STYROFOAM brand foam crafts

Santa Wobbler

It's a wacky wobbler - touch felt-clad Santa and he wobbles thanks to marbles placed in a base of STYROFOAM™.
   Completion Time - 
2-4 hours
   Designer - 
Daniel Boone

Materials

STYROFOAM Brand Foam
  • 1- 4" x 12" cone
  • 1- 4" ball
  • Felt:
  • 1- 6" x 12" flesh
  • 1- 2" x 2" gold
  • 1- 4" x 4" green
  • 1- 3" x 14" black
  • 1- 10" x 18" white
  • 1- 15" x 15" red
Other Materials
  • 2- white and 2- red chenille stems
  • 1- 1" white pompom
  • 1- 20mm wiggle eyes, pair
  • 7- stems 24-28 gauge floral wire
  • pink acrylic paint
  • polyester batting
  • 30- glass marbles (or other suitable items for weight)

Tools

  • Scissors
  • Thin floral wire
  • Wire cutters
  • Craft glue or glue gun and glue sticks
  • Serrated knife
  • Straight pins
  • Soup spoon
  • Pencil
  • Compass
  • Large-eyed needle
  • Screwdriver
  • Skewer

Instructions

There's more than meets the eye to this comical Kris Kringle.Touch him and he wobbles! Shapes of STYROFOAM™ Brand Productsand marbles help make this wobbling character come to life.For easier assembly, read our tips first and then followthe step-by-step instructions.CRAFTING TIPSGathering Felt. Thread a large-eyed needle with floral wire and sew a runningstitch 1/8" from edge. Pull wire to gather, twist to secure and cut excess wire.Cutting. STYROFOAM™ Brand Products cuts easily with a serrated knife, hacksaw,floral knife or X-acto knife. Wax the knife blade with an old candle for easier,smoother cuts.Gluing. For a fast, sure bond, use a low-temperature glue gun.Hot glue guns can be used but might melt a small portion of the foam.(Please follow manufacturer's safety instructions when operating aglue gun.) White craft glue is a tried and true favorite for usewith STYROFOAM™ Brand Products; use florists' picks or toothpicksto hold pieces together while drying.
  • 1. To make body and base, cut ball in half; slightly flattenbottom of one half. Cut off top 4" of cone; measure and mark 5" from cone base.
  • 2. Use spoon to scoop out plastic foam from half ball andlower 4" of cone, leaving a 1/4" to 1/2" outer shell. Do not break through foam.
  • 3. From flesh felt cut a 4" x 12" strip for head and 11/2"circle for nose (use compass to draw circle). Stitcharound outside edge of nose; pull up gathers loosely and stuffwith batting. Pull gathers tightly; twist ends together andcut excess wire.
  • 4. Glue felt nose to center of head strip. Using yourfingertip, pat on pink painted cheeks; let dry. Glue wiggleeyes above nose. Form tube with head strip, overlapping andgluing 4" ends together at center back.
  • 5. Sew a running stitch around bottom of head tube. Place tubeon top of cone so wire is even with marked line on core; pullwire to gather and twist to secure. Stuff head lightly withbatting. Sew running stitch at top of head tube; pull wire togather and twist to secure.
  • 6. Cut (2) 4" x 12" pieces of white felt; fold lengthwise andglue long edges together. From fold to glued edges, cut slitsto create fringe; do not cut through glued edges. Glue fringearound face for beard. Glue a piece of fringe around head forhair. Glue small piece under nose for mustache.
  • 7. For hat pattern, draw (1) 11" diameter circle on paper.Fold in quarters and use one quarter as hat pattern; cut hatfrom red felt. Glue red chenille stem to one straight edge offelt hat; cut off excess stem. Overlap and glue straight edges together.
  • 8. For hatband, trim 1" wide strip from bottom of hat pattern;cut hatband from white felt. Glue hatband around bottom edgeof hat. Glue pom pom to tip of hat. Glue hat on head; shape asdesired by bending chenille stem.
  • 9. From red felt cut (2) coat pieces from Pattern A and (2)sleeves from Pattern B. Cut (2) belt pieces from black felt(Pattern A); buckle from gold felt (Pattern C); (4) mittensfrom green felt (Pattern D). From white felt, cut trim forsleeves (Pattern B) and coat (Pattern A).
  • 10. Glue trim to coat, extending 1/2" beyond bottom edge.Overlap and glue together edges of two coat sections; glue inplace. Placing seam at center back of cone, wrap coat aroundplastic foam body; overlap edges and glue in front.
  • 11. Glue ends of belt together. Cut slits in belt buckle asshown in Pattern C; thread belt through slits in buckle; slidebuckle to end of belt. Glue to coat at waist with buckle in center.
  • 12. For each arm, cut one 5" length of white chenille stem.Glue two mittens together, with one end of 5" chenille stemsandwiched in the middle; repeat with other mitten.
  • 13. For each sleeve, glue cuff to bottom edge, extending 1/4"beyond sleeve. With cuff on outside, overlap and glue straightedges of each sleeve to form a cone-shaped tube. With thumbspointing up, insert one arm into each sleeve.
  • 14. Gather stitch along shoulder of sleeves; pull up gatherstightly around top of arm. Using screwdriver, punch one holein each side of body below head; glue top of sleeve in eachhole. Shape arm as desired.
  • 15. Turn body upside down; fill with marbles. Pin base tobottom of body; test for "wobbliness" and add or removemarbles as needed. Remove pins and glue base to bottom of body.
  • 16. Spiral wrap one white and one red chenille stem togetheraround skewer; slip spirals from skewer. Shape to form candycane; glue cane to one hand.