tutorial with a liner:
3. Flat brush
She has a wide working surface, the tip is cut exactly. Suitable for painting flowers, gzhel, gradient, glitter distribution, powder, rub.
Several techniques with it can be spied here:
4. Beveled (dagger-shaped)
Due to the pile cut into a 45-degree angle, it received such a second name. It is versatile in that it allows you to draw both volumetric drawings and thin patterns. The angled brush is great for French manicure. In addition, you can type several colors on it at once and perform compositions in the style of Chinese painting.
5. Petal
It looks like a flat dagger brush and a dotted one. The shape is flat, tapering towards the end. The petal is controlled both with small drawings and with painting, brings out the smiles of a jacket, even applies sparkles.
If your point and beveled brushes become unusable, then the petal is just the tool with which you can replace the other two at once.
6. Fan
As the name implies, the brush looks like a fan, since the villi diverge in a semicircle. They make a design with sparkles, pick and sprinkle acrylic powder, draw up a gradient.
The fan also depicts abstract and landscape compositions.
This video tutorial will show you an easy way to apply glitter evenly with a fan brush:
7. Dots
The stem is crowned with a small ball. By dipping it in paint, you can not only make your nails with polka dots, but also draw monograms, flowers, lace. Depending on the diameter of the ball, the dots can be substituted for the spot brush and liner.
8. For building
Such tools are much thicker and wider than the above, so that it is convenient to pick up and spread gel or acrylic. They are made from synthetic materials.
Here is the entire list of necessary brushes for a nail master. They can bring to life any nail art.
Silicone brushes
Progress does not stand still, and now almost every brush from the standard set has a duplicator in a silicone version. The name for such brushes is shapers.
"New change" boasts several advantages at once:
- Durability. No hairs will spoil or puff, and it is very easy to clean the silicone.
- Convenience. It is not easy for beginners to draw the same smiles on a jacket with a long nap. And such a brush is no more difficult to control than a pencil. In addition, varnish does not spread on it.
- Versatility... In addition to drawing patterns with shapers, you can rub in pigments, shape sculpting, smooth out the decor, erase your own flaws in work with a sharp tip, and even plant rhinestones on the nail.
In the video, the master will tell you why such brushes are useful:
Whether or not to use shapers is your choice. A futuristic set can be purchased to indulge in original instruments. However, absolutely everything that shapers can do can be easily done with ordinary brushes.
How to choose the right brushes
Manicure brushes are found in both natural bristles and nylon. So which is better?
You need to look for quality options in special stores and, of course, you should hold them in your hand, and not choose one picture at a time. If you order on the Internet, do not be lazy and look through the reviews.
When choosing, pay attention to these criteria:
- Pile. Seasoned experts advise novice craftsmen to study on nylon. Not only does the material not spread and absorb on it, it is not a pity to “kill” such brushes in the process of studying. When you become more proficient in nail art, get more expensive options from sable or column. Another point: it is for drawing that natural brushes are more suitable, and for viscous materials, for example, gel, synthetic ones. The villi should be flat and close to each other.
- Fastening . If it is weak, then you will not be able to hold the brush confidently. Therefore, check it out without leaving the checkout.
- Handle length. The shorter it is, the more convenient it is to draw.
It is most profitable to buy a set, in which each brush has an understudy. If you want to purchase separately, then it will cost more. But there is no need to spend money on 10 pieces. You already know that some brushes can replace each other. Therefore, you can buy only three brushes: a point one for small patterns, a liner for fine lines and a beveled one for large elements.
So, manicure brushes revealed their secrets: which one is useful for what, how to replace and how to draw the most incredible patterns on nails. Now you can free your inner creator and surrender completely to inspiration. Even the process of creating beautiful compositions alone will bring a lot of pleasure!
How to make a paint brush in five minutes, let's try to figure it out with you.
Now the stores have everything! Buying any brush and pretty cheap is not a problem, but imagine this situation. You need to paint something. Literally two brush strokes. After such a short-term use, the brush will have to be thrown away. It is a pity, but nothing can be done, washing it somehow is not handy.
And in this situation, this article will come to your rescue.
How to do it yourself, it is very simple and cheap, to make a brush for painting, which does not need to be thrown away and does not need to be washed, with detailed photographs and will be described in it.
What can you make a brush from?
This does not require a lot of time and materials. An old dried brush or any other pen that is comfortable to hold in your hand while painting and a few more details will be enough.
We disassemble the old brush so that the handle remains intact, and discard the rest.
Next, select an ordinary stationery clip of the width you need the brush, and adjust the width of the handle to the width of the clip. It is better not to cut the handle with a knife, but to saw it off, it will be more accurate, and there is no risk that the tree will break off in the wrong place.
To secure the clip to the handle, you need to pick up two small and not thick screws. Depending on the diameter of the screws, you need to take two drills. The larger one is for drilling the clamp, and the smaller one is for drilling the screw hole in the handle (so that it does not split when tightening the screws).
We drill holes.
We fasten the clamp to the handle.
Cut out the foam rubber of the desired size and insert it into the clamp.
The brush is ready.
The brush for painting with your own hands is made, you can use it for an unlimited time and do not worry that the paint will dry out and the brush will have to be thrown away. After painting, you simply throw away the used foam rubber, and it is enough to lightly wipe the handle from traces of paint. You can not even throw away the foam, but leave the brush as it is.
In order for the brush to be ready for further use, it is enough to simply change the dried foam rubber for a new piece and the brush is ready to work again. You can take any foam rubber, such as you have.
If there is no foam rubber, then you can use a piece of old fabric folded in several layers, a piece of felt or something similar.
As you can see, there are no hopeless situations.
The old masters made their own paints and brushes. The technology for making brushes is not complicated, but responsible and requires delicacy. This is an unusual business, so few people know the secrets of this craft. However, you can even make brushes at home. So, what is the technology for making art brushes?
1. Harvesting of hair or bristles.
In the hairline of animals there is down and straight hair, which is thicker and tougher than down. I wrote about what kind of hair and what animals they make classic brushes for painting. When harvesting hair, you need to sort it by length. The hair bundle should consist of hairs of approximately the same length. The ends of the hair should never be cut off. Why is this important I wrote.
2. Formation of the basis of the future brush.
Further, the hairs in the hair bundle are aligned in some small cylindrical vessel. The bottom of such a vessel should be flat. The hair falls with its trimmed part to the bottom of the cylinder. Now, it needs to be trimmed by gently tapping the bottom of the cylinder on the table. The hairs will settle and straighten out. After that, they are tied into a bun and combed with a fine-toothed comb to remove unnecessary hairs.
3. Degreasing and tanning.
Degreasing is performed by soaking the hair bundle in gasoline for 3 days. After that, it is washed with clean gasoline and dried. After that, the workpiece should be boiled in a 10% solution of potassium alum. This is called tanning. Tanning is necessary in order to make the hair non-hygroscopic, pliable and durable.
4. Hardening.
This procedure is necessary to give the hair its elasticity. The hair of the painting brush should be moderately elastic and tough, moderately elastic. For hardening, the hair of the future brush is wrapped in non-thick paper, for example, in newspaper and tied with thread. Next, the hair is tempered in an oven with hot air at a temperature of 150 degrees. This is done for about an hour. Time and temperature are not the same for different types of hair and depend on the type of hair. The temperature can be determined by the color of the paper: if it turns slightly yellowish, then the temperature is insufficient. If it turns brown, then the temperature is over 150 degrees. In this case, the hair will become brittle, therefore, the temperature should not be exceeded. After the initial hardening, the hair is combed to remove unnecessary hairs and hardening is repeated. Check the quality of hardening by wetting the future brush in water. If the hairs on the surface of the bundle curl, the hardening is insufficient.
5. Knitting a brush.
After all the procedures, the hair bun is untied and placed in a cone of the appropriate size with the hair ends down. Next, tapping the cone on the table, you need to straighten the hair. The hair bun should take on a conical shape (if the brush is to be round or elliptical). After giving the desired shape, short and unnecessary hairs are combed out of the hair. Then the hair bundle is finally tied with a thread. The bandaged area is impregnated with glue.
6. Securing the hair in the capsule.
The capsule is the metal part of the brush, similar to a tapered tube. The hair bundle is placed into the capsule from its wide side, after which the hair inside the capsule is filled with glue. (By the way, primers can be used from old and damaged brushes, having previously cleaned it of glue and hair.) The hair length of the future brush must be adjusted depending on its purpose. Too long hair makes the brush soft and unable to keep its shape well, but flexible and holding a large amount of paint. Conversely, a short hair will make your brush stiff and unyielding.
7. Securing the capsule to the handle.
Finally, the capsule is put on a wooden handle. Previously, glue is instilled into the capsule. After that, the capsule is pressed onto a wooden handle. The brush handle can be tinted, painted and varnished.
If everything is done correctly, then the brush will turn out to be no worse than the factory one. Therefore, I wish you success in this rare craft!
Thread tassels are a beautiful decoration that is used in various types of decoration. These are knitted hats and scarves, trim or ropes for curtains, edging for blankets or bedspreads. Tassels decorate the clasps of bags and wallets, make earrings and beads. The material for the manufacture is also different. These are thin sewing threads, thick woolen threads for knitting, leather strips and thin twisted ropes. In this article, we'll look at how to make a thread brush.
Material for making
In order to make this jewelry, you need to have:
- a spool or skein of thread from which the brush will be unwound;
- winding template (made of thick cardboard or you can use a plastic card);
- scissors;
- cotton threads of the same color for tying the bundle;
- awl;
- needle;
- a pot of boiling water or an electric kettle.
Step-by-step instruction
Step # 1. You need to take a template by cutting it a little longer in length than necessary for a brush. It should be very dense, not bend, especially if the do-it-yourself thread tassels are not made in a single copy. For them to be the same, the template must not deform.
Step # 2. This is followed by the process of winding threads. Here you need to take into account the thickness and splendor of the future product. If you need a thin and flat brush, for example, on a bag, then you need to wind several layers of threads. The thicker the brush, the more layers are wound around the template. Moreover, you need to pull them tight so that the rings do not hang down, but are tightly wrapped around the cardboard.
Step # 3. The most crucial step is linking the layers. When the desired thickness is reached, the edge is trimmed with scissors. Take separately either the same thread, or dense cotton matched in color (for strength and greater reliability) and for a start tighten the knot that pulls together all the layers (anywhere, even in the middle of the cardboard).
Step # 4. Then all layers are removed from the template. The diagram shows how to make a thread brush using a needle. For sewing, the main thread is taken from which the decoration was made. It turns out a dense head through which the ends pass.
Step # 5. The formed tassel still looks very untidy, all the threads are wrinkled and round. The next stage of work is to align them. This can be done in several ways. You can use an iron, hair straightener. This article describes the steam alignment method.
Step 6. To do this, you need to boil a pot or kettle to generate steam. The brush is put on an awl or a long knitting needle (so as not to be scalded by the hot air) and held over the pan for 5 minutes.
Finishing touch
Now you know how to make a thread brush. But it is also important and difficult to cut the edges evenly so that all the threads are the same length. There is one method that makes this process much easier and more efficient.
After aligning the threads, you need to take a thick sheet of paper and roll a brush into it. It remains only to cut the threads along with the paper with sharp scissors.
It turned out to be a smooth, beautiful tassel, which can only be sewn to the finished product.
The use of such decorations
Nowadays, decorative elements such as tassels are very widely used in various products. Fashion designers have long been decorating the interiors of rooms with curtains with the addition of such elements along the bottom or sides of the curtains. Beautiful ropes with huge bright satin threads adorn the curtain holders.
Often tassels are used by craftswomen when knitting things: hats, berets, shawls, blankets, sweaters, etc.
The latest fashion trend is the production of earrings and other jewelry from tassels made of bright thin strings or leather. You can perfectly do this work yourself at home. To do this, you need to buy shiny, thin twisted threads.
Before you make a brush from threads for earrings, you need to make two identical elements and put them on metal rings, which are fixed on purchased ear hooks. They can be purchased at any store that sells these types of products. Having learned how to make such things, you can make a number of jewelry for any color of the dress. You can make combined multi-colored tassels by adding threads from different skeins.
