Tutorial on making dry cotton stem.

In this tutotial you will learn an easy way to create an imitation of dry stems for dried flowers from a heat shrink tube.

This method has many advantages! It is economical, this tube is cheap and you can buy it absolutely everywhere (electrical shops, household and hardware shops). This method is a perfect replacement of cold porcelain, tape and foamiran. The stem looks realistic and is water-proof and fall-proof, and this is important in using floral things.

Required materials and tools are the following:

• heat shrink tube (6 mm diameter, brown or black);
• copper wire (2 mm diameter);
• tape (any color);
• acrylic paint (white and ochre light);
• brush;
• oil pastels No. 236, No. 237, No. 248;
• superglue;
• acrylic mat varnish;
• soldering iron;
• awl;
• sandpaper (coarse);
• scissors;
• sponge.

1. Cut the wire of desired length (picture under letter a). Glue it in the hole of a cotton ball.
To work further, we need a tape (picture under letter б) and heat shrink tube (picture under letter б). Apply tape on the stem. At the top point of the stem (number 1 in the photo), wind with 2-3 turns of the tape and go down the stem to the bottom point, winding in one layer.

Next, increase the volume of the stem to the desired diameter. Begin to wind the second tape layer 1 cm down from the top of the stem (number 2 in the photo). Go down the stem to the bottom, winding tape in one layer.

Begin to wind the third layer of tape 1 cm down from number 2 (number 3 in the photo). Go down the stem to the bottom point, winding tape in one layer.

The diameter of the lower point of the stem should be smaller than the diameter of the heat shrink tube (remember that its diameter is 6 mm, so the stem at the bottom should be no more than 5 mm in diameter).

2. Place the awl perpendicular to the stem and rub all bums on tape surface up and down for the stem surface to be smooth.

3. Insert the stem into the tube. Apply a few drops of superglue on the stem under a box of cotton (marked with red in the picture). Pressing with fingers, glue the tube to the stem.

4. Cut off extra tube, but not until it stops with the stem. Leave about 2-3 mm of free tube edge (red line in the photo). Working further, the temperature will rise and the tube will shrink.

5. Heat the soldering iron. Place it perpendicular to the stem and with the tip of the soldering iron warm the tube to make it shrink. Move the iron up and down. Do not heat one and the same place not to burn the tube.

Be careful! Do not touch the metal surface of the soldering iron with your fingers, it is very hot.

6. This is how the stem looks after heating it with a soldering iron. The tube has shrunk all over the surface. The stem remained thickness change along the stem.

7. Rub the surface of the tube with sandpaper. Pressing on the paper, move it up and down.

8. This is how the surface of the stem looks after rubbing. Vertical grooves appeared and the surface has acquired a rough, grungy look with fine stitching as dry stems.

9. Mix white and light ocher acrylic paint (letters a and б in the photo), you get a lighter shade of ocher (letter в in the photo). Apply this shade with a brush on the stem surface in a very thin layer. Do not mix paint with water! Try to apply the paint, as if rubbing it into the grooves. Leave until completely dry.

10. Tint. Apply oil pastel No. 236 on the sponge and tint stem parts (letters a, б, в in the photo, indicated by red). Tone in horizontal motion with slight pressure. Thus, you get stem texture. Leave the marked areas of the stem light.

11. Apply oil pastel No. 237 on the sponge and tone stem parts (letters a, б, в, г in the photo, indicated by red). Tone in horizontal motions with slight pressure. Thus, you get stem texture. Leave the marked areas between а and б, в and г of the stem light.

12. Apply oil pastel No. 248 on the sponge and tonyrueb parts of the stem tone stem parts (letters a, б in the photo, indicated by red).Tone in horizontal motions with slight pressure. Thus, you get stem texture. Leave the marked areas (letter в in the photo marked white), apply black lightly in horizontal strokes in some places, leaving 1-2 cm distance between them.

13. This is how the stem looks after toning. Let the oil pastels dry.

14.

15. Using brush, apply a thin layer of acrylic mat varnish. Apply varnish in vertical movements up and down. Leave until completely dry. Then, apply a second layer of the same varnish.