Foam Tentacles - With Bubble Wrap Suckers

Easy to make foam tentacles for costumes and decorations. Made from foam pipe insulation, wire and bubble wrap.

Supplies

Material

• Foam pipe insulation - I used 3/4 inch.
• Wire for armature - I used 14-Gauge Plastic-Coated Galvanized Wire
• Duct tape - black
• Paint - spray paint and regular paint.

Tools

• Wire cutters
• Scissors
• Box cutter knife or exacto knife
• Paint roller and/or paint brushes.
• Hot glue gun with variable temperature or a "low temperature" setting.

Step 1: Cut and Shape Foam

Figure out the length you want the tentacles to be and cut the foam pipe insulation to that length. Then split the pieces in half, length wise. Most pipe insulation comes with one side precut or partially cut. Use the precut as guide to cut directly across to the other side. This way you get 2 tentacles for each section of pipe.

Use scissors or a knife to round one end of the foam to look more like the tip of a tentacle.

Step 2: Paint

Time to add some color. You will need 3 colors of paint. One for the outside or top of the tentacle and 2 colors for the base and suckers.

Paint the outside/rounded side of the foam pieces. No need to paint the inside it will be covered by the bubble wrap.

The bubble wrap gets painted in two stages. First give it a base coat with the spray paint. You want to get down in-between the bubbles. When the spray paint is dry its time for the second stage. Now you want to use a dry brush technique to get just the tops of the bubbles with a second color. Use a roller or brush with just a little paint on it, too lightly go over just the tops of the bubbles. This will create the look of the suction cups on the underside of the tentacles.

Step 3: Wire Armature

Add wire to the foam to make an armature for shaping the tentacle.

Cut lengths of wire that match the length of the foam pieces. Secure the wire to the inside of the foam, using duct tape. Usually one piece of tape is enough, but if needed, add more tape or add some glue.

Gently bend the wire and foam to shape the tentacle. Start with gentle, board bends to create gentle curves and then increase the bends to make sharper turns. If the wire pops loose, re-tape it, add more tape, or use glue to secure the wire to the foam.

Step 4: Add the Bubble Wrap to the Tentacles

Cut the bubble wrap into strips the width of the foam. Glue the bubble wrap across the inside of the foam tube to cover the wire. Hot glue works great for this but you will need a glue gun with a "low" setting. If the glue is too hot it will melt the foam and the bubble wrap.

Use scissors trim any excess bubble wrap off the sides.

Your tentacle now has suckers.

Now your tentacles are ready to be used as decoration or costume parts.