Skip to content

Top Navigation

Parents Parents
  • GETTING PREGNANT
  • PREGNANCY
  • BABY NAMES
  • BABY
  • TODDLER
  • BIG KID
  • FUN
  • HEALTH
  • PARENTING
  • FOOD
  • HOLIDAY
  • News
  • THE STAY AT HOME GUIDE
  • SHOP
  • OUR MAGAZINES
  • MORE

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Your Profile
  • Your Profile
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Cozi Family Organizer this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Parents

Parents Parents
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 22 Chore Ideas for Every Type of Kid

      Find a chore your kid loves to do, and start a habit of wanting to help out that'll last a lifetime. Read More Next
    • Top 5 Mom Friend Problems—And How to Fix Them

      Parenting is so much easier with good pals. Learn to overcome friendship hurdles and bond with women who get you. Read More Next
    • How to Sleep Train Toddlers and Big Kids

      I’m a pediatric sleep specialist who has seen it all, and I’m here to tell you that it’s not too late to get your child to (happily) stay in his own bed all night long. Read More Next
  • GETTING PREGNANT

    GETTING PREGNANT

    See All GETTING PREGNANT

    Your Chances of Getting Pregnant Every Day of the Month

    When sex coincides withĀ your most fertile ovulation days, you'llĀ increase the chances of conceiving.Ā Get to know each phase of your cycle to get pregnant faster.
    • Ovulation
    • Reproductive Age
    • Maximizing Your Fertility
    • Pre-Pregnancy Health
    • Trying to Conceive
    • Dealing With Infertility
    • Genetics
  • PREGNANCY

    PREGNANCY

    See All PREGNANCY

    Signs of Approaching Labor: How to Tell Your Baby is Coming Soon

    Anxiously awaiting your baby’s arrival? Learn to recognize the first signs of labor approaching, which signal that your little one might make an appearance soon.
    • Signs of Pregnancy
    • Pregnancy Week-by-Week
    • Giving Birth
    • Labor & Delivery
    • Pregnancy Symptoms
    • Due Date Calculator
    • Pregnancy Complications
    • Fetal Development
    • Gender Prediction
    • Baby Showers
  • BABY NAMES

    BABY NAMES

    See All BABY NAMES

    These Are the Most Popular Baby Names of 2020

    Curious which baby names stole the show this year? From new classics like Noah to tried-and-true faves like Ava, here are the top boy and girl names of the year so far, plus more naming trends to consider.
    • Baby Girl Names
    • Most Popular Names
    • Names by Origin
    • Twin Names
    • Baby Boy Names
    • Names by Religion
    • Celebrity Baby Names
    • Baby Name Quizzes
  • BABY

    BABY

    See All BABY

    How to Decode Your Baby's Cough

    Caring for a baby with a wet or dry cough? Listen for wheezing, hacking, or barking first, then read on to find out what's normal and when it's time to worry.
    • Newborn Care
    • Crying Baby
    • Health
    • Baby Development
    • Safety
    • Gear
    • Breastfeeding
    • Diapers
    • Sleep Issues
    • Feeding
    • Nursery
  • TODDLER

    TODDLER

    See All TODDLER
    • Preschool Activities
    • Behavior & Discipline
    • Toddler Development
    • Milestones
    • Potty Training
    • Starting School
    • Health
    • Safety
    • Childcare
  • BIG KID

    BIG KID

    See All BIG KID

    How to Deal With Bullies: A Guide for Parents

    Mean kids aren't just a middle-school problem. The trouble has trickled to the youngest grades. Learn how to spot it—and how to protect children of all ages from bullies at school.
    • Education
    • Health
    • Food & Nutrition
    • Bullying & School Problems
    • Child Development
    • Safety
    • Manners & Responsibility
  • FUN

    FUN

    See All FUN

    17 Budget-Friendly Kids’ Birthday Party Ideas

    A fun celebration doesn’t need to cost a pretty penny. Throw a memorable bash with these clever cost-cutting kids’ birthday party ideas.
    • Birthdays
    • Indoor Activities
    • Outdoor Activities
    • Arts & Crafts
    • Printable Coloring Pages
    • Kids' Entertainment
    • Best Toys
    • Holidays
    • Family Vacation Ideas
  • HEALTH

    HEALTH

    See All HEALTH

    All About Coronavirus COVID-19: A Concerned Parent's Guide

    Here’s everything you need to know about the disease that originated in Wuhan, China.
    • ADD & ADHD
    • Allergies
    • Autism
    • Cold & Flu
    • Coronavirus and COVID-19
    • Cough
    • Down Syndrome
    • Emergency Aid
    • Fever
    • Medication & Vitamins
    • Obesity
    • Rashes
    • Stomach Aches
    • Vaccines
  • PARENTING

    PARENTING

    See All PARENTING

    The Stay at Home Guide for Parents

    Everything you need to thrive at home as a family.
    • Positive Parenting
    • Parenting Style
    • Celebrity Parents
    • Family Dynamics
    • Divorce
    • Home
    • Adoption
    • Just for Mom
    • Money
    • Toy Recalls
    • Stroller Recalls
  • FOOD

    FOOD

    See All FOOD
    • Family Recipes
    • Baby Food
    • Toddler Finger Food Recipes
    • Hints & Tips
    • Healthy Eating
    • Birthdays
    • Holiday Recipes
    • Quick & Easy Meals
    • Food For Pregnant Women
  • HOLIDAY

    HOLIDAY

    See All HOLIDAY

    44 Fun Valentine's Day Crafts for Kids

    Spend an afternoon making these Valentine's Day cards, decorations, and edible projects for kids. Bonus: These craft ideas are perfect for preschoolers and the ideal homemade gift for a few special someones!
    • Christmas
    • New Year's
    • Valentine's Day
    • Easter
    • Mother's Day
    • Memorial Day
    • Father's Day
    • 4th of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Hanukkah
  • News
  • THE STAY AT HOME GUIDE
  • SHOP
  • OUR MAGAZINES

    OUR MAGAZINES

    See All OUR MAGAZINES
    • Parents
    • Parents Latina
    • Ser Padres
  • MORE

    MORE

    • Newsletters
    • Contests
    • ParentsIRL
    • Adulting
    • First Year Playbook
    • Celebrate Your Way

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Your Profile
  • Your Profile
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Cozi Family Organizer this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Fun
  3. Arts & Crafts
  4. Kid Crafts
  5. Styrofoam Crafts for Kids

Styrofoam Crafts for Kids

By Margaret VanEchaute
July 14, 2015
Skip gallery slides
Save Pin
You'll treasure these made-by-kids plastic foam crafts not only because they're adorable but because of the quality time you spent making them together.
Start Slideshow

1 of 10

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Sock Caterpillar

Credit: Jay Wilde

Help your children create this colorful caterpillar by filling a long sock with plastic foam balls.

Make It: Insert six 3-inch plastic foam balls into a long colorful sock, leaving a bit of room between each ball so the caterpillar can wiggle easily. Trim off excess sock, leaving only 2 inches. Use a pencil to poke a hole in the last ball and insert a generous amount of glue. Using the same pencil, poke the extra length of sock directly into the hole to seal up the caterpillar.

Glue googly eyes to the face and adhere rosy cheeks and a smile from pink felt. Make tiny holes in the top of the head, add glue, and poke trimmed chenille stems inside to create the antennae. Glue on chenille stem legs last; add foam dots to the body and a bow to the top of the head to embellish.

1 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 10

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Toy Boats

Credit: Scott Little

Not only are these plastic foam toy boats easy to make -- they really float, too!

Make It: To make the smaller ship: Cut a 6x10-inch sheet of plastic foam and trim the corners to make a pointed bow; paint and let dry. Cut varying lengths of 2-inch-wide strips of plastic foam and stack to form a tiered deck as shown; paint and let dry. Next, create a round smokestack by trimming a 1/2x3-inch strip of plastic foam rolling into a cylinder, and gluing overlapped edges together. Paint and let dry. Glue all pieces onto the boat as shown.

To make the sailboat: Trim the front corners from a 6x12-inch piece of plastic foam to form a pointed bow. Use a scrap of plastic foam to make the cabin as shown. Have your child paint the pieces using acrylic paint in his favorite colors. Next, cut an 8x8-inch piece of white crafts foam in half diagonally to make the sail. Attach the sail to a wood skewer mast by cutting slits in the front edge of the sail and poking the stick through. Decorate the sail with stickers and push the ends of painted crafts sticks into the front edge of the bow for extra fun.

2 of 10

3 of 10

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

3 of 10

Advertisement

4 of 10

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Magic Wand

Credit: Scott Little

Cast a spell on your child's imagination with this fun plastic foam wand that will spark hours of magical make-believe games.

Make It: Use a pencil to poke a hole in the bottom of a six-inch plastic foam star. Insert a generous amount of glue into the hole and then insert a wood dowel. Cover the star with a generous amount of crafts glue and help your child sprinkle glitter onto the front and back of the star. Place the wand in a heavy glass jar to let the top dry. If the glitter falls off the wand once the glue is dry, add a coat of Mod Podge.

Decorate by gluing on sparkly rhinestones and pretty jewels to the star. To finish, cut gold ribbon into three 1-yard pieces, tying the pieces together with a knot at the center. Glue the knot to the bottom of the star and trim the ribbons to different lengths. Add star sequins to the ends of the ribbons and let the glue dry.

4 of 10

5 of 10

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Plastic Foam Mouse Family

Credit: Jay Wilde

Have your kids make a plastic foam mouse to represent each person in your family and kick off a wonderful game of make-believe.

Make It: Begin by using a serrated knife to cut a 3-inch plastic foam egg in half lengthwise to form the parent mice, and a 2-1/2-inch egg in half to make the babies; paint. Cut a 1-1/2-inch circle of gray felt in half to create parent mouse ears. Cut a slightly smaller circle in half to make baby mouse ears. Attach the ears by making small slits in the plastic foam, adding glue into the hole and tucking in the flat parts of the half-circle using the end of the knife.

Cut out felt tails and connect them to the body by cutting a slit in the back of the mouse body and tucking the tails the same way as the ears. Add black bead eyes and pink pom-pom noses to complete this adorable family.

5 of 10

6 of 10

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Jumbo-Bead Jewelry

Credit: Scott Little

Add some glamour to your child's games of dress-up by helping her create an easy-to-make plastic foam bead necklace and matching earrings.

Make It: Paint multiple 1-inch plastic foam balls by pouring 1 teaspoon each of several acrylic paint colors into separate resealable plastic bags. Turn the balls to coat with paint and use a toothpick to remove balls from the bags; place balls on waxed paper to dry. Once dry, make holes for the string by poking a wood skewer through each ball and sliding it up and down.

Thread the balls with a generous length of string. Tie the string together and secure with a drop of glue. For extra fun, make slip-on earrings by threading one or two beads on a short piece of string that can be tied and worn over the ears.

6 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 10

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Cute Bedbugs

Credit: Jay Wilde

These mild-mannered bedbugs certainly don't bite -- your kids will befriend them in no time.

Make It: Begin by cutting two 1-1/2-inch plastic foam balls in half using a serrated knife. Have your kids paint the halves with acrylic paint. Decorate the bugs with chenille stem legs and antennae, translucent paper wings, and googly eyes. Invent your own bugs or use the following suggestions:

Beetle

Paint the head and body area different colors, painting small dots onto the body section. Glue on googly eyes and add black chenille stems for antennae.

Bumblebee

Paint the body black and let dry. Paint orange or yellow stripes across the back. Insert a short black chenille stem into the end of the bee for a stinger. Add wings by cutting a heart shape from paper, folding it in half, and pushing it into a slit cut into the top of the body. Add two black chenille stem antennae, three black chenille stem legs on each side, and googly eyes.

Mosquito

Paint the body and add wings as directed in the Bumblebee project. Add three black chenille stem legs on each side and a short black chenille stem for the proboscis.

Bonus: Make a Bug Bed!

Have your kids paint a recycled egg carton using various colors of acrylic crafts paint. Add small squares of fabric into each depression to make a cozy bed for each bug. Then let your little ones tuck in their new bug friends and wish them pleasant dreams.

7 of 10

8 of 10

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Plastic Foam Mud Monster

Credit: Scott Little

Your child will love getting his hands dirty while making this make-believe mud monster from potting soil and a plastic foam ball.

Make It: Using a serrated knife, slice a small section off the bottom of a 5-inch plastic foam ball so it sits flat. Gently shake potting soil through a strainer to create a fine soil. Press the ball onto a chopstick to hold and coat the ball generously with white crafts glue. Dip the ball into the fine soil and pat it into place, making sure the ball is completely covered. Once the glue has dried, let your child decorate with nuts, pebbles, sticks, leaves, pine needles, and any other nature finds from your backyard. Let dry thoroughly before displaying.

8 of 10

9 of 10

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Fairy House

Credit: Jay Wilde

Decorate this whimsical fairy house that is limited only by the natural supplies you and your child collect and the boundaries of your imaginations.

Make It: Have your child paint a 1x8-1/2-inch plastic foam disk with brown acrylic paint. Gather 6- to 8-inch twigs and push them into the foam in a circle pattern, tilting the twigs at an angle so they meet in the center as shown; leave room for a door. Fill in any gaps by pushing smaller twigs into the holes. Then let your child's imagination run wild as she decorates with natural supplies.

9 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 10

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Playtime Fairy Craft

Credit: Jay Wilde

Make cute crafts foam fairies to play in your garden and dollhouse year-round.

Make It: Paint a 1-inch plastic foam ball with a skin color of your preference and let dry. Fold an 8-inch chenille stem in half to create legs and wrap a 4-inch stem 3/8 inch from the top of the fold to form arms. Turn the tips at the ends to make hands and feet. Next, cut a large trumpet-shape artificial flower from its stem and remove any stamens from inside, leaving a hole in the center. Thread the fairy's chenille stem feet through the top of the blossom, pulling up to the arms. Add the head by poking a small hole into the foam ball and gluing the folded end of the feet stem into the hole.

Give your fairy a hat by gluing a small trumpet-shape artificial flower to the head. To make wings, wrap a small piece of chenille stem around the middle of a 4-inch length of wired ribbon, cutting the ends of the ribbon into a wing shape as shown. Attach the wings to the fairy's back using a low-temperature glue gun. Glue on other small flowers as desired. Draw on a face with a microtip marker and add a tiny pom-pom for the nose to complete this whimsical woodland fairy your little one is sure to love.

Copyright &copy 2010 Meredith Corporation.

10 of 10

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 10 Sock Caterpillar
2 of 10 Toy Boats
3 of 10
4 of 10 Magic Wand
5 of 10 Plastic Foam Mouse Family
6 of 10 Jumbo-Bead Jewelry
7 of 10 Cute Bedbugs
8 of 10 Plastic Foam Mud Monster
9 of 10 Fairy House
10 of 10 Playtime Fairy Craft

Share options

Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Login

Parents

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • About Us
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
  • Cozi Family Organizer this link opens in a new tab
  • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • From Our Sponsors this link opens in a new tab
  • Affiliate Program this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en EspaƱol this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
Parents.com is part of the Parents Network. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.parents.com

View image

Styrofoam Crafts for Kids
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.