How to Make a Tree Out of Foam Board
Foam board, which consists of two out layers of card stock that surround a think layer of foam, is used by architects to build models of buildings and other structures. The sturdiness of the foam board allows these models to stand up on their own. You can use foam board to build your own free-standing shapes. You can even build your own foam board village, complete with a foam board tree.
Things You'll Need
- Large sheet of paper
- Pencil
- Scissors
- 2 Sheets of foam board
- Cutting mat
- Craft knife
- Ruler
- Brown and green acrylic paint
- Paintbrushes
Instructions
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1
Take your large sheet of paper and fold it in half so it is long and skinny.
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2
Draw half of a tree along the fold of your paper. Start at one end of your folded sheet of paper and draw a line straight in for about 2 inches. Then, draw a line that slowly curves up and in until you are about an inch from the folded edge of the paper. Continue drawing the line straight up until the trunk of your tree is about a foot tall. Draw a large half circle on the top of your half trunk to represent the leafy part of the tree. You can use a large round bowl to draw the half-circle if you like.
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3
Cut your half tree shape out, with the paper still folded, leaving the the folded edge of the paper intact. Unfold the tree shape and use your stencil to cut this shape out of each piece of foam board.
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4
Use a ruler to the center of each tree. To do this, find the halfway point for the height and then for the width of the tree. In one foam board tree piece, cut a 1/4-inch slot that extends from the bottom up to the center point. On the other foam board tree piece cut a 1/4-inch slot that extends from the top down to the center point. These two slots will allow the trees to slide together so you will have a free-standing foam board tree.
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5
Paint the trunk of your foam board tree with your brown acrylic paint. Paint the leafy part of your foam board tree parts with the green acrylic paint. Paint both sides of both pieces allowing about an hour for drying between sides.
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6
Slide the foam board tree piece with the slot cut in the bottom down onto the foam board tree piece with the slot cut on the top until the two pieces are locked together so the tree can stand on its own.
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Tips & Warnings
You can use the same procedure to make different kinds of trees out of foam board. The important thing to remember is to first make a symmetrical stencil out of paper so that your two pieces will be identical.
