Foam Crafts | Home DIY Projects

Without going into a huge, nerdy spiel about the uses of various foam types in costumes and craft projects, it’s so important to know how versatile foam can be. When we think about foam, what’s the first object that comes to mind? Pillows, sofa cushions, headboards... We tend to immediately think of the household uses of foam, likening it to any spongey surface in our homes.

But foam, as we mentioned, is extremely versatile. Foam can be purchased in sheets or cut to size and are perfect for card crafts, costume props and detailing, to make homemade ink stamps, and so much more. Let’s delve into this crafting world of foam and share the creativity that comes with this wonderful product.

Foam weapons, theatre backgrounds, seasonal decorations – all of these things can be created using foam, paint, and a little time. As the season is upon us, let’s look at seasonal decorations. You could use foam to create soft decorations for your home, which would, in turn, make your home more child-friendly during the holiday season. Foam is inexpensive, so it wouldn’t be too much to buy what you need and DIY your own holiday décor.

A good example would be a chimney; foam can already be brought in blocks, you’d just need to size them, stick them together, paint it and voilà! All done. Go the extra mile and make Santa’s legs out of cardboard to stick out of the top and add some white teddy bear stuffing around the chimney to make fake snow.

It’s the same concept for any foam-crafted prop. All you need is the right foam, a bit of research, and some tools out of the toolbox that you no doubt have stashed somewhere in the cupboard. Foam sheets come in a range of colours, sizes, and are so easy to cut that you don’t need any special tools (unless you want clean edges, then we recommend a scalpel or similar).

Foam crafts are great to do with your children, too. Foam isn’t going to hurt them, and papercuts will suddenly be a thing of the past. Closed-cell Plastazote foam is a popular type of foam for crafting. Here’s a couple different craft ideas that you can do with this type of foam:

Foam monster feet – great for young kids who love to play pretend. Simply grab a couple different colours of sheet foam, make a stencil from their feet, and stick two pieces of foam together (edges only!) to create a kind of “shoe”. Decorate, and done!

Flower wreath – cut out different flower shapes, leaves, and one large circle to glue it all onto. Arrange carefully, there’s no going back once that glue’s dried.

Home DIY - We recently wrote a piece about creating your own bed headboard, which you can find on our blog. Besides this, you could make picture frames, stationary holders/pots, and even a DIY foam noticeboard. But that’s not all, the applications of foam as a decorating tool are endless, too; and the various colours available make it a great product for kid’s bedrooms.