Fun foam crafts

[LJsmom]

Does anyone have some neat craft ideas for using fun foam? Bought tons of Christmas/winter shapes (snowmen, Santa, snowflakes, Christmas trees etc). Our Jr. GS troop ages 10-11 always makes a gift for their parents. We bought this stuff on clearance last year and now that the holidays are getting closer have no idea what to do with them.

[Shawn]

A nice craft that is always popular with our children and parents are 5x7 picture frames.

You can either use heavy cardboard or use fun foam.

First you would have to decide the width of your frame and then make a cutout hole in the middle to fit either a 5x7 or 4x6 picture.

Then using all your fun foam shapes, have the children decorate the frames. When these are all drie, you have glue or hot glue a nice magnet to the back so the picture could be hung on the fridge.


Another idea is to have the children use the chapes to make pins or magnets. Have them use their imagination and glue away. When dry, hot glue a magnet or pin piece to the back.

[peanut92973]

you can make christmas ornaments. theres nothing like having ornaments on your tree that your kids made. my mom still has mine.

[Bilby]

HI
If they are the flattish foam shapes that I am thinking of (we may have a different name for them) you can glue them to a small block of wood and use them for stamps to make card tags for pressies, wrapping paper, xmas cards etc. You will then just need stamp pads in various colours.
You could also brush with pva glue and sprinkle glitter on them and make mobiles to hang.
Have fun

[LJsmom]

WELL thats just the neatest idea, never even occurred to me to make stampers out of them. Thanks Bilby-may have to have the girls make the wrapping paper to put their gifts in. Even better they can decorate a plain gift bag!

[Sue]

I taught art at a Christian school with no budget. I found a business to donate yard sticks, although rulers could work. We cut out large snowman shapes to glue on the top and then decorated the snowmen with buttons, patches, and twigs. These were to measure the snow fall. The kids were so proud of them. We even threw in some math questions. Their picture made the local paper, acknowledging the business who donated the yard sticks.

Sue

[rainequilts]

Here's some sites with fun ideas:

http://www.makingfriends.com/feltfoam.htm
http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft/stainedglass1.html
http://www.duncancrafts.com/projects/search.asp?SID=5

[Lisa Fields]

I saw some *really* cute purses recently at a local craft show. Let's see if I can describe this. She used the foam sheets and cut out the main body of the purse by cutting a long strip that was the bottom and both sides. Then she cut out the front and back in more or less a square shape with the bottom corners rounded and whip stitched the purse the front and back to the sides with some plastic lacing. Sew on another foam strip for the handle and decorate the front with the foam pieces.

[3moons]

The same way you can use them for the frame you can also make a Wreath
Get boxes from any where and all different sizes then cut out a wreath shape and glue them on.
Another way is to find some of that Brown Twine that frays and you never know why people would buy it, cut about 5 different lenghts and and tape or glue the shapes in all different levels through out the ropes, gather them all together and use a nice ribbon to make big bows.
Tie it off and add the bow.
Me and my son did this last year, and I hung them everywhere.
The one we used for our main outside door was a big one.

[EJGMOM]

Perhaps they could punch a hole in top of the foam shape then place a few drops of an essential oil on it, then they could use it as a car freshener. An inexpensive and memorable gift.