Foam balls can be bought at many needlework stores or do-it-yourselfers at home. This is a great material for children and adults. What crafts can be done on the basis of spherical foam blanks?
We make blanks at home
All master classes in crafts made of
foam balls start the same way: take the right number of balls. But where to find them? The easiest way is to purchase ready-made blanks in needlework stores. But if you wish, it is easy to cut the balls yourself from a suitable piece of foam. For this we produce a special device. Pick up: a cardboard tube from linoleum or a tin cylinder cut from the packaging from some kind of liquid / spray is suitable. On the one hand, it is necessary to cut half into two lengths from the desired diameter of the ball. Inside we glue sandpaper-nulevka, on both sides of the tube. We take a piece of polystyrene and cut out the cylinder with the help of the resulting device. Then we turn the resulting workpiece and give it a spherical shape. The final step is to roll the ball along the cut side of the fixture cylinder in all directions. As you can see, it’s not difficult to make a
foam ball with your own hands. Once the grinding is completed, you can begin to make crafts.
Christmas tree toys
The simplest craft of foam blanks is a Christmas ball on a Christmas tree. It is more convenient to first make a mount for the rope, and then proceed to decorating. Foam
Christmas balls can be decorated with various materials in a variety of techniques. Try to paint ornaments, patterns and whole pictures with paints. One of the simplest decor options is to coat the entire workpiece with glue and dip the spangle into the scattering. Balls covered with fabric, embroidered with braid and fringe, decorated with beads and ribbons look original and in a special cozy way. Try adding bright sequins and rhinestones. You can use very unusual materials for decoration of toys - multi-colored beads, pieces of mosaics. For children, suggest gluing foam balls with cereals, curly pasta, and the finished toy can be painted on top with spray paint.
Topiary - magic trees
Just a few years ago, the fashion for “trees of happiness” began in our country. Most often, such crafts are called topiary. The decorative tree consists of a “crown” - most often this is the correct ball, decorated in some special way, with a curved beautiful leg and a pot in which the structure is installed. In needlework stores, they often sell blanks for precisely such crafts. Come up with a theme and style for your topiary. Decorate the ball with ribbons, artificial flowers, sweets, coffee beans or some other interesting materials. Then you just have to decorate the wire for the trunk and secure the entire structure in the pot. Topiary are considered not only stylish interior elements, but also a kind of amulets. Such crafts can be given to friends and relatives with the best of wishes.
Decorative balls - not only in the New Year
If you don’t like decorative trees or don’t know where they can be placed, try to use foam blanks in the interior differently. Decorate the foam balls for the topiary, but do not fix them on the trunk. Instead, hang the blanks in the room, put them in a decorative vase or make a garland of them. Such decorations can be changed seasonally - for example, to make flower balls in spring and summer, and to make compositions of berries, nuts and colorful leaves in autumn. If you have smoothly polished workpieces, you can simply paint them, draw faces with different facial expressions on them, images of fairy-tale characters or faces of funny animals. This idea is especially good for decorating an apartment for the holiday. Polyfoam is an inexpensive material, and you can make balls for all holidays and parties.
Snowman made of foam balls - an original craft for the New Year
From two or three balls, varying in diameter, you can make an original winter figure. Try the selected blanks for the snowman against each other. For better bonding, slightly cut each figure from one edge. Connect the elements with universal glue. Check the figure for stability, if necessary - cut a little more and the base. Attention: for work with polystyrene a regular stationery knife is perfect. When the glue dries, you can proceed to the most interesting part - the decor. Sew or tie a hat or cap, you can make a scarf. Two hands can be cut from the scraps from the balls - rectangular parts, for them you can also make mittens. Do not forget to draw a face, you can stick or paint the buttons on the trunk to paint. A foam snowman can hold a broom, gift or small bag in his hands.
Styrofoam Dolls
The spherical shape is convenient for tight fitting with fabric, painting and other decor. Many craftsmen use foam balls to make collectible and play dolls. Such a workpiece can be attached to a rag gently stuffed body. Foam balls are perfect for making glove dolls worn on the hand when playing theater. To make such toys, cover the ball with a cloth. Embroider or draw a face, sew on hair and a hat. Build a body of the appropriate type separately. In this technique, you can make a variety of characters - boys and girls, representatives of some professions and even fairy-tale characters. Animals can also be made on the basis of foam balls - by drawing appropriate muzzles, gluing ears, horns, forelocks and other characteristic elements.
What else can be made of foam balls?
Due to its availability and low cost, polystyrene is an excellent basis for children's creativity. You can endlessly experiment with this material. Try to make figurines of Smeshariki or a caterpillar. Gathering several blanks together, you can get different animals and fairy-tale characters. Small foam balls can be used to make jewelry. Try to fit them with a cloth or cut them with paints. Finished items can simply be threaded or sewn together. If you have a lot of very small balls, you can use them as a filler for pillows and
antistress toys. Crafts from foam balls can be made each time different, training your imagination and mastering all new needlework techniques.