If you have been to a craft store in the past few years, you must have seen the advent of “foam” crafts. At first they were strictly a “do-it-yourself” concept. Sheets of a foam like substance, roughly the size of a piece of notebook paper, were sold in all the colors of the rainbow. There were also packages of “foam” shapes, such as animals, stars, flowers, hearts, and so on, that one could paste to the foam sheets. The idea was to cut out pieces of foam to make items like picture frames, bookmarks, key chains, and anything else that you could come up with.
Shortly after foam crafts really started to take off, the “Foamies” company came up with small craft sets that could be bought for a low price. These sets included everything you needed to make the crafts mentioned above, with one big difference. The pieces came pre-cut, and all you needed to do was have some glue to stick them together. These fun little items sold like hotcakes, so “Foamies” started making bigger and better kits. Soon, it was possible to make shoes, small purses, journal covers, necklaces, and sun visors from foam. Small barrels of foam pieces were added to the inventory so that groups could make a project together, or one person could have all the shapes they could possibly want.
Still, there was a small issue. Each little foam piece had to be attached to the project with glue, a sometimes messy proposition. Foamies” solved the problem by beginning to sell self stick shapes and foam pages. The crafts became super simple, and they were a hit with parents and kids alike. The shapes began to get festive. There were Santa Clauses and ornaments for Christmas, pumpkins and ghosts for Halloween, and hearts and flowers for Valentine’s Day. One could even buy “glittery Foamies” to give their project a little extra flair.
Recently, “Foamies” has begun to make some really fun kits. They do require a bit of gluing, but they are worth the effort. These kits create small buildings, such as a princess castle, a “sand” castle, a dog house, a farm, and a race track, just to name a few. There is also a puppet theater available, and there are kits to make different puppets. Probably the most fun, though, are the seasonal kits. There was an “Easter Bunny house” in the spring, and there are Halloween houses, castles, and haunted trees available now. Just recently the Christmas collection came out, and it appears to feature Christmas trees, a Nativity scene, a Christmas house, Santa and his reindeer, and a good sized toy mailbox. I even found a Thanksgiving scene just the other day!
Each of these kits comes with pre-cut pieces that just need to be popped out, shapes that add to the realism of the craft, and occasionally small pom poms and eyes to glue on. A few even come with glitter glue to make the craft fancier. Because of the small parts, most of these kits are suggested for children six and over.
Foamies” kits are great fun for kids and adults alike, and they give them something that they can create together. Glue is usually not included, but foam glue can be easily found in a craft store or your local discount store. Foamies” are inexpensive, and stocking up on a few would be a great idea for a cold, rainy day. The shapes are acid-free, so they are also a great addition to scrapbooks. Look for “Foamies” kits and shapes the next time you go to your favorite craft store.
Reference:
- www.michaels.com/art/online/search?type=0&keywords=foamies&pageNumber=1 – a good place to view all kinds of “Foamies” projects
