Every year it is a challenge to think up and make a fun and original gift or surprise for special occasions such as Christmas, Sinterklaas and birthdays. Here are some ideas for the materials to use and what to make with them.
Ideas with Styropor
Polystyrene is a type of polystyrene foam that is available in all kinds of shapes and sizes, such as spheres, square shapes, rings, discs, etc. Polystyrene is also a good material for painting or covering with other materials. You can use them individually or in combination with each other to make fun objects. A few ideas:
- Hamburger: use a polystyrene ball and one or two polystyrene discs. Cut the bulb in half and paint it light brown. These are the two bread halves. Paint the slices red (tomato) and / or green (lettuce) and / or dark brown (meat).
- Angry Bird: Use a larger polystyrene sphere. Look for a picture of an Angry Bird on the internet. Paint the Angry Bird red / yellow according to the picture and use foam rubber for the beak / eyes / eyebrows / feet if necessary.
Foam rubber
Foam rubber is a thick rubber-like material that is available in many different colors and sizes. Foam rubber is easy to use for cutting and sticking to all kinds of materials. You can use a normal hobby or craft glue for this. You can search for images and shapes of a particular object / animal / figure via the internet. Trace these figures onto the foam and cut it out. Foam rubber is a sturdy material and will therefore not break easily.
Mod Podge
Mod Podge is an adhesive and varnish in one and is especially suitable for decoupage projects. There are three different Mod Podge types available:
- Mod Podge gloss
- Mod Podge Mat
- Mod Podge Decoupage varnish
For example, choose an image or pattern from paper / fabric / napkin paper and attach it to the desired surface with the Mod Podge. Now run the Mod Podge and a brush over the image and let it dry for a while. If necessary, you can repeat this again to get a thicker layer of varnish on your image. You can also paste multiple images / patterns over or next to each other and paint them with Mod Podge. This gives a fun and playful effect. A few ideas for a gift or surprise with Mod Podge:
- Make a painting of which a decoupage edge / frame has been made with Mod Podge or maybe you can make a painting of which the images are painted with Mod Podge and this gets a nice layer of varnish.
- Make a nice border along a mirror with decoupage / Mod Podge
- Cover a box of your choice with decoupage / Mod Podge and transform the box into a nice jewelry box or a make-up box.
For more information on Mod Podge as a product, read this article: Mod Podge – a must for the hobbyist
Acrylic paint and poster paint
These types of paint can be applied to almost any surface and are available in many colors. Of course you can also mix colors with each other. Use acrylic paint for smaller surfaces and the poster paint for the larger surfaces.
Crepe paper
Crepe paper is very thin paper and is available in many (especially bright) colors. The paper is easy to fold, shape, cut and tear. Never use too much glue with crepe paper because the paper tears quickly when it gets damp and can also give off color on the substrate. Since crepe paper is sold in wide rolls, it can be used to cover larger areas.