Use your Imagination and Build a Castle, Great for Kids' Parties

By: Kathleen George for Styrofoam Brand Foam

Become a princess and use your Fairy Tale Castle from Styrofoam. It's great for your daughter, niece, granddaughter or even your son who wants to be a prince. It can be a great hit at birthday parties for the kids.

Materials:

STYROFOAM Brand Products:
- 4- 2" x 12" x 18" sheets
- 4- 6" cones
- 8- 8" disc
- 11- 1 1/2" balls
- 24- 1" balls
Acrylic paint - gray and red
Utility knife with new blade
T-square
Thick white craft glue and/or low temperature glue gun and glue
Toothpicks
Wooden skewer (optional)
Gray felt
2- large jump rings
2- large push pins
4- ft. 1/8" ribbon or braid
Felt scraps, gold doilies etc. for flags and other embellishments

Steps:

Cut the following from two foam sheets: two pieces 12" x 12"; four pieces 3 1/4" square; four pieces 12" x 1 1/4" x 2".
The two 12" x 12" pieces will serve as the front and back walls of the castle. Cut out a drawbridge door, approximately 6" wide and 9" high, from the center of one of the 12" x 12" pieces. Slice the drawbridge door in half, so it's 1" thick.
The two 2" x 12" x 18" pieces will be the side walls. Glue together the front, back and side walls using white craft glue; insert toothpicks between the seams for reinforcement. Glue the 12" x 1 1/4" x 2" strips into the four inside corners. Glue the 3 1/4" squares to the tops of each corner.
Cut the 1 1/2" balls in half; glue balls evenly to top of castle walls.
Cut the 1" balls in half; glue balls evenly around each tower base.
Cut the disc in half, and then cut 1/3 off each half. Glue two larger wedges on to the front wall, 3/4" from either side of the door.
Create the mechanics so that the drawbridge door can move up and down. Glue toothpicks or a short piece of a wooden skewer into the sides of the drawbridge door, about 1/8" from the bottom edge. Use a toothpick or the point of a skewer to dig out two narrow channels, 1" x 1/8" x 1/8", on either side of the doorway on the bottom of the castle wall. The skewers or toothpicks in the door should slip into this channel so the door can move freely.
Paint the castle and the drawbridge gray; paint the cones (towers) red. Let dry.
Cover the inside of the drawbridge door with gray felt.
Cut two, 1" long x 1/8" wide pieces of gray felt. Attach two large jump rings to the front wall of the castle with loops of felt glued to the wall.
Slip the skewers in the drawbridge door into the channels on either side of the door opening. Glue a strip of felt over the channels, being careful that the skewers can still move freely. Knot the ends of two 24" ribbons; push the knots into either side at the top of the door; glue. Run the ribbon through the loops on the castle wall. Insert pushpins into the door surround. Wrap the ribbon around the pushpin to secure.
Glue on cone towers.
Decorate the castle. (We used banners cut from red felt and decorated with pieces of gold doilies.)