Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Foam Sheet Ruffles and Cardboard Valentine Wreath


Disclosure I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, this post may contain links. I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you! The affiliate money I earn helps pay my crafting expenses. Thanks so much for your support!

Dress up any door or wall with this adorable Valentine Wreath!  I love crafting with foam sheets - also called eva foam. They can be shaped and manipulated with heat into lovely creations - I think so much better and easier than using felt or paper! You can find some of my previous foam sheet creations here, here, here, and here, just to show a few. The best part about this is wreath is that it is totally a recycle craft starting with a cardboard box and newspaper! And you won't believe how easy it is to make! 

Materials:
Cardboard box 
Newspaper
Marker
Scissors
Craft knife
Foam Sheets
Tacky Glue
DAP RapidFuse All Purpose Adhesive
3" Circle Punch
Small electric griddle/iron
Ribbon for hanging

How I made it:
First, I cut out the side of a large cardboard box for the wreath base.
Then, I created a heart shape template out of newspaper by folding a full newspaper sheet in half, drawing a half heart as large as the height of the cardboard.
Cut that out and open it on top of the cardboard to trace! 
Next, used the newspaper heart to draw a heart approximately 2" smaller to cut out. Then use that as a template to trace a smaller heart in the middle of the larger heart .  .  .

to cut out. 

And then applied tacky glue to one side and placed a foam sheet on top, smoothing it out. 
Let dry completely for a few hours.
While the foam heart shape base was drying, began punching out foam circles using a 3" circle punch. I could get 20 circles from a 12"x18" foam sheet and used four different shades of pink foam sheets to cut out 80 circles. It was easier to turn the circle punch over so I could see and adjust the position of the foam sheet and have less waste between circles.

Once all the circles were punched out, it was time to make the ruffles using a small electric griddle on low.  If you don't have an electric griddle, you can use the flat surface of an iron on low heat that's safely propped up. Once I placed the foam circle on the griddle, I watched closely to see the edges curl up. Then quickly picked up the circle, holding in the sides gently .  .  .

to create the ruffle.
I also used my fingers on my other hand to push in the opposite sides for more ruffles.
Continued heating and picking up the circles to shape into ruffles  .  .  .
until all the circles were ruffles! Then grouped them together in like colors.
Next, I started gluing on the ruffles along one side using a quick drying glue called DAP RapidFuse.  I tried using hot glue first, but hot glue doesn't bond well foam sheet to foam sheet. It was quite messy and took too much time to dry and stick. Phewy! So I got out my trusty RapidFuse glue to use! A super glue would work too.
With the four different shades I was able to glue on a different shade next to each other for a nice visual effect.

I'm quite pleased with how the wreath looks!
  These pictures don't quite show its' fabulous uniqueness!
And finally, I tied a ribbon into a bow and then stapled the tails onto the back for hanging.


How lovely is this!


Thanks for stopping by
and take a little time to enjoy,
Happy Crafting!



7 comments:

  1. You made the prettiest heart wreath Gail. I love how creative you are and it's just perfect for Valentine's Day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for your sweet comments, Julie! I love making things using foam sheets!

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  2. OOOOhhhh pero que corazón tan bonito y romántico Gail ,eres una artista ,me encanta ,creo que te lo copiaré ,con tu permiso !!!!!!!!!!
    Besitos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Montse! I'd love for you to make one! And the best part, you can change the shape of the base for any occasion!

      Delete
  3. looks to pretty to be made of such simple supplies thanks for sharing
    come see us at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love this, Gail! You always come up with the greatest ideas. Love how inexpensive this is to make too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Un gran corazón para celebrar el día de los enamorados!

    Precioso!!💓😘😘😘

    ReplyDelete

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