Fun! A collection of handmade toy ideas made from Styrofoam
Do you have any Styrofoam at home?
You might not buy it very often, but it’s actually closer to you than you think—like the food trays that hold fish or meat, or the cushioning material that comes with purchases.
Even if you don’t have any around, you can easily get some at 100-yen shops nowadays, where they sell colored Styrofoam and pieces in various shapes.
In this article, we introduce how to make a fun toy, so be sure to give it a try!
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Interesting! A collection of handmade toy ideas made with Styrofoam (11–20)
clay cake
Don’t you feel a little happy when you spot a round whole cake at a cake shop? You can’t finish one by yourself, but if it’s a toy cake you make, just looking at it and displaying it will put you in a cheerful mood! It’s very simple to make.
Prepare one piece of styrofoam as thick as a whole cake, and anything you like for decoration, such as beads or air-dry clay.
Cut the styrofoam into a round shape to resemble a whole cake, then decorate it however you like.
Using clay to mimic whipped cream, or decorating with flowers and lace, would be lovely too!
dagger
With a foam polystyrene dagger, it’s safe to swing around and play without much risk of injury! First, draw the sword you want to make, trace it onto the polystyrene foam, and cut around the outline.
Make three identical pieces; for one of them, cut out the central area to insert a reinforcing core.
Then insert the core, glue the remaining two pieces on either side to sandwich it, and attach the finer sword parts you’ve cut from foam as well.
Your polystyrene foam dagger is complete! When painting, be sure to use water-based sprays or paints so the foam doesn’t dissolve due to a chemical reaction.
pinwheel
Let’s try making pinwheels out of foam trays! Prepare foam trays in various shapes and sizes.
To make one, cut the foam tray into any shape you like using a craft knife or scissors, make a hole in the center, and attach a chopstick as the handle with a push pin.
You can cut it into the classic pinwheel shape, or let children freely cut shapes to satisfy their curiosity—“Will this shape spin? What happens when it spins?” If your foam tray is white, coloring it will make it look beautiful when it spins.
It’s also fun to make use of the tray’s printed patterns!
bookmark
Let’s try making a bookmark out of polystyrene foam that will make you smile every time you open a book.
You’ll need 5 mm-thick polystyrene foam, construction paper, parchment paper, and an iron.
You can even use a food tray! First, cut two pieces of polystyrene foam to the size you want your bookmark to be.
It will shrink and end up a bit smaller, so cut them a little larger.
Place one sheet of polystyrene foam on the parchment paper, decorate it with construction paper on top, then layer the second piece of polystyrene foam over that.
Cover everything with another sheet of parchment paper on top and press with a hot iron.
When the polystyrene shrinks, place a book or another weight on top to cool it down.
Once it’s cool, you’re done! Punch a hole and thread a string through for a nice finishing touch.
snow globe
Snow globes, with their tiny worlds moving inside, are so magical.
This time, we’re introducing an idea for a snow globe that uses Styrofoam instead of liquid to create falling snow! For the outer container, prepare one plastic container like the kind used for cakes sold at convenience stores.
Use glue to secure your favorite figurines or parts inside the container, add fine Styrofoam beads, and close the lid—that’s it! If you build up static electricity with something like a plastic sheet and bring it close to the snow globe, the snow inside will flutter and dance—it’s super fun!