How to Make a Homemade Bobblehead

eHow may earn compensation through affiliate links in this story. Learn more about our affiliate and product review process here.

Things You'll Need

  • White craft wire, 20 gauge

  • Marker pen

  • Rice

  • Scissors

  • Colored craft foam

  • White craft foam

  • Empty drink container

  • Photo showing a face, roughly 1 inch wide by ½ inch high

  • Pipe cleaner

  • 2 ½-inch Styrofoam ball

  • Pencil

  • Ruler

  • White glue

Bobbleheads are figurines with still bodies and rocking heads. Many bobbleheads are designed to look like celebrities, but that doesn't mean you have to be famous to see your face bobbing on one of these dolls. They are still most associated with the world of sport, so take this classic bobblehead look and give a twist by inserting your face onto a football player figurine. You could even use a photo of somebody else and present the doll as a gift.

Advertisement

Step 1

Wrap the craft wire around a marker pen but leave the last 1 ½ inches unwrapped.

Video of the Day

Step 2

Slide the marker pen out of the wire and you will have a tight coil. Pull this until it stretches to 6 inches in length.

Step 3

Clean out and remove any labels from your empty drink container. Place the stretched coil in this container and add ¼ cup of rice along with 1 ½ tsp. of glue. Leave this overnight to fully dry.

Step 4

Draw a square onto craft foam in your team's color measuring 6 inches by 7 inches. Make a mark 2 inches in on both sides of a 7-inch edge. Do the same with the opposite side. Extend the box by 1 ½ inches between the marks on both sides. Cut out the shape that you have drawn.

Advertisement

Step 5

Make a horizontal and a vertical 1 ½ inch cut in the middle of the shape. Fold back the foam from these cuts and stick it all down with glue. This is the neck hole.

Step 6

Push the top of the bottle through the neck hole and fold the shape in half so that it resembles a football jersey. Glue all of the edges together except for the ends of the sleeves.

Advertisement

Step 7

Cut a number 1 out of white craft foam and glue it to the front of the jersey.

Step 8

Twist the end of a 4-inch pipe cleaner into a coil. Glue the untwisted end to the container inside the sleeve. Repeat for the other sleeve and you have two arms.

Advertisement

Step 9

Cut a rectangle from the Styrofoam ball with a serrated knife. This should be around an inch deep and the same size as the photo.

Step 10

Fill a small glass 1/4 full with water and add the same amount of glue. Mix this together.

Advertisement

Step 11

Rip off pieces of tissue paper and stick them to the Styrofoam helmet with the glue and water mixture using a paintbrush. Keep doing this until the entire helmet is covered with around three layers of tissue paper.

Step 12

Allow the glue to dry and then paint the helmet to match the jersey. Leave the helmet to dry.

Advertisement

Step 13

Attach the photo of the face to the cut-out section of the helmet with glue.

Step 14

Cut a piece of craft wire down so that it is slightly longer then the width of the photo. Place it over the photo so it is horizontal and just above the mouth. Pierce it through the Styrofoam at both ends to hold it in place.

Advertisement

Step 15

Attach a second wire just above the chin.

Step 16

Push the wire coil into the helmet so that the face is on the same side as the number one on the body. It should also be low, meaning more of the helmet above the photo should be visible than below it when looking straight on.

Advertisement

Video of the Day

references