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You are here: Home / Tutorials / Craft Foam / DIY Foam Flyers

DIY Foam Flyers

By Noreen 53 Comments




By Noreen Doll.

Recycle your foam containers into these fun DIY foam flyers.

DIY Foam Flyer by Crafty Journal

These flyers are fun for kids of all ages, and what a great way to use your recyclables!

You can use the top of a foam egg carton, the foam take-out containers, or the foam that fruits and veggies come packed on.

DIY Foam Flyers - Crafty Journal

Do not use any foam that has held meat – they cannot be cleaned well enough for re-use.

If they use white foam, your kids can draw on them with markers and create airplane markings. Or add camouflage by blotching on patches of green, black, brown or yellow paint.

I liked the black foam because it makes a great stealth plane.

diy-foam-flyers17w-400x400

DIY foam flyers could make a fun birthday party activity, and then the kids could fly them when they are finished making them.

I used a foam plane as a pattern, but it’s such a basic shape that it would be easy to draw your own.

Materials.

Foam container

Penny

Double Sided Tape, Duct Tape, or Electrical Tape

Cardboard for Pattern

Pencil

Scissors

Utility Knife, optional (Should only be used by an adult.)

How to Make DIY Foam Flyers.

1. Draw or trace your pattern on a piece of cardboard.

diy-foam-flyer1w-450x343

Cut it out. Then trace it onto thin recycled styrofoam.

diy-foam-flyers6w-450x253

You can cut the foam with scissors, but you need to be gentle to keep from bending or breaking it.

2. Use the utility knife or scissors tip to make the slits. After I made the slits, I used the closed scissors to widen the slit.

You want the wings and tail to fit snuggly, but the slit has to be large enough to allow them to slide in.

diy-foam-flyers13w-400x400

3. Tape a penny to the nose. I used double sided tape, but if the plane will receive rough treatment, you can use electrical tape or a narrow strip of duct tape to attach the penny.

diy-foam-flyers14w-350x245

The DIY foam flyers are ready to fly.

Tips

Remember to be very gentle when putting the plane together, as the foam bends and breaks easily.

Because the black foam was VERY thick, it was hard to cut around the shape.

So i cut large chunks of the excess foam away before I tried to cut out the pieces. That made them much less likely to bend or break.

diy-foam-flyers8w-390x367

The edges were a little rough, so after cutting, I rubbed them on a hard surface to smooth them.

diy-foam-flyers10w-400x232
The slits in the black foam needed to be very wide to allow the thicker wings and tail to fit, so I gently worked the slit with closed scissors tip until it was wide enough for them.

© Noreen Doll

Crafty Journal

 

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Filed Under: Craft Foam, Earth Day, Kids Crafts, Preschool Crafts, Recycled Tagged With: kids craft, recycle, styrofoam, summer, toy

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Comments

  1. Tracey@we-made-that.com says

    June 2, 2013 at 3:40 pm

    Found this on the Monday Kid Corner! Really cool idea! And such a fun project for the kids!

  2. Tara from The Magnolia Barn says

    June 2, 2013 at 6:44 pm

    What a great idea! We have a ton of foam and this would be such a fun project. Pinned!

  3. claire says

    June 2, 2013 at 7:40 pm

    Great idea, my oldest 2 boys use to love these when they were little 🙂

  4. Ana says

    June 2, 2013 at 11:40 pm

    Love it! I love recycled projects and this is fab.

  5. Marilyn says

    June 3, 2013 at 12:34 am

    This project is GREAT…my guys used to LOVE making gliders like this. Thanks for taking me back down memory lane!

  6. April @ 100lbCountdown.com says

    June 3, 2013 at 1:14 am

    Thank you for sharing. These are great! I will have to try these this summer!

  7. Bethany says

    June 3, 2013 at 5:21 am

    Great idea, how fun! My toddler will get a kick out of these!

  8. Carrie says

    June 3, 2013 at 2:17 pm

    This is a cute project for kids! Thanks!

  9. Jeannie says

    June 3, 2013 at 5:41 pm

    Like…why haven’t I thought of this before? Really wonderful idea.

  10. Irena @ The Stepford Wife says

    June 3, 2013 at 6:38 pm

    Finally I found the idea how to recycle all those foam containers (I knew I was collecting them with a purpose), thank you!

  11. Crystelle Boutique says

    June 3, 2013 at 9:07 pm

    You always come up with the funnest ideas, that are so simple and so practical. Love this plane (as will my kids!!!)
    hugs x
    Crystelle

  12. Mary Beth @ Cupcakes and Crinoline says

    June 4, 2013 at 2:15 am

    This is such an AWESOME idea! I’ll be doing this soon with my boys.

    Thanks for sharing at Project Inspire{d} ~ pinning to my party board.

    Hugs, Mary Beth

  13. BeBetsy says

    June 5, 2013 at 12:08 am

    Great idea! great for parties or just having a bit of fun yourself.

    Have a wonderful week~
    Sharon and Denise!

  14. Robin says

    June 5, 2013 at 12:43 am

    Whenever we have foam containers my boys grab them up and make these. I think they enjoy making them as much as they do playing with them. Thanks for sharing at Fluster’s Creative Muster Party.

    Robin
    Fluster Buster

  15. Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple says

    June 5, 2013 at 1:15 am

    This is so much fun!!

  16. Cynthia L. says

    June 5, 2013 at 2:26 am

    What a great project! I bet this would be a fun project for all ages!

    Thanks for sharing at! See you next week!

    Cynthia

  17. Jillian @ Hi! It's Jilly says

    June 5, 2013 at 3:03 pm

    Genius! We’ll definitely need to make these!! 🙂

  18. Capri + 3--Theresa says

    June 5, 2013 at 9:00 pm

    That is such a great way to recycle foam containers and to teach children about recycling and planes all at the same time. Thanks for sharing on Artsy Play Wednesday.

  19. Kassandra @ Coffee and their Kisses says

    June 6, 2013 at 5:14 am

    This is awesome! My son loves those things, but they never last long. I rarely buy them, because it seems like a waste of money with as fast as he tears them up. I’ll be pinning this for future use. I came over from Sara’s WAYD Wednesday Blog Hop.

  20. Sara says

    June 6, 2013 at 1:33 pm

    Thanks again for sharing on my blog.

  21. Darlene says

    June 6, 2013 at 2:52 pm

    Hi Noreen, very cool project. Thank you so much for sharing. My granddaughters will love the planes. And it just so happens that I have a foam container in my fridge right now. 🙂

  22. Linda says

    June 7, 2013 at 2:04 am

    I will share this with my son in law! He would enjoy doing this! Thanks.

    Linda

  23. crystal says

    June 7, 2013 at 2:05 am

    Cool! Reminds me of the planes we had when we were kids 🙂

  24. Susan says

    June 7, 2013 at 2:20 am

    The perfect summer project for my 10 year old!

  25. Anonymous says

    June 7, 2013 at 1:48 pm

    Good idea!

  26. Diane says

    June 7, 2013 at 4:55 pm

    What a great idea. The kids love paper airplanes, they will love this. Thanks for sharing at The Gathering Spot this week. Have a great weekend 🙂

  27. carolyn ~ homework says

    June 8, 2013 at 5:05 am

    I just wanted to let you know that I featured your wonderful project on homework. Thanks so much for sharing it on The Inspiration Board.

  28. Danielle says

    June 8, 2013 at 5:11 am

    Those are great!! =) Thanks! Enjoy your weekend!

    Danielle

  29. soha says

    June 9, 2013 at 4:25 am

    With three boys, this is a must try, pinning for future reference and thanks for sharing.

  30. Lanaya says

    June 9, 2013 at 11:33 pm

    What a great idea for recycling!

    Lanaya | xoxo

  31. Linda says

    June 9, 2013 at 11:40 pm

    Hi Noreen, Do you sleep at night? 🙂 Thanks for the great tutes. Linda

  32. Leslie says

    June 11, 2013 at 2:37 am

    We used to make these when we were little! So much fun!

    Leslie

  33. Crystal says

    June 11, 2013 at 2:21 pm

    What a great and frugal idea full of fun! Thank you and I look forward to more great ideas!

  34. Q @ JAQS says

    June 11, 2013 at 8:15 pm

    Thank you so much for the fun idea!

  35. Katie Adams says

    June 11, 2013 at 11:06 pm

    Such a fun idea! Thank you for sharing on Blog Stalking Thursday! I have featured your project on Blog Stalking Thursday Features YOU! The post is going live later tonight. I would love for you to stop by and grab a feature button. Thanks again for sharing!

  36. Debi and Charly says

    June 12, 2013 at 2:44 am

    Thanks so much for sharing. Have a great week.
    Debi and Charly

  37. April @ Angel's Homestead says

    June 12, 2013 at 5:54 am

    What a fun project! Thank you so much for sharing with Saturday Spotlight. Enjoy the rest of your week, and hope to see you at the party again soon.

    April

  38. cucicucicoo says

    June 12, 2013 at 7:52 am

    What a wonderful idea! 🙂 Lisa

  39. Steffanie says

    June 13, 2013 at 3:22 am

    Thanks for sharing! I’m teaching a history of flight class in my homeschool group and this will be a perfect addition to our lessons.

  40. admin says

    June 13, 2013 at 3:42 am

    It sounds like it will be a fun class!

    Noreen

  41. Sugar Aunts says

    June 14, 2013 at 2:06 am

    We will be featuring your post on a HUGE list of Rainy Day Summer Play activities on Share It Saturday this weekend! We will be sharing with all of our followers on our social media sites (including group boards and communities!!) Thanks for sharing with us at Share It Saturday!
    Colleen at http://www.sugaraunts.com

  42. Linda says

    July 4, 2013 at 8:26 pm

    Noreen, I think you could build a little cottage by the shore with plastic milk bottles and styrofoam take out containers! Have a great 4th! Linda

  43. Maya says

    October 17, 2014 at 9:33 pm

    Wow helped me with my project

  44. Shantel says

    July 7, 2015 at 12:14 am

    my boys wil LOVE this! I saving to do it with them asap!

  45. Gentle Joy says

    July 7, 2015 at 12:38 am

    What a fun project. 🙂 My kids enjoy playing with these.

  46. Janine Halloran says

    July 13, 2015 at 7:48 pm

    What a great way to use recycling! I’m pinning it!

  47. Melissa French, The More With Less Mom says

    July 14, 2015 at 2:04 am

    This is an oldie but goodie! Thanks for posting. Hello from Busy Monday.

  48. Elaine says

    July 15, 2015 at 12:38 pm

    Great Tutorial!! Thanks for sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday!! Hope to see you again!! I love having you!! Pinned!!

  49. Aliza B says

    July 17, 2015 at 3:20 am

    We love finding projects where we upcycle, so this is a great one! Thanks for linking up at the Bloggers Brags party, I pinned your post to our group board.

  50. patti says

    July 17, 2015 at 2:21 pm

    I made these airplanes for my kids…my grandkid…and I am making them for my great grandkids. I made them for the neighbor kids. my scout troups

    I’ve always used meat foam…and haven’t hurt any by using it.

    But if it worries you and you don’t have foam you can get black or white foam at the Dollar Tree stores. It works and is a little stronger because of the heavy paper on the outside. I think it is called foam board.

    patti

  51. Nina Lewis says

    July 17, 2015 at 5:00 pm

    I’m always on the lookout for things to do with my grandsons. They will be so happy when we make these together. Thanks so much for sharing at my Grandma Ideas Sharing time link party!

  52. Rose, who's busy crafting at the FineCraftGuild says

    July 18, 2015 at 5:13 pm

    Brilliant mama! Love this, Noreen, and no doubt all those other moms who will have the kids around all summer, will love this idea too: from trash to treasure and keeps them entertained for hours! Thank you for linking it up at SHARE IT sunday linky party. A new party will open again tomorrow and I can’t wait to see what you’ll bring. ~ Till soon, Rose

  53. simple nature decor says

    July 24, 2015 at 11:37 am

    This brings memories when i was a child! We make something similar plane out of cardboard! Thanks foe sharing this at my last party! Hope to see you at this week
    bash! Hugs Maria

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