Memorial Day Crafts

My grandson, Cameron, is obsessed with his favorite superhero, Spider-Man. The red-suited character has an awesome costume, climbs walls without any assistance, and shoots webs from his wrists. He also helps people whenever he can and puts the bad guys in their place. So Cameron, at 2 years old, already understands the concept of heroes and the good that they do to make others' lives better.

While little ones are quite familiar with these comic-book characters, they may not know the existence of the bonafide heroes in their own family tree. Memorial Day is a great opportunity for you to open up the discussion. Whether they are uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, or parents, those who have preserved our freedoms through service in the armed forces qualify for that hero title.

For that reason, all of these Memorial Day craft projects feature the word "hero." Take this chance to talk about what you believe are the characteristics of a hero and how your family member fulfilled that role.

We are using FloraCraft Styrofoam for each of these projects. The foam comes in many versatile shapes and sizes and is easy to find in craft shops, as well as discount and dollar stores.

For Toddlers and Preschoolers:

HERO MEDAL
[photo pin max-width=150 align=right]This medal can be displayed by your hero’s photo or worn by its toddler creator.

Materials:

• 1 12” x 12” x ½” FloraCraft Styrofoam sheet
• Heart-shaped cookie cutter
• Table knife
• Rolling pin
• Wax paper
• Acrylic paint, gold
• Wedge sponges
• Glitter glue, gold and blue
• Hole puncher
• Embroidery thread, red
• 6" strip of ribbon, red, white, and blue
• Low-temperature glue gun or white craft glue
• Double-stick tape
• Adhesive-backed pin

Instructions:

1. Cut a heart shape out of the foam sheet using the cookie cutter.
2. Using the table knife, cut a rectangle 3" x 1” from the foam.
3. Flatten and compress both foam shapes using the rolling pin.
4. Using a piece of wax paper as a palette, squirt out a quarter-size dollop of gold paint.
5. With the wedge sponge, paint the two shapes and allow them to dry.
6. Decorate with glitter glue accents, as shown. Allow the shapes to dry for 24 hours to make sure the glitter glue won’t smear.
7. Fold the ribbon in half to define the center.
8. Create a point with ribbon, as pictured, and adhere in place with the glue.
9. Punch a hole in the heart foam and put embroidery thread through the hole.
10. Glue embroidery thread from the heart to the back of the ribbon so that the heart hangs slightly below the point of the ribbon.
11. Add the rectangle shape to the top of the ribbon, as shown.
12. Adhere with glue.
13. To wear the pin, younger children can use double-stick tape. Older children can use an adhesive-backed pin found in the jewelry sections of craft stores.

For Grade-Schoolers:

HERO WREATH
[photo wreath max-width=150 align=right] This wreath makes a touching Memorial Day home accent.

Materials:

• 1 10” FloraCraft Styrofoam extruded wreath
• Acrylic paint, blue and red
• Wedge sponges
• Tinsel garland, wired, red, white, and blue, with stars
• Craft paper ribbon, red and white
• Letter stickers
• Star punch
• Decorative scissors
• Adhesive dots or low-temperature glue gun

Instructions:

1. Paint ring in alternating sections of blue and red using wedge sponges. Allow to dry.
2. Wrap with tinsel garland.
3. Cut small sections of paper ribbon and create a message with the letter stickers.
4. Cut ribbon edges with decorative scissors to accent.
5. Apply message ribbon with adhesive dots or glue gun.
6. Using red paper ribbon, create a small square and accent it with a star punched from the white ribbon. Adhere with adhesive dots or glue gun.
7. Tie a red paper-ribbon bow and add a white punched star as an accent in the center of the bow, as shown. Adhere with adhesive dots or glue gun.
8. Hang to display using a portion of the wire tinsel garland.
9. Photos of your hero can also be added.

For Older Grandchildren:

HERO DISPLAY

[photo display max-width=150 align=right] A fitting tribute to any hero, this faux shadow box is a great display option for photos and memorabilia.

Materials:

• 1 12" x 12" x 1” FloraCraft Styrofoam sheets
• 1 small FloraCraft Styrofoam star shape
• Pencil
• Table knife
• Rolling pin
• Acrylic paint in red, blue, brown, and black
• Wedge sponges
• Knitting needle
• Paint brush
• 1 12" x 12” piece of scrapbook paper
• 2” chipboard letters
• White paper
• Photos, memorabilia, stickers
• Adhesive dots
• Removeable adhesive
• Double-stick tape
• Cardboard
• Stand

Instructions:

1. Working with your photos and memorabilia, first determine the layout of your display. Trace the photo outlines onto the foam with a pencil and cut the sections of appropriate size from the foam.
2. Place the photos inside their cut-out space.
Layout the chipboard letters on a sheet of white paper with removeable adhesive.
3. Use this as a template for the bottom rectangle, as shown, and cut a foam rectangle which will be the space for these letter. The letters will be permanently mounted in this space with the cardboard backing.
4. Remove photos, memorabilia, and chipboard letters and set aside.
5. With the knitting needle, carve lines to create a wood-grain pattern into the foam sheet. Paint the foam with the brown paint and set it aside to dry.
6. When dry, add black paint to the lines in the wood grain.
7. Use a rolling pin to compress the star shape.
8. Paint the star red and brush the edges with blue paint.
9. Paint chipboard letters.
10. Secure scrapbook paper to back with adhesive dots. Add a piece of cardboard to the back of the foam square for extra support.
11. Place photos, memorabilia, and chipboard letters inside foam recesses.
12. Add stickers.
13. Display on a stand.