It is customary to decorate not only the apartment, the Christmas tree and the festive table during the New Year. There is a technique called creating "vytynanka", which involves the use of stencils and templates for painting and window decoration. With its help you can create beautiful decorations on New Year and Christmas themes.
What are vytynankas and what types are there?
Vytynanki (New Year's templates for windows can be made from paper or cardboard for painting) are decorative elements in applied art. The technique comes from the word "vytynaty", which means the process of cutting out small illustrations or miniature compositions like paintings.
Previously, they mainly did things like:
- openwork patterns;
- paper monograms;
- snowflakes;
- portraits.
The term appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, the word "tynaty" meant the process of carving on accessible soft materials - paper, cardboard, thick fabrics. The most practical and popular patterns were those made in precise symmetry. And the word "vytynannya" meant asymmetrical carving, which could not be done when creating snowflakes and other decorative elements.
Vytynanka first appeared in the 1930s. They were similar to Petrikov painting due to the presence of small details and repeating elements of art. As a rule, vases, trees, flowers and birds were depicted.
Decorative art objects were produced only for special occasions – weddings, christenings or engagements. Craftsmen were tasked with cutting out more than 30 identical elements, which could be made from multi-colored paper.
Sometimes small parts were made separately to be later assembled on a large common sheet. Now this technique is used in the production of night lights "light boxes".
Some moments cannot be depicted on a single white sheet, so black stripes and monograms could be cut out separately on black colored paper. In this technique, it is impossible to cut out a decorative insert of a sleigh and deer. Therefore, such products had to be attached to a base or glued to glass.
As for portraits, they were depicted schematically in the form of a female figure or outlines of shadow lines, which together depicted the face and décolleté area in general terms.
What materials and tools will be needed for the work?
Vytynanki, New Year's templates for windows which you can make yourself, should be small in size. If we are talking about decorating windows in a house or apartment, it is better to choose the standard A4 size.
You will also need:
- templates and stencils for small parts;
- stationery knife;
- white thick paper of A4 format;
- colored cardboard;
- silicone cutting mat;
- PVA glue.
To produce large paintings, you can use a wood or paper burner that works on the principle of laser engraving.
How to make the cutting process easier
Symmetrical designs are much easier to cut out if you have a ready-made template. In this case, it is enough to depict half of the diagram on a piece of paper folded in half. If you need to cut out several identical figures, the paper should be folded 4 or 8 times.
Schematically, you need to apply a drawing that will be a mirror image of half of the finished drawing. This can be done using a mirror, placing it against the straight fold line.
Next, you need to cut out the miniature along the outline with scissors.
The finished vytynanka needs to be laid out.
The result is a simple and interesting pattern consisting of 4 identical images. Small details can be cut out using a sharp stationery knife or a laser engraver.
With its help you can make beautiful drawings for postcards, wedding invitations and decorative purposes. The machine works on the principle of burning out unnecessary details, so the basis of the drawing for the program should be indicated in black those details that should not be in the finished version.
When working with cardboard, you need to take into account the principle of burning, after which black stripes remain on the finished drawing.
How to attach to windows
Simple paper decorations can be threaded on a needle in advance. This option is suitable for those who are going to make Christmas paper garlands to decorate cornices and windows. If you need to lay out a picture from paper blanks separately, it is better to use PVA glue, as it is easily removed, like a film, after drying.
Vytynanki (New Year's templates for windows can be cut out independently using a stationery knife or scissors) It is recommended to attach to glass (not PVC) using acrylic paintIt dries quickly, does not crack in frost and is easy to clean from any surface.
Advice! If the vytynanki are made using a stencil, or there are ready-made templates, the central parts of which need to be painted, it is recommended to attach it to the window. Then, using toothpaste or acrylic paint, it is necessary to paint all the parts that form the drawing.
New Year's templates of beautiful, cheerful vytynankas for windows
For all symmetrical decoration options, templates and diagrams for drawing and cutting will be presented below.
More complex decor will need to be transferred to paper yourself or a finished design will need to be printed out for further cutting.
Mice and Rats Symbols for 2020
These pictures are best printed on A4 colored paper so that they look more than just black and white on the window. A typical example of a vytynanka looks like this:
To cut out the design, you need:
- Print the picture on a white sheet of paper using a color printer so that the image is bright.
- Using a utility knife, cut out the white parts of the design.
- Once the image is ready, you can cut the white sheet of paper around the diagram so that the decor looks beautiful on the window, without unnecessary details.
Another version of the 2020 symbol can be made in the form of a schematic image:
The finished stencil can be printed on white paper, then the excess areas can be cut out using a stationery knife.
The result will be an inversion of the pattern due to the contrast of black and white colors.
Christmas balls, toys
You can cut out cutouts in the form of New Year's tree decorations using scissors.
Some of the designs are symmetrical, making it easier to create a template for the windows:
- First, you need to print out or draw a pattern by hand. Symmetrical parts can be drawn in half, having previously folded the sheet vertically.
- Next, in a bent position, using scissors, you need to cut out the drawing along the line of the diagram.
- After unfolding it, you need to put it under a press so that the picture straightens out.
Balls with an asymmetrical pattern will have to be cut out manually along the outline of the painted areas. Thus, the result will be a stretch in the form of houses and Christmas trees inside the ball.
Snowflakes
The windows of the apartment can be decorated not only with a schematic image of the New Year's symbols. There are interesting snowflakes that can replace real frosty monograms.
This pattern is needed to decorate the corners of the window, you can make it manually:
- First, you need to transfer the drawing onto a white sheet of paper or print the finished composition in A4 or A5 format.
- Next, using a stationery knife, you need to cut out the darker areas so that only snowflakes remain in the background.
- It is recommended to remove small parts first, then large ones. If the cut paper tears during the cutting process, it will be difficult to glue it. It is much easier to do this in places where the width of the paper exceeds 5 mm.
- The finished image needs to be inserted into a frame or glued with PVA glue.
The glue should be applied to the corners and to the center of large, wide areas of paper so that it does not flow beyond the edges of the image.
Large snowflakes with a lot of drawings should be cut out not from thin paper or cardboard, but from a laminate backing. It is a soft and durable surface that practically does not wrinkle or tear. It is convenient to make asymmetrical snowflakes from it, which are difficult to cut out with scissors.
Below are snowflake stencils that you can print and cut out in folded form:
Using such patterns, you can create three-dimensional decorations or sew them together in the center.
Bells
To create bells, you can use ready-made stencils.
To cut out corner decorations you will need:
- Draw or print a picture by hand.
- Cut out the areas that connect the images.
- Apply PVA glue to the back side and glue the templates.
You can also use a color printer to create a colorful design.
To create a clipping according to the diagram below you need:
- Print the finished template on colored paper.
- It is necessary to cut out the bell ornament along the line of the diagram.
- The cut out paper should not be thrown away – it should be used to cut out star-shaped decorations.
- Next, small details should be glued to the places they occupied on the paper.
You can also invert the color by cutting out the stars and leaving the bell as a decoration without a colored background.
Christmas trees
Window decoration is not complete without a thematic drawing – a Christmas tree. It can be depicted together with houses, covered with snow, or on a slope, creating a visual landscape on a plane.
The peculiarity of the drawing above is that the upper and side parts of the sheet need to be cut off - this way all the outlines of the forest will appear. And on the background of the white drawing, compositions made in the form of fir trees should be cut out. Thus, the nearby fir trees will be dark (on a dark background), and the upper ones - white due to the paper.
You can also depict the fir trees against the backdrop of houses. You can print the picture and cut out the blue sections. It is worth paying attention to the thin paper lines that will connect the ridges of the snow blocks and the fir trees. To prevent the drawing from tearing, it is worth detailing the cutting at the end of the process of creating the vytynanka.
Stars
Large stars can be depicted on a soft backing, such as a laminate backing. This is a durable material that does not tear, holds its shape, and ensures comfortable work throughout the entire process of creating the decor.
To cut out a picture from the background, you need to follow these steps:
- Degrease the surface with alcohol.
- Apply the design manually or transfer it by tracing the contours of the printed template. You can also use coloring markers to imprint lines on the surface.
- The transferred pattern onto the surface of the substrate must be cut out taking into account the thickness of the product.
- This type of cutout should be cut with a stationery knife, the blade width of which is no more than 2-3 mm.
The finished decorations can be painted and glued to the window using acrylic paint.
Candles
Candelabra, candlesticks and candle flames can be depicted as drawings with a template. The remaining parts should be cut out to create a contrast between small and large plans.
Vytynanki, New Year's window templates for which can be printed on a color printer, should be made in the appropriate size. If small attributes for the New Year are depicted, standard size grids can be used.
Snowman
This picture involves cutting out a drawing on a large A1-A2 sheet. To print, you need to use special programs so that the image borders match the window size.
To make cutouts of this type, you need:
- Measure the window where you plan to place the decor.
- Mark the boundaries on the window where the center of the drawing will be placed.
- Enter the window values into the size grid on your computer.
- Print out and cut out the drawing with a stationery knife.
To attach the cutouts to the windows, you can use PVA glue or toothpaste.
Angels
Angel decorations are suitable for New Year and Christmas themes.
Stencils can be made from thick cardboard so that the image looks three-dimensional, does not wrinkle or tear. Below is a picture for cutting on the theme of the Christmas story. Traditionally, angels announcing the shepherds about the birth of Christ are applied as a picture on the windows.
For this purpose, a stencil is used:
- You need to print out the drawing and cut out the inner silhouettes.
- They need to be painted over so that a pattern is outlined on the window.
- You can make a beautiful “transfer” picture using toothpaste.
You can design the borders of the ornament using plain white paper by cutting out the outline and gluing it around the perimeter of the drawing.
Cartoon characters
Other New Year symbols are fairy tale characters – Father Frost and the Snow Maiden-granddaughter. Despite the fact that the first is a mystical pagan figure, almost all children associate him with a bag of gifts and New Year's miracles. The Snow Maiden, of course, is the companion of Father Frost. In the West, her place is taken by elves who help Santa Claus pack gifts.
Thematic picture can be cut out with a simple stationery knife or scissors. The whole ornament has a double line, where the inner one is the area for cutting. The outer one forms the contours of the character.
Similar characters (below) from Soviet cartoons also visit citizens' homes on the eve of the holidays.
Thematic picture should be made in several stages:
- The cutouts need to be printed out in advance, since it is difficult to accurately redraw all the details of the sketch by hand.
- The cutting can be done using manicure scissors or a stationery knife.
- The characters in the foreground should remain unchanged, and the background should be "thinned out" by cutting out excess paper.
- To create three-dimensional paintings, you need to use several layers of paper, as described at the beginning of the article about light boxes.
- The difficulty lies in cutting out the decorative details depicted in the background.
Such pictures need to be attached with glue and tape. The background can be glued with PVA glue, and the front - with double-sided or transparent tape.
Birds
With the onset of frost, almost all birds fly south, but the most hardy ones remain, ready to survive the New Year holidays among people in the winter cold.
A picture of birds at a feeder can be made from thick cardboard or a soft backing for laminate:
- The image in color inversion should be lightened. This means that the main decorative elements do not need to be removed.
- You only need to cut out the fastening parts between the birds and the feeder.
- Such a cutting can be placed at the base of the window.
If the birds are intended to be colorful, you can paint them.
This master class is described in detail:
- The composition must first be drawn by hand or a ready-made template must be downloaded from the Internet.
- Then you need to cut out the entire drawing along the outline.
- The resulting cutout should be transferred to a larger piece of Whatman paper and the design should be cut out using a craft knife.
- The resulting composition can be decorated with colored paper. To do this, you need to adjust the size of the substrate.
- Using a mechanical pencil, you need to outline the bullfinch along the outline of the drawing so that the red paper does not protrude beyond the lines.
- You need to cut out red backings along the outline and glue them using thin strips of transparent tape.
- The parts can be glued together like a puzzle if some parts come off.
- The finished painting must be glued with tape to a previously degreased window.
Using the same principle, you can make a picture with owls or other birds.
Deer
Like penguins and polar bears, reindeer are associated with frosty weather and snowfalls. Many children develop an ideology – if Santa arrives on a sleigh, then there must be reindeer in the team. They can be replaced with “3 white horses”.
The vytynanka can be cut out using a craft knife. Due to the large surface, the drawing can be glued with PVA glue.
New Year's window templates set not only the theme of the holiday, but also the mood on New Year's Eve. Vytynanka have been used since the last century as decorations for windows and window openings.
They can be white and colored, made of paper and thick materials, flat and voluminous. Depending on the size of the window and the wishes of the homeowner, you can choose different decor in the form of independent elements or full-fledged paintings.
Video about creating vytynankas
New Year's cutouts - templates: