The homeland of corn is America, but already from the XVII century this plant was known in European countries. But in this article we are going to talk not about the nutritional properties of this cereal, but about the part that is usually thrown away - about the leaves of corn. This junk material opens a huge field for the imagination of needlewomen. Talash - this is the name of the leaves with which the corn cob is wrapped. Various products and crafts from corn leaves look very original and natural, as they have a corrugated striped structure.
In industry, the talas is practically not used, but in many African tribes girls are taught from childhood how to weave baskets from the corn leaves, trays, mats. The cost price of such products is practically zero, but on the farm they are always the way. And you can try to make crafts from corn leaves, especially since talash is well preserved and it can be harvested in season for future use.
Flower from Talash
If you decorate a bouquet of fresh flowers with a small flower from a Talash, it will get an unusual look. Flowers from corn leaves - a magnificent decor for a gift box or a basket of newspaper tubes . In this case, you can use fresh and dry thalash. Shall we try?
We will need:
- dry leaves of corn;
- glue;
- scissors.
- From corn leaf we cut 15-20 peaked petals of different sizes, as well as a substrate. We leave an untouched strip of talash with a width of 4-5 centimeters.
- Fold the strip and glue it to the center of the substrate. Then we begin to fix the petals in a circle, beginning with the smallest ones.
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That's how you can decorate an ordinary inconspicuous box, attaching to her a flower of corn leaves, made by yourself.
Corn "miniature"
A flower made of talas can also be an "independent" craft, if you put it in a decorative glass bottle. The structure of corn leaves allows them to be painted in any color. For this purpose, food colors are also suitable. After you brush or a cotton disc walked on the sheet, let it dry thoroughly. Then cut out 5 petals and two or three leaves. Attach them with a thin wire to the core strand stranded from the strip and fasten the flower on the stem. Put a little bit of dried flower on the bottom or beautiful pebbles, close the cork and tie it with a corn sheet.
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Pupa
Make a doll out of corn leaves in 5 minutes! All that is needed is, in fact, leaves, three wadding discs, threads, scissors and one toothpick. From the disks we form the head of the doll, wrap it with a sheet and thread it in the neck. Do not cut the ends! Then thread the ends of the leaves to attach a toothpick, and on top wrap it with a strip of thalash. It will be wide sleeves. Next, tie up the strips of leaves to the belt, and cut the bottom of the resulting skirt so that the doll can stand. Weave a pigtail doll. Another strip on the belt, hiding the thread, and the doll is ready!
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Material features
Appliques and weaving of corn leaves - a simple occupation, but some nuances must be taken into account. Talash dries very quickly. In this case, the character of deformation of the corn leaf is impossible to guess. He can still remain straight, twist, taking an unattractive shape. If you want to make a craft, you should pre-cook the corn leaves, and then dry naturally. To facilitate the work with dry leaves of corn, they are slightly moistened. This is especially true for the skilled workers, who from the corn leaves weave the dolls. If, drying up, the talash decreases in size, then the doll can simply crumble!