How to Make a Styrofoam Centerpiece
Styrofoam is easy to carve into fun birthday party shapes to use as centerpieces. Carve centerpieces into sports shapes, TV characters, flowers or any shape to match the theme of your party. Use Styrofoam that is just a few inches larger than the pieces you want to trace or carve, so there’s not as much material to carve away. Choose basic Styrofoam shapes that closely match your end design to make carving go quickly and easily.
Things You'll Need
- Styrofoam pieces for each shape plus one for a base
- Utility knife or sharp kitchen knife
- Marker or pencil
- White glue
- Paintbrushes
- Acrylic paint or tempera paint
- Meat skewers or small dowel rods
- Sand
Instructions
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1
Trace a pattern on to your Styrofoam piece using a pencil or marker. Trace all the pieces you plan to use at once before moving on to the carving.
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2
Cut the Styrofoam along the lines you’ve traced using a utility knife or kitchen knife. Cut away a little of the material at a time, concentrating on the shape of the object, so you don’t break anything off or cut away too much at once.
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3
Coat your Styrofoam pieces in a mixture of white glue and water. Use enough water so that the glue brushes over the pieces easily to create a good seal. Let dry thoroughly.
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4
Paint your Styrofoam pieces according to what they are, who they represent or how they fit into your party theme. Use acrylic paint or tempera paint and let dry thoroughly. Apply a second coat of paint to each piece if necessary so that no white shows through.
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5
Insert meat skewers or small dowel rods into the pieces to prepare them for arranging in a base. When using the dowel rods, you might need to tap in gently with a small hammer.
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6
Arrange your Styrofoam pieces in a decorative bag filled with sand or into a larger Styrofoam piece that you have sealed and painted to match the décor of your party. Add ribbons, decorative wires or artificial flowers to finish your centerpiece.
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Tips & Warnings
You can also use spray on sealer to coat your Styrofoam pieces before painting.
Use a pre-printed figure from a book, magazine or birthday party store to make centerpieces. Trace around the figure, carve out the shape and glue the pre-printed figure directly onto the sealed Styrofoam.
Do not use spray paint on unsealed Styrofoam, as it will eat away at the piece.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
