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Continuing on from my discussion here, I wanted to find some good quality contact cement to use as a glue for foam puppets. The problem is, in Australia, it's not that easy to find what I need. Some suggestions were made at Puppets and Stuff to try to find two products: Green Contact Cement, or Crafter's Pick Ultimate, both of which are non-toxic, non-smelling and make easy and good seams on foam.

So on Tuesday, I was in need of some puppet materials, and went on a little glue hunt while I was at it. I checked out Bunnings, which I assumed would have a wide range of glues; no luck there. Riot Art should have had some glues, and it did; but I could not find Crafter's Pick, which I thought I had seen at some time or other either there or at Spotlight, near the mosaic stuff.

I did happen, at Riot Art, across a glue, called 'Foam Glue'. I looked it over. Non-toxic, dries clear, works on foam... and the label has a picture of a marionette on it. I didn't buy it there, hoping to find Crafter's Pick at Spotlight. I didn't, but did see Foam Glue again. So I bought it. 125ml for $AUD 5, which isn't too bad.

I've tried it out, and I can say that it's pretty good. The only main issue is that the glue is quite liquidy (like a slightly watered down version of PVA), and required me to ensure the foam was securely connected for the first few minutes of drying. After that, the seam had dried a little, but I left it for a few hours (the bottle says 24 hours for complete drying) and when I came back the seam was completely firm. I pulled either side of the foam, and the seam was very strong.

So I think this is my new favourite tool for foam puppets. I'm not sure how long the 125ml bottle will last me, but my guess is I won't use up an entire one making a full-bodied muppet-type.

If you're looking for Foam Glue, you'll find it in Spotlight or at Riot Art; it's made by Helmar's and you can find more about it here.

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