Is it wood? Is it metal? No, it’s Smoothfoam! With the right tools and a little imagination, you can mimic almost any surface with Smoothfoam. Create beautiful, lightweight DIY art and craft projects for every room in your home that are more than deserving of a double-take.
Faux copper – Fruit bowl
Faux stucco – Art panel
Faux glass – Owl ornaments
Faux terra cotta – Planter
Faux rusty metal – Key
Faux carved wood – Bowl
Faux zinc – Letters
Real or faux, succulents are just the cutest, right? Plump little pops of green that we can enjoy indoors and out. Learn creative ways to use Smoothfoam as your foundation for these delightfully sweet succulent wreaths and planters!
Mini planter box
Bowl garden
Peacock wreath
Cluster wreath
Faux concrete cube
Graduations and vacations are almost here.Yay! Today’s project would make a great centerpiece for a graduation or bon voyage party – celebrate your graduate who’s about to go out into the world or your friends who plan to travel the globe.
Supplies:
12″ Smoothfoam half ball
Smoothfoam airplane
Acrylic craft paint
Striped paper straw
Instructions:
Paint the half ball in blue. Allow to dry completely and then sketch in the continents to make it look like the globe.This can be as realistic or whimsical as you want. You could also decoupage pieces of a paper map onto the ball if you prefer.
Paint the Smoothfoam airplane.
Push a paper straw into the bottom of the plane. It’s easier if you cut the ends of the straw at an angle to make them pointed. Push the other end of the straw into your globe.
If you liked this project, I hope you will visit my blog for more. Happy Travels!
Hello friends! We are nearing wedding season. I have been looking on Pinterest at wedding cakes. We have a wedding coming up this summer in my family and I have turned my attentions to wedding decorations, cakes, flowers, clothing, etc.
I needed some mini wedding cakes for tabletop decorations – I decided to use Smoothfoam and my hot wire foam cutter to create some of my own.
You will need:
3″ Smoothfoam block (for cake)
Modeling paste
Acrylic craft paint
Craft stick, wood skewers
Paintbrush, jar, toothpicks
Mini paper flowers and leaves
Rhinestone trim with adhesive back
Hot wire foam cutter
Hot glue, scissors
Instructions:
1. Cut three pieces from the Smoothfoam block (1″ thick) – 3″ square for the bottom layer of the cake, 2-1/2″ square for the middle layer and a 2″ square for the top.
2. Mix two drops of paint into a quarter cup of modeling paste and blend thoroughly with a craft stick.
3. Use a skewer as a handle by poking it into each block of foam. Brush each piece with the tinted modeling paste and stand the skewers in a jar to dry thoroughly.
4. Attach the three cake layers together with toothpicks and secure with hot glue.
5. Decorate your cake with the paper flowers, leaves and rhinestone trim – or try mini pearls, ribbon, jewels, or glitter.
“A mother is a person who, upon seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.” ~Tenneva Jordan
For Mother’s Day, make a special brunch and adorn the table with a cheerful centerpiece that Mom can enjoy for months. Ribbon topiaries don’t need water and are totally non-fussy. These DIY topiary centerpieces can easily be customized for other holidays or celebrations.
You will need:
4″ Smoothfoam cube
2″ Smoothfoam ball
Green acrylic paint
Ribbons in a variety of colors
Decoupage medium
Patterned papers or tissue
Glazing medium
Sequin pins
Ruler, sponge brush, scissors
1/4″ wood dowel rod, cut to 12″ long
Small hand saw
Phillips screwdriver or knitting needle
Paint the cube and dowel green, allow to dry. Collage favorite papers to the cube using decoupage medium, allow to dry. Brush glazing medium on the cube to protect your collage and give it a glossy finish. Allow to dry.
Use the screwdriver or knitting needle to pierce a pilot hole into the Smoothfoam ball. Push the ball onto the dowel. Pierce another hole into the center of the top of the cube and push the dowel and ball inside.
Cut several 2-3″ lengths of each color ribbon.
Roll each ribbon into a cylinder and pin it to the ball. I pinned a mixture of orange and yellow ribbons for blossoms, then I filled the spaces in between with green ribbon for leaves.
I love my new tower of blocks as a centerpiece for my table or kitchen island – it shows off all the cool monoprints I’ve been making. Create a themed tower of blocks for party table decoration!
I have been doing a lot with monoprinting on cardstock and now I have a PILE of cool prints and didn’t know what to do with them all. So this project was designed to use a bunch of prints in a creative way. Check out the monoprinting tutorials online to see all the possibilities for printing your own themed or patterned papers using acrylic paints and stencils.
Supplies:
8″ Smoothfoam cube
5″ Smoothfoam cube
3″ Smoothfoam cube
Gel Press™ Printing Plate
Acrylic paints
Stencils, paint brushes, brayer
White cardstock
Craft glue
Permanent markers
Stamps, inkpads
After your monoprints are dry, trim them into squares to fit each side of your Smoothfoam cubes. Treat the monoprinting like a background and then stamp your favorite focal image on top.
Glue a square to each side of the cube, plus the top, and let dry.
Color the corners of each cube with a marker and you’re done! Stack the cubes in a tower – glue in position if you want, or leave them loose for more versatility. A single decorated cube makes a great riser for a little statue or art piece. I love pears, so I added a faux pear to the top.
Take a hop into Spring with this Easter bunny tabletop decoration – a whole pot of bunnies! Just add some eggs and personalize the front of the pot with a name or sentiment.
You will need:
2-1/2″ Smoothfoam ball
Two 2″ Smoothfoam balls
1-1/2″ Smoothfoam ball
1″ Smoothfoam ball (cut in half)
Floral foam (cut to fit in the pot)
Chalky paints: yellow, aqua, teal, pale yellow, pale pink, vintage white
Fine-point black marker
Wiggle eyes, powder blush
Ribbon or paper for bows
Paper shred
Low-melt hot glue gun
Paintbrush, scissors, wood skewers
Heart punch and cardstock (pastel shades)
Candy, mini fuzzy chicks
Instructions:
To paint, insert a skewer into each ball using it as a handle. Refer to the photo given and paint each ball the appropriate color. Paint the your pot teal if desired.
Die-cut or punch two hearts from each color of cardstock. Glue them together for rigid bunny ears. Cut each heart in half and round off the top edge. Bend up the point of each ear about 1/4″.
Paint a pink nose on each bunny head (ball), blush the cheeks and the inside of the ears. Glue on a pair of wiggle eyes to each and add face details with the black marker.
Glue a pair of ears to the each bunny head with the folded point facing to the back. Glue an embellished bow in front of the ears.
Glue the piece of floral foam into the pot. Cut the ends off of the skewers, staggering the lengths. Poke each skewer into the pot, spacing the bunnies as shown. Stuff the paper shred around the bunnies and push down into the pot. Glue a chick or two into the shreds and add some candy.
This is a fun and easy foam Easter bunny craft that kids can make to decorate the dinner table. Learn how to make your own DIY Easter bunny below.
Materials:
One each – 1″ and 2″ Smoothfoam eggs
1” Smoothfoam ball
Acrylic paints: gray, white, pink
Gray felt scraps
1/8” wide ribbon
Wiggle eyes
Small pompoms – pink, gray
Gray yarn
Tacky glue
Sandpaper or emery board
Craft knife, paintbrush, scissors, bamboo skewers
Instructions:
1. Cut 1” egg in half. Trim small ends and flatten on table top. Trim top and bottom from 2” egg. Sand the bottom of the ball and seams and edges of all pieces.
2. Paint all pieces gray. For ease of painting, push skewers into bottoms of pieces. Let dry by standing in a jar. Glue head to body. Glue half-eggs onto body for feet.
3. Mix gray and white paints and stipple the bunny’s tummy. Cut arms and ears from felt. Paint ears pink in centers. Add pink dots for cheeks with the end of a skewer.
4. Poke small holes in head and glue ears in holes. Glue arms to sides of body. Glue ribbon around neck and glue a bow over the ribbon. Cut small pieces of yarn and glue to head between ears. Glue wiggle eyes and pompoms to bunny.
5. Add details with a permanent pen if desired.
Everyone can always use a little extra luck, right? Well, here’s a fun tabletop decoration perfect for a Saint Patrick’s Day party, or as a cute gift for someone who just hit the jackpot. I used a hot engraving tool to add detailing to each letter, reminiscent of Celtic knots, and then outlined the word with a black paint pen to make everything pop. And although a four-leaf clover is the traditional symbol for good luck, I decided to add a little luck of the Irish with a three leaf shamrock instead. Hmm – I might just try my luck tomorrow and buy a lotto ticket!
Supplies:
2” x 4” x 12″ Smoothfoam block
Sulky Stick’n Carve Printable Transfer sheet
Proxxon Tabletop Hot Wire Cutter
Hot Wire Foam Factory Hot Knife and Engraving Tool
Acrylic paints – gold, dark green
Glitter – light green, dark green
Black paint pen
Paint brush / plastic dish
Scissors
Instructions:
1. Click here to download my “Lucky Shamrock” artwork* and print it onto the Sulky transfer sheet. Because it is too long to fit onto one sheet, it’s tiled into two sections. Cut the sheet in half between the two lines of text. Peel off the backing paper and press the two pieces together to fit on the Smoothfoam block. Trim off the excess transfer sheet. Poke pilot holes with the hot knife into each area of the block that will be cut out.
2. Carefully carve out the Smoothfoam block with the tabletop hot wire cutter. Unthread and re-insert the wire into each pilot hole to make each interior cut.
3. Add details to the carving with the engraving tool as shown. Peel off the transfer sheet when finished.
4. Paint the carving gold. Let dry.
5. Paint the shamrock green. While the paint is still wet, sprinkle with dark green glitter. Add a little more green paint to the center of the shamrock and sprinkle with light green glitter. Tap the carving to remove any excess glitter. Let dry.
6. Outline the carved letters with black paint pen.
* You are welcome to use my original artwork for your own use or for a gift/donation only. You may not use my designs for items intended for resale – that is a copyright infringement. Thank you!
I love the look of soft pastels for my DIY speckled Easter eggs – this is a simple, yet beautiful spring or Easter decoration.
So… I grabbed my Smoothfoam eggs, gently sanded away the ridged seam and painted them with a soft chalky finish.
Use an small glass or candle votive to hold the egg. Paint one half of the egg at a time.
I especially like the look of speckled eggs, which you can create with an old toothbrush by lightly dabbing it into brown paint and gently flicking the paint onto the eggs. Make sure to wear an apron to protect your clothing. Flicking can be quite messy! Find numerous foam Easter egg crafts here!