“I scream, you scream, we all scream for…. Hey! What is this? This isn’t ice cream. What kind of sick joke is this? Who does that?” might be what the conversation sounds like when you show off this super sneaky art project!
I love this project almost as much as I love real ice cream because reminds me of one of my favorite sculptors, Claes Oldenburg. Oldenburg was considered a pop artist. He did a lot of public art, but he also did giant soft sculptures of everyday objects like ice cream cones or slices of cake. He is definitely worth a web search with kids!
This is a variation of a project I found online. I modified it to use Model Magic because the original project called for acrylic modeling paste which is: stinky, expensive, and slow drying! None of those things work for MakeSpace ARTS projects.
I am helping twenty 7 year olds make it for an upcoming birthday party at MakeSpace ARTS next month! I am glad I am getting the practice in!
Level of difficulty: Easy with parental back-up
Recommended Ages: 6 and up
Mess Level: medium
What you will need
- About 3 oz. White Model Magic by Crayola
- 1.5” -2” diameter Styrofoam ball
- Black, brown, and red acrylic paint
- A small plastic ice cream dish from the dollar store
- A mini spoon, plastic or metal
- Tacky Glue
- And empty squeeze bottle
- Food coloring: green for mint chip, red for strawberry, yellow for vanilla, yellow+ purple, or red + green to make chocolate. Or, buy appropriately colored Model Magic and mix in white Model Magic to lighten
- Scraps of craft foam sheets in all different colors including red
- Scissors
- A medium wood bead (mistakenly not pictured)
Here is what you do:
- Take ½ of your Model Magic and add 1 drop of food coloring to get the “flavor” want. Kneed the clay until the color is fully blended. Reserve the other ½ white Model Magic for whip cream.
- Flatten the colored Model Magic into a big pancake, and cover your Styrofoam ball with it completely.
- Place the covered ball in the small ice cream dish and set aside.
- In your empty squeeze bottle, add 1 part brown paint, 1 part black paint, and 1 part Tacky Glue. Stir it all together then squeeze some out over the “ice cream” in the bowl. Let it drip and pool like real hot fudge would.
- Cut scraps for craft foam sheets into tiny sprinkles and scatter over the wet “hot fudge”.
- Paint your wooden bead bright red. When it is dry coat with tacky glue to give it shine. Cut a thin strip of red craft foam for the cherry stem that you can insert into the bead hole. Set aside and let dry.
- Take remaining white Model Magic and divide into three rolls. Pinch and twist together to look like a dollop of whip cream. Get creative and judge it by whatever proportions and surfaces look best. There is no right or wrong way to do it.
- Put the “whip cream” on top of the sundae and push down so it adheres to the paint and clay.
- When the red bead is dry, push it into the top of the whip cream, and spoon to the side.
- Let it dry overnight before trick your friends and loved ones.
Remember, you can modify any project. Don’t go out and spend a ton of money. Get creative and use what you have at home. A tennis ball would work for the basic form instead of a Styrofoam ball. No craft foam? You can use markers on the Model Magic to make sprinkles. Most of all have fun!
– Sara
