Foamiran is a safe, flexible material, similar in structure to suede. Surprisingly comfortable to work with, it is widely used in the manufacture of toys, flowers and decorations, does not contain toxic substances and chemical vapors, and also perfectly absorbs dyes, giving the child the opportunity to express his imagination in the manufacture of a variety of bright and original crafts.
What is this?
Foamiran is a flexible suede material used in children's creativity to create various crafts.
Easy to use material:
- very flexible, stretches perfectly;
- When heated, it changes its original shape, acquiring any form given to it.
- can be cut with any sharp objects (knife or scissors), as well as a hole punch;
- does not have sharp edges that could injure a child;
- does not crumble, making it possible to use it in the production of small parts.
- resistant to moisture, does not get wet in water and dries quickly;
- easy to clean under running water.
- has a porous structure that can be easily dyed with any dyes;
- does not change its properties over time, and products made from it do not fade or crack;
- Manufactured by well-known brands, it does not contain toxic substances and is safe for children of any age.
Foam suede is sold in packages, with sheets of 1-2 mm diameter.
In addition to the advantages, the foam material also has a number of disadvantages, since it:
- afraid of strong heating and takes its original shape when exposed to it;
- easily ignites when in contact with flammable substances, which requires the mandatory presence of adults when making crafts;
- may break if force is applied.
Necessary materials
Crafts from foamiran for children are options for making bright and original toys, flowers and decorative elements that retain their original shape for a long time and allow the child not to limit himself in creative impulses.
Experts note that due to the peculiarity of its structure, foamiran is easy to work with, has no sharp corners, does not crumble or fall off, which allows it to be used even for making small parts.
Crafts from foamiran are made using:
- sharp scissors or a decorative hole punch;
- simple pencils or toothpicks;
- coloring materials of any structure and consistency;
- frame wire, which is necessary when working with large and complex parts (such as flowers);
- floral tape used in floral decoration;
- hot glue gun or any glue designed for working with rubber.
Bouquet of flowers
Crafts made of foamiran for children can have different shapes and sizes, but most often artificial suede is used to make various flower arrangements. Flowers made of foam material, due to its ability to take any shape, look as realistic as possible and are easy to tint.
A bouquet made of foamiran is a wonderful alternative to natural floral decor used in decorating rooms, it holds its shape well and is easy to clean with ordinary water. You can include any flowers in the bouquet, decorating them in the desired color scheme.
Foamiran can be used to make:
| Color options | Their features and where they are used |
| Roses | They are considered the most common option when creating any bouquet, they are quite simple to make, and if the master class stages are followed precisely, they turn out to be an exact copy of real flowers. |
| Peonies | They are distinguished by a lush inflorescence and require special perseverance in production. Their color and shape can be any, and as an addition, they need to be decorated with a plant or leaf composition. |
| Orchids | Traditionally used in wedding decor and quite complex to make, requiring careful work on each inflorescence. |
| Lilies | Strongly scented plants, traditionally used to decorate weddings and special events and often replaced in decor with artificial analogues. Made using a sheet template and frame wire. |
| Snowdrops | Spring flowers require special precision in details when making them. They are made exclusively in inflorescences. |
An original and accessible option for a child's flower bouquet is a chrysanthemum inflorescence made with the help of:
- sheets of colored foamiran;
- dry (or wax) pastels;
- florist wire with a diameter of 0.5–1 mm;
- bouquet holders;
- satin ribbon 0.25 cm or 0.5 cm wide;
- half a foam sphere (about 15 cm in diameter);
- thin metal wire;
- strong fishing line;
- glue gun;
- any heating device (iron)
- manicure scissors;
- cardboard;
- pencils.
Before creating a chrysanthemum inflorescence from foamiran, you need to print or draw hexagons, along which the petals will be created. For one drawing, you will need 3 types: with a diameter of 4 cm, 5 cm, 6 cm.
Stages of work:
- From foam rubber, you need to cut out 4 blanks of each of the hexagons. To do this, the suede strip cut from the sheet should be folded in several layers.
- The finished blanks need to be shaped like leaves, making a small cut in the middle of each edge. It should be done so that it does not reach the middle of the petal. The edges of the blank need to be rounded to the shape of the flower petal.
- To make the middle of the bud, the 2 smallest hexagons need to be supplemented with cuts, making 2 of them on the edge of each petal, while giving them rounded outlines.
- The finished blanks with floral pastel should be given a natural appearance and color, painting the edges of the petals and slightly shading the center of the flower. On some of the light blanks, purple pastel should be applied with light strokes along the edge. This should be done with light movements, creating the effect of naturalness of the floral composition.
- The painted blanks need to be given the correct shape. This should be done with an iron turned on at minimum power. As soon as it heats up, foamiran should be applied to it for 2-3 seconds. The heated petals should be removed from the surface of the iron and folded so that folds are formed. After this, the blanks are twisted and crumpled.
- To make leaves from foamiran, cut out a rectangular piece of green color. Together with the silicone mold, it must be leaned against a hot iron and heated for no more than 10-15 seconds.
- From the removed sample, you need to cut out a full leaf, and then stretch and bend its edges.
- To create the flower, you need to cut an 8 cm piece of floral wire and bend a small loop at its end, then place it in the center of the flower as the core.
- Before you pull the wire in completely, you need to apply glue to its end with a glue gun.
- The second core blank should be cut in half and glue should be applied to the green part. After that, carefully wrap first one and then the other half of the flower around the wire, securing them with a glue gun. This action should be carried out alternately with blanks of all sizes.
- The floral base for strength must be covered with PVA glue, having previously removed the main part intended for attaching live flowers. The remaining base and handle of the base must be fastened with ribbons or a glue gun, and the finished flower must be placed in its center.
- The entire surface of the base must be filled with flowers, and in the spaces between them you can glue folded leaves.
- At the final stage of creating a bouquet, the base and handle of the floral base can be decorated with satin ribbons.
Doll
Crafts from foamiran for children can be presented in the form of dolls, originally appeared in Turkey, Iran and China. Such a toy will be a wonderful gift for a child and will bring him many pleasant minutes.
Materials required:
- sheets of foamiran in bright colors;
- curly and regular scissors;
- a skewer for a toothpick, used when transferring the pattern onto foamiran;
- glue gun;
- various colors;
- iron;
- felt for making doll clothes;
- powder and eyeliner;
- foam blanks;
- marker.
Progress of work:
- To make the head of the toy, you need to take a foam ball and foamiran, close to the skin tone, preheating it by holding it in your hands for 2-3 seconds, or on the sole of the iron.
- The heated foamiran should be put on the foam plastic so that the attachment points are located next to each other. This is done so that they can be masked with the toy's hair later.
- To create hair from foam material, you need to cut out a circle, heat it for 2-3 seconds on an iron, and fix it on your head. The joints of the material need to be treated with a glue gun.
- From a sheet of foamiran of the same color, you need to cut a long strip, make cuts on it and heat it with an iron. The resulting hair can be formed into curls using a toothpick or a wooden skewer and glued to the side of the head. All the places where the hair connects to the head should be coated with glue.
You can make any doll hairstyle you want, and if you want, you can decorate it with a hair clip or a bow.
- To draw the face, use a marker, paints, blush and eyeliner. Samples of doll eyes can be taken from the Internet.
- The doll's body is made of foam plastic or foil stuffed with cotton wool. It is also permissible to use a plastic bottle of a suitable size as a base.
- The body base must be covered with a sheet of flesh-colored foamiran, connecting the ends of the sheet on the back of the toy.
- To make the arms and legs of the toy, a wire frame is used, wrapped in rectangular pieces of foamiran heated with an iron. Wooden skewers can also be used as the basis for the limbs.
- To assemble the toy, all elements must be carefully glued to the doll's body with a glue gun.
- Clothes for the toy are sewn from any material using pre-cut patterns.
Shoes for the toy are also made from foamiran.
- To do this, 2 foam balls of the same size must first be cut in half horizontally and then vertically.
- The resulting halves must be glued together so that a pair is formed that fits tightly together.
- The resulting workpiece must be placed on a stand so that its edges hang down from it.
- The heated pieces of flesh-colored foamiran should be applied to the foam blanks and stretched over them, pre-treated with glue. The remaining material should be cut with scissors. You can also attach footstools to the shoes using a piece of white cardboard.
- The colored foamiran used to make the shoes should be wrapped around the foot blanks and secured with a glue gun. You can decorate the shoes in any way you like.
Bookmarks
Foamiran crafts for children in the form of decorated bookmarks are made using:
- foamiran;
- glue gun;
- scissors;
Manufacturing stages:
- Before starting work, you need to cut out the bookmark pattern from cardboard (by redrawing it from the computer), and then transfer it, having outlined the contours of the pattern, onto a sheet of foamiran.
- All the parts need to be cut out and glued together sequentially with a pencil, moving from the top part to the bottom. The shape with the cat's paws should be glued along the top edge, but the paws themselves do not need to be glued.
- To decorate the animal's face, you need to attach a pattern with cat eyes cut out on it to the blank and carefully trace them along the contour with a pencil.
- Using acrylic paints in black, green and yellow colors, you need to paint the animal's eyes.
Once the paint on the cat's eyes has dried, you can begin gluing the rest of the bookmark's details.
New Year's wreath
Foamiran crafts for children can be presented in the form of New Year's decorations. The Christmas wreath is made of green artificial suede, polymer clay, colored beads (beads) and various natural materials. When making the craft, you can also use spruce or pine cones of different sizes, packaging tapes and shiny stones of different colors.
Manufacturing process:
- The green strip cut from green foamiran should be cut along its entire length using scissors, placing the cuts exactly to the middle of the strip.
- Along the entire length of the strip, in the middle, you need to apply a thin layer of glue.
- You need to cut a piece of 8 cm long from the floral wire, attach it to the beginning of the strip and, carefully twisting it, make a spruce branch.
- From several blanks you need to form a spruce branch, tying its end with a floral tape.
- You can make a wreath from several spruce branches, connecting them with wire.
- The wreath decor is made from polymer clay, rolled into small balls with a diameter of 6 mm.
- Using latex glue, the balloons need to be glued to pieces of wire with a diameter of 8 cm, dried, and then, using nail polish, painted red.
- After cutting the floral tape lengthwise, you need to glue it onto the wire, decorating the berry stems.
- Having connected the wire, you need to assemble the berry branch, attaching it to the foamiran spruce branch.
- To make rowan berries, wire cut into 10 cm pieces should be folded into a transparent file (or bag). A small amount of green acrylic paint should be placed inside the bag. Rubbing movements should be made along the outside of the bag, simultaneously painting the wire.
- From polymer clay you need to cut pieces of 5-6 cm in size and make balls out of them.
- Using a stack, you need to squeeze out a star on the surface of the ball, and glue its back side to the wire.
- The dried blanks need to be painted dark burgundy with acrylic paints, and after drying, connected with wire ends into a rowan branch.
The ends of the wire should be twisted and wrapped with floral tape:
- Using thick wire wrapped with floral tape, you need to create a round frame for the wreath, attaching spruce branches to it with glue, wire (or thread).
- On top of the spruce branches, you need to attach berry branches with wire and turn them inside out.
- Pine or fir cones are attached to the wreath using a glue gun. They can be arranged in any order
- If desired, the finished wreath can be decorated with beads and crystals strung on wire, which can give the wreath a festive sparkle.
Hairpins
Foamiran crafts for children, made in the form of decorative ornaments - an option for making original hair ornaments. Distinguished by its unique design and execution, such a hairpin can become both a wonderful gift and an ornament that emphasizes the beauty of its owner.
There are many options for making hairpins from foamiran:
| Type of decor | Who is it intended for? |
| Cartoon characters | Hairpins in the shape of Mickey Mouse, a pony, a princess or a fairy are made from brightly coloured sheets of plastic suede and are intended for younger children. |
| Bows | They will be a great option for decorating a schoolgirl's hairstyle and can be of any shape and size. |
| Ears | An original and funny option for decorating a headband or hair clip, made in the shape of squirrel, cat or mouse ears, is intended for little girls. |
| Flowers | A universal option for decorating a hair clip for any age, allowing you to experiment with floral designs. |
| Sweets | Cakes, candies, marshmallows – original hairpin decoration that complements a girl’s summer look well. |
To make the decoration we use:
- colored foamiran;
- scissors;
- simple pencils;
- frame wire;
- glue gun;
- cardboard, for making a pattern.
The process of making a hairpin consists of 2 stages:
- First, you need to create the main composition.
- In the second, decorative elements should be attached to the base, represented by a comb, clamp, banana or click-clack.
A bow hair clip is a stylish and bright decoration, suitable for girls of any age and quite simple to make, which makes it possible for even a novice craftsman to make it himself.
Progress of work:
- The first step in making a hairpin is to make a pattern. To do this, three elements for the future bow should be depicted on cardboard: the base, the bow, and the top. It is also acceptable to use patterns offered on the Internet.
- The cut-out cardboard pieces need to be placed on the foamiran, traced with a pencil and carefully cut out along the outline.
- To make a butterfly, both ends of the blank should be attached to the center, and then fixed with a small amount of glue. The resulting butterfly should be glued to the base of the bow by the sharp edge.
- You can decorate the bow with a piece of ribbon, first attaching it to the center of the workpiece. Then, bending the edges, it should be fixed on the wrong side of the bow.
- The second step in making the hair clip is to attach it to the hair clip.
Foamiran is a foamy decorative material widely used in the production of various children's crafts. Easy to use, does not crumble and does not emit toxic substances, the material is able to instantly acquire the necessary shape and texture, which makes it indispensable in the design of flower arrangements, various decorations and toys available for children of different ages.
Video about crafts from foamiran
Crafts from foamiran: