Fantastic Foamiran!

Today I want to tell you about the wonderful day I had at the Foamiran workshop with Ewa Constanga, run by Love to Craft and Create. We all had a great time. The workshop was very popular too – although it was held in my home town, some people had travelled a very long way to be there.

The lovely Ewa is Polish and doesn't speak any English; not a problem, as our host Monika is a brilliant interpreter.  

The day was split into two workshops to create two separate projects and attendees choose whether they wish to attend one or both classes. I wanted to learn as much as I could and get as much as possible out of the day (some might say I’m just greedy!) so I opted to attend them both.

As you know, there are always trends in crafting and Foamiran is definitely the current 'Must Have' craft. And I can totally understand why. The projects that you can pull off with this simple product are nothing less than awe inspiring. A five minute browse on social media brings up a host of pictures of some truly beautiful Foamiran flowers that people have made and shared. If you’re anything like me, while looking at some of those pictures you’ll be thinking the same thoughts I did  – “I could never do that!” – BUT let me tell you… you can. I had never made anything with Foamiran before the workshop and look what I made:

Ewa wanted to get us to make two projects using Foamiran ‘cold’.  What I mean by that is, without using an iron. (An iron is very often used with this product). Also, you might be surprised to hear we didn’t use any Dies - all petals and leaves were cut by hand. Trust me, it isn't difficult!

We then coloured the foam. Ewa gave us some guidance but left us to choose how we added the colour. We used pastels and small pieces of kitchen foam pad - nothing complicated or technical. The ‘Top Tip’ that Ewa gave us in my opinion was to add green or yellow to the innermost tips of the petals where they would form the centre of the flowers. This really lifts the finished flower. Our aim was to make realistic looking flowers and I think this was achieved.

Making the flowers without heat is tough on the fingers! There is a lot of rolling involved to get the natural look on the petals… but don’t be put off, it CAN be achieved. When shaping the petals care needs to be taken not to flatten the edges- all that hard work shaping and rolling can easily be undone by a bit of over enthusiasm!  

I have to admit, I’m hooked. In between prepping for my shows I’ve made time to make this lovely poppy in the comfort of my own craft room. I didn’t use any Dies to cut the petals, but I’ll put my hand up and confess right now to using an iron – I hope Ewa doesn’t consider that cheating! The iron heats the foam before the shaping process, making things even easier.

......and I also made this smaller flower using my Fleurs flowers fries from Tattered Lace 

By the end of the day, everyone’s finished flowers looked so great that anyone would assume they are difficult to make.  But that’s the magic of Foamiran – they really are not difficult.  All you need is patience, and away you go.

If you don’t believe me, have a go – pretty soon I’m sure you’ll be hooked just like me!