Maker Monday: Foam Prints

Printmaking at home can be a fun STEAM activity using a few basic supplies and a whole bunch of creativity. Foam Prints are the subject of this week’s Maker Monday offering.

We used inexpensive styrofoam plates, but you can make your prints with the top of styrofoam egg cartons. Even the back of styrofoam trays upcycled from packages of meat and poultry can be used. Just be sure to give them a good wash with hot, soapy water.

These prints can be cool pieces of art on their own, or they can be sent to family as handcrafted greeting cards.

Supplies:

Styrofoam plates

Water-based acrylic paints

Paper

Foam roller

Scissors

Ballpoint pen

Cut a square from each plate for every different design you plan to make.

Draw your print design with a ballpoint pen, pressing down into the foam to make an indentation with every line. Remember the flat surface is the part that will hold the paint. The indentations will make up the picture, so you will want to use stripes or dots for shading for your print.

Pour a bit of paint onto a plate or into a roller pan. Roll the paint lightly onto the foam square. Place a piece of paper onto the foam square, pressing with your fingers all over to transfer the paint onto the paper. Be careful not to shift the paper while you work.

Carefully peel back the paper to reveal your print. You can re-use the foam design to experiment with different colors of paint or paper, but you will need to wash the paint from the foam in between uses to prevent paint from filling the indentations.

For more Maker Monday projects and other fun stuff for kids, visit the Kidsburgh Activities page.