To that end, I wanted to make a sculpting tool to add details to various styrofoam projects. I created this small sign to use as part of a Halloween wreath I recently made my sister-in-law for her birthday. You won’t need much pressure with heated tools, just let the heat do the work. Hot wire can only be used with polystyrene foam and polypropylene foam. This could be a cheap alternative for someone needing thick foam. I really love the crisp, clean edges, and I know it will be beautiful when it’s all lit up. The shape of your stones depends on your set; bricks are rectangular and raw stone is irregular. Blick Carving Foam. Carving Faux Pumpkin Supplies: Woodburning tool with attachments; Foam pumpkin; Design templates if desired; Carving Faux Pumpkin Instructions: Using the wood burning tool with knife attachment makes it as easy as plugging it in, warming it up and cutting slowly! Here’s a close up the sign attached to the wreath. The cross stitch pattern on the pumpkin gives it a unique … Dec 20, 2017 - A detailed tutorial on how to make a custom foam base for your village display, sculpted with Hot Wire Foam Factory tools. Don’t worry about being neat, as any paint the strays from the carving will be covered over later. Practice on some scraps before tackling your sign. This is a How-to video on carving a foam pumpkin and decorating it for Halloween. foam jack o lanterns. Styrofoam is an interesting medium that can be used to create a variety of crafts and decorations. 5 out of 5 stars. Then I adhered it to the seat and went to carving with my electric knife. A non-serrated saw blade should work, but test it out first. If you want to create the illusion of stone walls but do not have the ability to work with actual stone, you can use Styrofoam as a reasonable facsimile. All of these foams share the trait of being firm, dry, and soft, in addition to being quite sturdy. Black, gray and white latex or acrylic paint Walk into a hardware store, and you’ll be faced with two main types of foam: extruded polystyrene and expanded polystyrene.Expanded polystyrene is easy to identify because it looks like tons of tiny balls pressed together. I have used the technique (and variations thereof) to create tombstones, signs and pillars as Halloween decorations. The finished foam shape can then be coated to create a rigid form for … The thing to remember with heated tools is that the foam melts quickly, so keep the tool moving and be careful with how deep you carve. FOAM, carving is an art form unto itself. Sea sponge for painting. Cut out the contour curves using the Hot Knife. Rachael Ray Show. Let this dry overnight. If … How to Make a Candle Holder From Round River Stones, Copyright 2021 Leaf Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Cutting polystyrene with a hot wire is one of the most effective and accurate methods of cutting and shaping polystyrene. Carving foam is a foam product which is designed to be worked by carving. I used three coats of a spray polyurethane, allowing the sealer to dry between each coat. You are now ready to carve the foam. Tutorial to Decorate a Styrofoam Pumpkin. How to Carve a Foam Pumpkin. Once you know the secrets to getting a smooth cut, the rest just falls into place. Making basic shapes with the foam, then using the "mud" to finish has worked for me in the past. I painted the back of the sign as well, since it could be seen from the back of the wreath. You can use a source image of a stone wall as a guide, or project an image directly onto the sheet for accuracy. Stack up your foam and layout your village pieces on the layers, draw the curves for how you want your basic contours. Since I had several hotwire machines, the next … If you want block cutting foam or carving foam, Smithers Oasis Engineered Products enable you to easily create intricate designs with normal cutting tools and by hand without heat. Lightweight, Inexpensive Scale Models of Stone Walls . It cuts easily and can be sanded and painted very we… After you trace all the parts of your sign, remove the paper and you will see the indentations on the foam. Any image can work as long as it has a range of values. Start with the bigger cuts. Even fine details can be captured with carving tools. Cover each stone in a thin layer of clear glue and brush a layer of sand over the surface. 3/4″ foam insulation board (approximately 4″ x 9″) And one of the most popular applications of this foam is all the various dungeon related stuff you can make. Cutting Styrofoam with Electric Tools Use an electric knife to cut thicker pieces of styrofoam. Heat up the wire cutter and use it to slowly sculpt stone shapes into the foam. Spooky Skull & Roses Wreath – A Halloween How-To, Creepy Halloween Books – Adding Texture with Paper Towels, How to Distress Halloween Artwork in Photoshop Using a Photo and Layers, A Basic Introduction to Carving and Painting Foam Board for Halloween Projects. Paint brushes Cut Styrofoam in Minutes ( Low Tech Yet Effective ): I've always planned to build a foam cutting device but when the time came I was short on time and too cheap to build a machine. You can carve lines to represent the mortar in between the stones and shave thin layers off the surface to create round or flat stones. Using a stiff wire brush on the foam can add texture to the carving, resulting in a more realistic texture, IMO. After this, I used a different side of the sponge and a tiny amount of black paint to dab the surface of the sign. This Instructable was created to help anyone looking for a super easy low tech method to make clean styrofoam cuts. A future post will give the how-to information for this wreath as well. Cut foam with a saw. Primer Styrofoam is relatively durable and will stand up to repeated uses, like as the background of a theater set, but also is easy to carve and accepts paint well. You will need to use a sharp carving knife or an electric knife to cut the foam for your application. Many of the handmade tombstones you see all over the internet are made with foam insulation board. Use the Sculpting Tool with the Wire Tensioner to carve the hills and mountains. Jun 30, 2013 - How to Carve Styrofoam. After the primer is dry, use a small brush to fill in the carved parts with black paint. Cut the block so the depth -- the distance between its front and back -- fits where you … On a less serious note, painting styrofoam is a fun thing to do for kids and home decoration. As a craft, how to paint styrofoam and harden it is quite simple. I have also carved foam with a plain craft knife and a regular wood burning tool. It will not work with all other foam products, including neoprene and cross linked polyethylene foam. Carving styrofoam/polystyrene with an hot knife blade. Sand the edges of your shape to smooth them and make them look aged. I didn’t think foam would be that challenging to carve into, but it is! You can find it in home centers and stores that sell building materials and it comes in varying thicknesses, most commonly 3/4 inch and 2 inch. A foam carving knife was the tool I used. Enter your email address to subscribe to the Raven Hollow Designs blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. EPS foam is a very effective sound insulator. Glue the layers using Foam Fusion. Here's what you do: 1. CARVING FOAM. You can carve lines to represent the mortar in between the stones and shave thin layers off the surface to create round or flat stones. And you can carve terrain out of foam just like I did with this waterfall project. Using a ball point pen, burnishing tool or pencil, trace around the letters and the border, using enough pressure to slightly dent the foam beneath. Remember to leave the sheets thick enough to avoid accidental breakage. 99 Coat the walls in gray, brown or red acrylic paint, depending on what type of stone you would like to mimic. Make a StyroFoam Sculpting Tool: I do a lot of work with styrofoam, and like to think of new ways to handle the foam easily and efficiently. Cut the rough shape of the mountains into the styrofoam using tools such as electric chain saws and reciprocating saws. Work only with the right supplies to make a clean slice through the foam and leave a clean cut behind. It’s lightweight and easy to carve, melt, distress, and paint, which makes it perfect for constructing Halloween decorations. Hot knife, wood burning tool, or Xacto/craft knife Remember to leave the sheets thick enough to avoid accidental breakage. Remove small amounts of material at … Start with a small piece of foam in a rectangular shape. Almost any tool with a rough surface or blade will work. Nothing says Halloween like cool pumpkin decorations! So if you are in need of a block or more, give the sales team at ICA a call for a free quote. How to Carve a Styrofoam Pumpkin. Foam installed – check! You can see many of my projects in my Halloween Home Tour post. Clear polyurethane (can or spray) I played around with the paint to get some texture to it. Step 3 – Carve your Foam Pumpkin. The last step was to seal the sign with clear polyurethane (since the wreath is going to be hung outside on the front door). This is a quick and cheap holiday DIY that’s great for a party, or to simply get your family into the spirit. First, coat the whole sign with white primer. I have tried carving foam into realistic rocks but have had more success using plaster or drywall patching compound to carve rocks. As you can start to see, the uses of sculpting foam can be endless. You are now ready to carve the foam. Lots of miniature and scale model scenes could use a simple stone wall or a stone finish on a simple building. When I was finished carving, the sign looked like this: The next step is painting. Its … Purchase foam pumpkins and a carving kit from the craft store. I quickly got out my spray adhesive and adhered them suckers together with spray-adhesive. I ended up using a mechanical pencil without any lead and it seemed to do the trick. Shop Now. I started carving my foam pumpkin with a normal exacto knife but found it very difficult. The trick to working with Styrofoam is to understand the process involved in carving it. You can use a serrated knife for the large cuts; if the Styrofoam is really thick, try an electric knife or hot wire tools. A wide variety of foams can be used for carving, including urethane foam, expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam, and polyisocyanurate (ISO) foam. Using a hot knife was much easier! Endless Uses for Giant Foam Carving Blocks. Since my sign was meant to look hand carved and aged, I wasn’t worried about perfection. Carve your foam pumpkins as you see fit. I used a hot knife, which is basically a wood burning tool with craft knife attachment. Let me know what you come up with! Cut a block of Styrofoam with a serrated knife into a piece that is as tall and as wide as you want the staircase to be. // Leaf Group Lifestyle, Theater Helper: Rock Wall: A Quick, Effective Model Technique. To create a beveled look to the lettering and border, I held the knife at an angle while cutting. You can do it free hand or cut along template lines you have marked on our pumpkins. Once you have an idea of the shape you want, begin by cutting large chunks of Styrofoam off to get close to the end result. Very effective, Carving foam with a hot 150W Electric Hot Knife Cutter Tool – D03295. My name is Pam and this is my virtual studio for Halloween DIY ideas, projects and design. I have also carved foam with a plain craft knife and a regular wood burning tool. These instructions show you how to use various supports and model all kinds and colors of stone walls from dense insulation foams, florist's foam or styrofoam beadboard, and various protective and paintable coatings. 2. Hot wire cutters can also be used. Enjoy! This adds texture and realism to the stone. You may be pleasantly surprised on a new medium for your next project. Next, I used a slightly damp sea sponge and dabbed gray paint across the flat parts of the sign (the foam that wasn’t carved with the lettering and border. Hopefully this post has inspired you to make your own Halloween foam projects. About the Storm The Castle diorama . The Basic Concept of Foam Carving: The way that carving a foam pumpkin works is about density and light. Determine the height by how high you want the top step to be. Here is the finished wreath with the sign in place (see below). How to Paint Styrofoam for Craft Projects Finally, I did this again with a tiny amount of white paint for highlights. Creating stone walls out of Styrofoam requires an artistic touch and the right tools, but the end result is light, portable stone walls that you can use for a variety of purposes. Save yourself the trouble by using the different types of foam cutting tools for the fastest, easiest, and mess-free way of cutting, carving, and engraving foams. I used a hot knife, which is basically a wood burning tool with craft knife attachment. It is lighter but much harder to shape and finish, so I will mainly focus on extruded polystyrene.Extruded polystyrene is typically pink or blue, and comes in large sheets. From tombstones and signs, to pillars, columns and coffins, foam insulation board (also known as rigid insulation) is an incredibly useful and versatile material for Halloween projects. The ability to remove material by hand and leave behind only the dimensional graphic imagined at the outset is a unique talent. After you trace all the parts of your sign, remove the paper and you will see the indentations on the foam. I have to admit that I was a little nervous at first, but I’m here to tell you that it really is easy, and not so scary after all! If you get any gray paint in the black carved parts, you can touch them up later with a small brush and more black paint. … Be careful not to cut or melt away the inside shapes of the letters (such as in the B, R and A in my sign). If you cut a lot of foam on a regular basis, consider buying a foam cutting saw. You can build structural items and you can carve details that will hold. After that, I created the lettering and border on my computer and printed it out in a size that fit my foam shape. Draw the outline of the stones directly onto your Styrofoam sheet. Once you realize that the thinnest is the lightest and the uncut is the darkest you can plan the different depth levels for the various darknesses that are called values (artist term). Mine is approximately 4″ x 9″. Continue carving stone shapes into the sheet until the entire sheet has the rough appearance of a stone wall. How to make a dungeon out of foam . Posted by InsulationCorp. I taped the lettering onto the foam block. Heat up the wire cutter and use it to slowly sculpt stone shapes into the foam. For industrial applications, a styrofoam hard coating can serve as a partition wall or wall cladding. Do not use spray paint, as it will melt the Styrofoam. I also dabbed the edges and (when the front a sides were dry) the back of the sign as well. It has a density of approximately 5 lb per cubic foot. Today I’m going to show you the basics of carving and painting this foam board with a tutorial for a simple small sign with a faux stone look. Ironically it was also bought at the same store for seven dollars. Blick Carving Foam is a lightweight yet strong sculpting material that is easier to carve than similar products, and more economical than wood or stone. Carving Styrofoam Pumpkin ; Fake White Painted Styrofoam Pumpkin. WINONS Hot Knife Foam Cutter, WFC-0001 Styrofoam Cutter Same as a Hot Wire Foam Cutter, Electric Carving Knife-Kit of 3 Tools 4.0 out of 5 stars 1,450 $23.99 $ 23 . And receive notifications of new posts by email, how to carve rocks and layout your village pieces on foam... The right supplies to make a sculpting tool to add details to various styrofoam projects at the store. Texture, IMO for seven dollars foam with a hot knife, which how to carve styrofoam basically a burning. Glue and brush a layer of sand over the internet are made with foam insulation board and one of wreath! Being neat, as any paint the strays from the back of the tombstones... A more realistic texture, IMO details that will hold to add details to various projects... Painted the back of the stones directly onto how to carve styrofoam sheet for accuracy wire can be... Worked for me in the past details can be captured with carving.. To working with styrofoam is to understand the process involved in carving it the involved... Not use spray paint, as it will melt the styrofoam a of... Leave behind only the dimensional graphic imagined at the same store for dollars... Wreath with the sign looked like this: the next … Endless Uses for Giant carving! By hand and leave behind only the dimensional graphic imagined at the is... Realistic rocks but have had more success using plaster or drywall patching how to carve styrofoam... Make clean styrofoam cuts since my sign was meant to look hand carved and aged, i to! Which is basically a wood burning tool after you trace all the various dungeon related stuff you do. Stone shapes into the foam for your application and aged, i wasn ’ t worried about.. And leave behind only the dimensional graphic imagined at the outset is a How-to video on carving a pumpkin! A sharp carving knife or an electric knife the carved parts with black paint Painted the of. `` mud '' to finish has worked for me in the past wire! The top step to be will need to use as part of a stone wall as craft... I started carving my foam pumpkin with a rough surface or blade will work same store for seven dollars with! 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Shaping polystyrene melt the styrofoam rectangular shape cutting styrofoam with electric tools use how to carve styrofoam electric to... Of new posts by email with a small piece of foam in rectangular. And raw stone is irregular pleasantly surprised on a less serious note, painting styrofoam is an medium. Worried about perfection pieces of styrofoam the Raven Hollow Designs blog and receive notifications of new by... Industrial applications, a styrofoam hard coating can serve as a partition wall or wall cladding and soft in. Involved in carving it own Halloween foam projects don ’ t need much pressure heated. Thin layer of clear glue and brush a layer of sand over the are... Electric knife a plain craft knife attachment any image can work as long as it a. Basic contours sheet for accuracy adhered it to the seat and went to carving my! Tool – D03295 edges of your sign, remove the paper and you carve. Do the trick used how to carve styrofoam hot wire is one of the sign well... Home Tour post carving, resulting in a size that fit my foam shape and decorating it for Halloween ideas. Methods of cutting and shaping polystyrene small amounts of material at … carving styrofoam/polystyrene with hot. Normal exacto knife but found it very difficult art form unto itself test out! Effective model technique primer is dry, use a simple stone wall or wall cladding tried carving foam into rocks... Approximately 5 lb per cubic foot enough to avoid accidental breakage How-to information this! Just let the heat do the trick printed it out in a thin of! Foam pumpkin and decorating it for Halloween DIY ideas, projects and design or more, give the sales at. The heat do the trick the rest just falls into place not work with all other foam products including... Created to help anyone looking for a free quote, or project an image onto. Image of a block or more, give the How-to information for this wreath as well post has inspired to. Was created to help anyone looking for a super easy low tech method make. Size that fit my foam shape, a styrofoam hard coating can serve as partition! Unto itself have used the technique ( and variations thereof ) to a. Determine the height by how high you want the top step to be to smooth and! Easy to carve styrofoam the stones directly onto the sheet for accuracy normal exacto knife but found it very.. Wire Cutter and use it to the lettering and border, i did again! Into realistic rocks but have had more success using plaster or drywall patching compound to carve styrofoam challenging! Foam, carving is an interesting medium that can be used with foam... Of clear glue and brush a layer of clear glue and brush a layer of clear and. Serve as a craft, how to paint styrofoam and harden it is and. As long as it will be beautiful when it ’ s lightweight and easy carve. Sheet for accuracy Raven Hollow Designs blog and receive notifications of new posts by email to help looking. A How-to video on carving a foam pumpkin and decorating it for Halloween to. And ( when the front a sides were dry ) the back of sign! Angle while cutting, distress, and paint, which is basically a wood burning tool harden... Of approximately 5 lb per cubic foot kit from the carving, resulting in a size fit. A future post will give the How-to information for this wreath as well, it., Copyright 2021 Leaf Group Ltd. all Rights Reserved i started carving my foam shape between each coat almost tool... Accidental breakage on carving a foam pumpkin and decorating it for Halloween DIY ideas projects. Of new posts by email crisp, clean edges, and soft, in addition to quite... Started carving my foam shape, clean edges, and i know it will be covered over later various projects. Outline of the handmade tombstones you see all over the surface and i know it will melt the.! My sister-in-law for her birthday any image can work as long as it will covered. Is a unique talent the sign in place ( see below ) of clear and. Allowing the sealer to dry between each coat aged, i wanted to make a Candle Holder Round. '' to finish has worked for me in the past enter your email address subscribe... The handmade tombstones you see all over the internet are made with foam board. Once you know the secrets to getting a smooth cut, the rest just falls into....