Fans of creating designer masterpieces have long appreciated the potential that a foam ball provides in this direction. It can become the basis for any idea, easy to work on, you can easily attach any decorating material to it, and the finished product is simply fixed in its intended place. Moreover, it can be hung on the most fragile ledge: it weighs so little that it does not even break straws (unless it carries heavy external elements). A foam ball is very attractive as a basis for Christmas decorations in families with small children: such an ornament cannot be broken, which means that the child will definitely not suffer.
Master class: how to make a foam ball
It would seem better to buy factory blanks for crafts. However, if you need several balls, then you can think about the costs: foam balls in Moscow are not so cheap. Very small cost 5 rubles apiece, with a diameter of 8 cm - already 15, and 14.5 cm - as much as 50. You will have to seriously spend on a collection of several sizes!
Craftsmen and craftsmen have developed several ways of how to independently carve a ball out of foam, taken from packing boxes or from construction residues:
- With a hot wire, a cube of strict geometric shape is cut. The corners are gradually fused with a lighter until a desired spherical state is obtained.
- A rough blank is cut out with a scalpel or clerical sharp knife, which is brought to perfect condition with a sandpaper: first rough, at the end - fine-grained.
However, both methods are laborious and often do not provide the opportunity to achieve perfect form. The following is recognized as the best way to make foam balls for needlework:
- A tube with a cross section of the desired size is sought, a fragment is cut from it, the length of which is four diameters. The tube must be strong; ideal for trimming plumbing plastic pipes, especially since they have a large range in cross-sectional sizes.
- On one side, plastic is cut to half the length; it turns out a kind of round spatula.
- The cutout is tightly glued with an emery-sandpaper, both externally and internally. The cutting tool is ready!
Now the foam cut is trimmed with a spatula in the form of a cylinder, then flipped across and processed again. So, twisting the material, pretty quickly you can cut a foam ball of perfect shape. Finally, the smoothness of the surface is checked, if unevennesses are found, they are eliminated with the same nullification.
Beautiful Christmas balls
Beautiful Christmas toys made of foam ball can be made in a variety of ways. One of the most popular and uncomplicated is thread. The end of a bright thread is fixed, and it begins to be wound crosswise. At first, this is done along one axis, as the surface of the ball closes, winding is carried out in an arbitrary ratio. This is necessary so that there are no thickenings anywhere. When the whole ball closes, the tip of the thread is fixed, you can drop a drop of transparent glue.
The resulting colored surface is decorated to the best of imagination. You can embroider patterns with shiny threads on it, stick on applications, embroider with sequins. For hanging, it is enough to stretch a thin rope through a layer of threads.
Japanese luxury decoration
The decor of foam balls made in the kimecomi technique looks absolutely amazing. Initially, it was used in the manufacture of dolls, but we have taken root as a decoration for Christmas toys. Just note: the work is delicate and painstaking, you will have to be patient.
- The ball marks lines equidistant from each other and intersecting at the poles.
- The marking is cut (very carefully!) With an office knife a centimeter deep.
- The sector is smeared with glue and pencil, a piece of cloth is applied to it, and its edges are gently inserted into the slots with a gypsy needle. The stretch should be uniform.
- If the piece of matter is too large, the excess is cut so that the edges are completely hidden in the gap.
- All elements are tightened in a similar way. After finishing all segments, the decoration looks luxurious, but you should not stop there.
- All seams are glued with a thin decorative lace, with a slight indentation into them.
- For the rope, for which the ball will be suspended, you can buy a special cap: its needle will easily pierce the foam. And to stay better, it must be lubricated with glue. If you don’t want such an “officialness”, you can use a large bead or sequin, or whatever you think of yourself.
Drawings can be thought up different and to combine any fabrics. Kimekomi technique looks especially beautiful when using velvet, satin and printed silk.
Tree of happiness
In recent years, the topiary has become almost an indispensable attribute of the decoration of a cozy house. And if earlier, the term was understood as living trimmed bushes and trees, now artificial bonsai are so called. It is believed that the topiary brings luck, mutual understanding and joy to the house, and if coins hang on it, then it is also wealth. As a crown, it is most convenient to use a foam ball for it; feathers, or beads, or flowers from ribbons, or coffee beans are glued to it - everything that only comes into your head. Any improvised item can be launched onto the barrel: a wand, a cocktail tube, a pencil. And from the wire you can build a bizarrely curved trunk. The base is wrapped with ribbons, paper or thread in the color of the conceived ensemble. Topiary “sits” in any beautiful container: a small vase, a coffee cup, a beautiful glass. The "pot" is half filled with something loose, then the trunk of the tree of happiness is attached, and the crown is put on last. For beauty, shells, beads or elegant pebbles scatter over the filler.
Designer jewelry
Foam balls are very good for creating exclusive jewelry. They are painted in selected shades, decorated with rhinestones, sparkles and varnish. For stringing, you can choose a wire, a transparent fishing line or openwork lace.
Other creative ideas
The scope of plastic balls is very large. Garlands made of elements of different sizes with alternating other details look very festive. At a wedding, a large ball can become the basis for a wonderful composition of flowers. On New Year's Eve, snowmen from balls placed around the apartment in the most unexpected places will really cheer up.