These Gingers have Soul

I'm not a cookie person (chips are more my thang) however Christmas cookies are an exception! Since I live in Belize where it's generally 100 degrees (ooh rhyming), using a hot oven is not a fave past time. Anyways, feeling crafty I was inspired by cookie clipart and set out to make some gingerbread ornaments from craft foam.

I thought I would document the process in case a fellow Christmas-crayzee wants to try it for themselves.

Follow along with the pictures:

1. Make templates: Trace shapes onto cardboard to make your templates (I recycled cereal boxes for this project). Then using a pencil or ball-point pen, use the template to trace the shape onto brown foam sheets.
2. Cut shapes out: Carefully cut out your ornament from the foam. I find that small, needle tip scissors work best.
3. Crispy-fy your cookie: To get a sort of "crispy cookie" scorched edge effect, use an oil pastel crayon along the edges. I guess you can also paint the edges if you prefer.
4. Icing time: I ran out of white puffy paint, so I experimented with "icing' options. In the end, I used my glue gun silicone glue to create the raised icing effect. You can also use puffy paint or even flat white paint.
5. Berry nice: Using a single hole punch, I cut "berries' from a sheet of glittery foam, then glued them in place.
6. Paint your icing: The dried silicone glue lines were painted with white acrylic paint to look more like icing. I applied a several coats with a thin brush.
7. Voila! You just no-baked cookies! Add magnets or a ribbon/string and you're good to dough...I mean go!

Hey Sweet Thang!

Dieters beware! I've been busy "cooking up" some sweet treats in my little crafty corner! See the high-calorie cuteness below:

Ooh Shake your flakes! I tried my hand and painting, and it didn't come out too badly. I painted directly onto craft foam with really cheap acrylics lol. Note the chenille stem poinsettia. They don't call them pipe cleaners anymore...I guess cuz everyone uses them for crafts and not cancer?

Mesmerizing swirls of delight (and foam). I'm just glad that I finally found a use for these wooden craft sticks that I impulse-purchased like....years ago. Anyone else do that? I buy craft supplies that I "might" find a use for. I do eventually...mostly...

Oooh La LA! I tried the heat-forming (thermoformado) thing again to make a cupcake, and it's kinda cute. Well, the biscotti or whatever it's supposed to be, are sort of positioned like tv antenna (yes, I'm old ok) so that needs changing...but all in all, CUTE!

What do you think?

High Elf Esteem

So, in my crafty research I keep coming across video tutorials on a craft foam technique called heat forming or "termoformado" in Spanish (craft foam is reeeeaaally popular in South America). Basically, the craft foam is heated (carefully) on an iron or some other hot surface, and then stretched/pressed into or over a mold. When the foam cools down, it retains the shape of whatever you used.

I saw a video showing how to make these adorable elves, and I was totally motivated... the heat forming part of this craft involves stretching hot foam over polystyrene balls.

My first attempt was a disaster, UN DISASTRE! So, I set the idea aside for a little while. Then I found this video, demonstrating a simple technique to help you shape the foam over the ball...And I was like...LET'S DO DIS!!!

So I DO-ed it, and it came out pretty decent!!He's comfy in an egg cup while the paint dries, then he'll get a hanger and be ready for the tree.

Termoformado level: Elf Esteem!!!

Twinkle, twinkle

Today I got inspired to try an experiment, to see if a paper craft project that I recently did would translate well into craft foam.

This is the paper snowflake that I made last year for the office...

Then I came across this chick making "star sections" from foamies...and a lightbulb went off in my head. PING!!!!

As per usual, I had a candle burning for "atmosphere" and maaaaaybe a little moscato for motivation...

Ta-DAH! What do you think? It was pretty easy to make. I coiled up a festive chenille stick for the center and I'm thinking this design would make great poinsettias in red!

Glamour shot...

Like a diamond in the sky...wish that I was eatin' pie.