Hints and Tips for Foamiran and Silk Foam

Hi guys, recently I was asked about Foamiran and Silk Foam and what I find useful to use with them,

The basics I find helpful to have are:

Foamiran, Silk Foam.

Iron, Kitchen Foil, Flower and leaf dies, Colouring mediums, Floral wires, Floral tape, Glue,

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I like to use 0.6 Foamiran though you can also buy 0.8 which is a lot thicker, both of which I find need heat to be able to shape the petals etc, both are available in different colours.

0.8 Foamiran needs a heat source to shape the petals, leaves etc, I find an Iron works best for me though you can use a heat gun and a naked flame, (from a candle etc)

0.6 Foamiran can be shaped with out an iron, but I have a touch of Arthritis in my knuckles so find the help of an iron helps me shape it, especially when rolling over the top ends of rose petals etc,

Silk Foam again comes in various colours and is very light and easily stretches into shape, this doesn't need heat from a added heat source as rolling between your fingers is enough to make the Silk Foam get into shape,

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An Iron - a travel iron is handy as it is small and I only use mine for shaping the flower petals and leaves, which if previously coloured can transfer to the iron, it means you don't need to remember to clean it off before Ironing your clothes too!!!

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Kitchen foil -  is used to make foil buds for the centre of Roses etc, the thinner cheaper kinds are best for this, 

  roughly tear a square shaped piece off the roll, (amount depends on the size of the finished tear shaped foil bud you need), then scrunch it between your fingers shaping it into a tear shape bud. wider at the base and narrower at the top

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You can use dies to make the Flowers or hand cut them, I find dies are handy when I wish to make a few quickly as they can be run through a die cut machine up to 6 layers at a time and of course all are the same size and cut evenly,

I have of course hand cut my petals, leaves and calyxs and these are fine too, especially if you want a certain size,

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You can colour both Foamiran and Silk Foam easily with a few different colouring mediums,

  Geletos - added with a cheap cut up washing up pad,

Oil pastels -  can be used the same way,

Soft Pastels - I add these with a damp wet wipe,

Ink pads - Using a piece of washing up pad

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Floral Wires - are very handy if you wish to make flowers which you want to arrange into a display, these can then have floral tape added over them to give a more natural look and they can cover where you add a leaf to a wire to give a more finished look too,

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Glue is needed to attach petals to form a flower, or to add leaves,

I tend to use Hot glue from a glue gun, be careful of your fingers, they can easily get burnt!!!!

Nail Glue or Super Glue can be used too, these are good for adding petals and leaves to wires and don't add bulk, again be careful with your fingers as your skin can easily stick too,

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I have a few tutorials made with Foamiran at the top of my blog, showing how I make flowers and leaves with them,

I hope you find this helpful, any question feel free to ask me,

Happy Crafting!!!