DIY Paper Mache Standing Snowman

       Crafting snowmen is a semi-annual event in my home. This is one of the easiest Christmas crafts and also folks are usually very happy with the results. Both adults and children can accomplish the craft with marvelous results.

       It is best to produce this craft during warm to hot and dry conditions. This is because paper mache clay dries quickest without molding during the summer. 

       You may actually produce snowman figures in stages. This is very convenient for those of you who produce crafts in bulk for Christmas fairs/events. Many years ago I crushed and masked snowmen during the cold and wet seasons and then applied the pulp later during the spring and summer.

 

Left, the finished front of my snowman. Right, the finished back of my snowman.

 

Select your bottle carefully. Use glass
only, if you are making a snowman
for sale at a craft fair or if you are 
selling this product from a shop of 
some sort.

Supplies Needed:

• paper mache clay (comes in grey or white)
• masking tape, very sticky kind
• a glass bottle in (especially in Winter)
• acrylic paints only
• novelties (tiny tress, wreaths etc...)
• fabric for trims (scraves, hats etc...)
• acrylic sealer or Mod Podge
• felt for bottom of the figure
• white school glue (liquid)
• translucent glitter (optional)
• Gesso (optional)

       Be mindful in selecting your glass container. You want this bottle to be heavier on the bottom than the top. The bottle should also have a flat, stable bottom. Often I have people ask if they might use a plastic bottle. This comes with added complications: plastic bottles must be stuffed with rocks or sand and then with paper on top of this in order to achieve weighted bottoms and if you should store figures in hot attics the plastic could crack or melt. Finer work, in my opinion should always be done over glass instead of plastic for these reasons but, if you are teaching a classroom of kids to make these snowmen, plastic bottles could be used for safety's sake. 

       Under these circumstances, it may be best for the teacher to 'weight' the bottles in advance of the project. Kids can get fascinated with this process to the point of slowing down the craft event too much. Make sure that you save the bottle caps so that you may permanently seal the bottles. Add a bit of glue to the inside of the caps and screw these back on to the bottles allowing dry time before handing them out to a classroom full of enthusiastic sculptors.

       Now, if you are crafting for a fair use the glass bottle, but do not select a bottle that is too large or wide. In time, paper mache crafters discover that a narrow bottle is best. This is because you will be crushing paper on top of the bottle's surface and the less of it there is, the more advantageous it is to shape a fluid looking figure. 

 

Left, details added to this snowman like a raccoon seated on his hat and
greenery in his fist help  to give him a personality.

 Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Clean the bottle you will be using and let it dry out completely.
2. Weight the bottom of the bottle with sand or gravel and then seal the top.
3. Crush newsprint or recycled paper around the bottle, excluding the bottom, in the shape of your snowman.
4. Use masking tape to cover the surface entirely, including the bottom.
5. Prepare the paper pulp according to the instructions printed on the package.
6. Sculpt the pulp around the figure in an even thick surface, excluding the bottom. Let the pulp dry completely. This could take one day in the summer sun or even a week in winter near a heating vent. 
7. Attach the novelties to the dry pulp with hot glue, wood glue or white school glue. The glue dictated here is dependent on the type of surfaces you are gluing against each other. Read the labels to make correct choices.
8. If you are a professional folk artist, at this point you should apply a Gesso sealer, for durability sake. If you are a school teacher doing this craft with little ones, you may apply a cheap white paint of some sort. (Read labels make sure that this paint doesn't include lead.)
9. Now paint the snowman's features with acrylic paints. Let dry. Do not use watercolors, these fade too fast. Do not use oil based paints for these breath, are toxic and should only be used for artworks that hang on the wall and that children or infants will not put in their mouths.
10. Seal the snowman with a Mod Podge if you are a teacher. If you are a professional artisan, seal it with a coating or two or three of acrylic, non-yellowing varnish for white snow people. If you prefer that "primitive" look as did I for this snowman, apply a wood varnish for an antique looking color.
11. Glue felt on the bottom of the figure to protect surfaces from scratching.
12. Apply white school glue and glitter at the end if desired. Let dry and display.

 Read About Materials Used for The Project:

• 7 Basic Methods for Crafting With Papier-Mâché

Make an igloo home for a peanut penguin...

The finished igloo ornament hangs on fir branches.
Older children will enjoy the challenge of this project.
I will include a 3-D igloo project on our blog later.
Go here to download a penguin pattern for your 
classroom crafts at Thrifty Scissors.

   Here is my first penguin project for our giant Christmas ornament craft collection. Several of our readers have requested him this year...

Supply List:

• narrow wooden craft sticks
• clamps for craft process
• white school glue
• hot glue gun and hot glue
• one peanut with shell
• tiny bit of craft foam sheet (for feet)
• acrylic paints: black, white, blue and grey
• one toothpick (for beak)
• two tiny google eyes
• Mod Podge
• twine for hanging
• heavy cardboard
• Igloo template (below)

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Cut out the igloo template and place it on top of a heavy piece of cardboard to trace around.
2. Cut out the igloo from the cardboard.
3. Use clamps and white school glue for the next steps. Measure and cut each craft stick as you line them up for gluing directly onto the cardboard igloo cut-out. (see photos below) Clamp these down as they dry to prevent the cardboard from warping.
4. Keep going until the outer part of the igloo design is finished. The inner part of the igloo which represents the front opening to the ice block home, is crafted with cardboard cut-outs. These are cut one by one and stacked several pieces thick. The 'door' opening is left without dimension and painted black.
5. After the igloo has been constructed, hot glue your penguin, which is a peanut, in front of the door.
6. Next glue on his eyes, and then cut a small slice from a toothpick for his beak and glue it on. Attach a pair of feet cut from a small piece of craft foam in the shape of a heart.
7. Using a pencil, draw the ice bricks onto the igloo and paint these in shades of grey, ivory, blue and white. I used a dry brush technique for mine.
8. Paint also the penguin using black for his backside and white for his front. 

Left, you can see how I lined up the wooden craft sticks and cut these to fit in a row.
Right, here you can see how I clamped these down during drying time.
This helps prevent warping.

Left, the peanut in it's shell is hot glued in place and the ice bricks are drawn directly on the
wooden craft sticks. Right, everything has been painted.

Templates for several Christmas ornament crafts coming soon.
Above are the patterns for the igloo, thus far.

The Retro Snowman Coloring Page

Description of Coloring Page: wooden bucket, snow, children playing in the snow with their dog, a very retro looking snowman, umbrella skeleton, back fence, ladder

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

 

 King Winter by Charles Wilder

It's getting colder. Mother says
King Winter's come to town
And brought his icy, snowy clothes
And probably his crown.

And sure enough, when I look out
Our window, I can see
His diamonds all along the twigs
Of our old cherry tree!

 

Craft a Snow House for A Christmas Display!

Crafting snow houses was very popular during the Victorian era. Most antique snow houses are valued for hundreds of dollars; that is why I decided to make my own, of course.

        This snow house began as little shed that was donated to a resale shop for charity. In it's original state it was quite unextraoridinary, dusty and unattractive. I purchased a wooden picket fence at a local hobby store for a few dollars and added a bottle brush tree and wreath. The snow baby was made by gluing a Sculpy face onto a popcycle stick and wrapping a simple gown of snow white cotton batting with white glue. 

       I wrapped the interior walls, roof, base and outside walls with sheets of cotton batting and white glue. The cotton batting icicles where crafted using the method found here.

       The final touch, transparent glitter, gives the finished product a fresh looking layer of ice.

• Craft a Snow Baby from Cotton Batting
• What is A Snow Baby?
• Miniature, Villages, Snow Houses & Christmas Stalls

A tiny snow baby lives here along with a lovely bottle brush tree and wreath.

I covered my recycled Christmas house with masking tape prior to wrapping the walls with cotton batting.

Fauve Gingerbread Church Tree Topper

"Peace, Good will towards man.

       I have decided to decorate one of my Christmas trees with cotton batting homes and churches. This will be my summer project. Perhaps I will be able to complete enough of these little structures to turn the tree into an entire village? (We shall see, if time permits.) 

       To top off my tree, I recycled a small wooden music box. I payed $3.00 for this charming little church in a resale shop. Often I see discarded items such as this these and wonder how can I transform them into something more appealing? It's seems so wasteful to just toss something with that much detailing on it.

       Although the music box was broken the church still had all of it's green, tinted glass windows intact; plus a very cute, little steeple. It's sturdy wooden form also made it a perfect object to cover with cotton batting. I would not need to reinforce it's walls to prevent the glue from warping the church structure and with the removal of the music box, there should be plenty of room for top tree branches to fit inside!

       So I gave it a try and here is what it looks like now. I think it will make a fine tree topper!

More Fauve Gingerbread for The Christmas Tree:

• Gingerbread clay recipe for ornaments from the imagination tree 
• Gingerbread igloo - with an Eskimo on skies!
• I adore this gingerbread carousel - but if I put all that work into it, I'm not going to eat it!
• Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Ideas
• Paper village patterns and links
• Gingerbread Recipe & Printable House Template
• Gingerbread house treat box with free printable
  

I purchased a small broken music box at a resale shop. I thought it would need just a bit of sprucing up before topping off one of my Christmas trees with it. Left, this old music box was manufactured in China. Center I removed it's base so that it could be neatly snuggled inside the tree branches of a Christmas tree. Right, here you can see the old music box inside. I removed it to make room for branches.

Left, I prepared the cotton balls by unraveling them. Center, the surface of the church was quite clean, so I began to glue my first layer of cotton batting to it's surface walls. Originally I thought I might paint the roof, steeple, doors and windows. However, I changed my mind quickly as I worked; the little church began to look like gingerbread and I found this very appealing. Right, here you can see the church is almost finished; all it needs now it just a few added touches, a couple of  bottle brush wreaths and a cross at the top of the steeple.

Here is the completed project, I'm very pleased with the results and I can't wait to nestle the
 little fauve gingerbread church at the top of my Christmas tree this year!

A Cool Balancing Act Ornament Craft

Left, the snowman before his features are glued on and painted. Right, the finished result.

       This little snowman balances snowballs and one tiny red bird on his arms and hat. He has faux black coal bits for eyes and buttons and a bright orange carrot for a nose. He's a jolly cute addition for any Christmas tree this holiday season.

Supply List:

• Q-tips
• white cotton balls
• white school glue
• paper egg carton
• acrylic paints: orange, green, red and black
• masking tape
• newsprint
• wire for the hanger
• scissors
• transparent glitter

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. crush three balls from the newsprint and cover these with masking tape. 
2. Tape the snowball body parts together.
3. Poke holes where ever you would like his arms to be with the tip of your scissors.
4. Squeeze a generous portion of white glue into these holes and press the Q-tip arms inside the cavities. Let the body dry.
5. Unravel a generous portion of white cotton balls.
6. Apply white glue to the masked surfaces of your snow persons body and wrap the cotton around the form excluding the O-tip arms. 
7. Apply maybe three to four layers of cotton batting always layering it with white glue. 
8. Cut a little paper cap from the egg carton and glue this to the top of his head.
9. shape a carrot nose, coal eyes and buttons, plus snowballs and a small bird from the cotton batting. Ad small amounts to the batting as you do this and let these tiny parts dry.
10. Glue on the miniature features and let the snowman dry thoroughly before painting him.
11. Paint his features using fast drying paints.
12. Apply one last coat of white glue to his body and sprinkle on top some transparent glitter.

My snowman is finished and hangs on the Christmas tree
 branch very careful not to drop and single snowball.

Little Ones Can Print Snowmen With Their Hands for Christmas

These hand printed snowmen were made by my nephew a few years ago.

Supply List:

• Solid colored Christmas baubles, plastic or glass
• acrylic white and black paints
• sponge
• paper plate
• permanent black, blue and orange ink markers

Directions:

1. Squirt out a bit of white acrylic paint onto a paper plate. Dip the sponge into it and paint both the palms and inside fingers of your child's hand.
2. With the top of your bauble right side up, place the ornament into the painted palm of your child's hand. Carefully close his or her fingers around the bauble's round surface without letting their hand shift.
3. Now ask them to gently remove their hand from the surface.
4. Then hang the bauble in a place where the paint can dry without being disturbed.
5. Wash your little ones hands.
6. After the white acrylic paint has dried, paint black top hats on each of the printed white finger tips.
7. Using your permanent markers, add details to each of the snowman's faces: eyes, noses, smiles and scarfs.
8. Sign and date the ornament with a black permanent marker on the bottom of the palm print.

"Heidi demonstrates how to make a great holiday gift with 

your child's hand print. Great fun for the kids and a great gift idea."

Craft Your Own Set of Spun Cotton Icicles

      If you are anything like me, you will be reading this post at 4:30 in the morning while surfing for one last craft to make for your tree. The only difference between us is perhaps that I am looking to teach it and you are looking to receive it. 

       Although I've managed to keep my pocket book under control and I don't spend as much money as most Americans do at Christmas time, I still dream of decorating my home with items that would cost a small fortune in real life. And this dreaming starts about mid June for me, every year, without fail.

       I walk through the rooms of my home and I can't help but fantasize about draping evergreens loaded with tinsel, ice and extravaganza. However, I'm not just thinking about them in my own home, I am also thinking about them in everybody else's and I guess this is what makes me a little strange.

       What is this madness all about? I'm not quite sure but I think it has something to do with my childhood. My father was quite a daydreamer, something like Walter Mitty. He pursued architecture, religion and history throughout his life in that very order. He had the kind of curiosity that only children understand.

       My mother was the opposite, full of common sense and a little restrictive. She had to be as long as he was alive. But, since my father has died, she has become just as romantic as he was. As we age we begin to realize that what others did for us must be repeated in ourselves in order for their memory to remain alive. I think this is why my father cared so much about history. He just wanted to keep repeating the best parts of it so that the people he loved would never be lost or forgotten.

      So here is my next contribution. During the late 1800s through the first World War, cotton batting ornaments were most popular and although you may not be able to purchase a set of these spun cotton icicles realistically, you can handcraft them with just a bit of time and patience.

I handcrafted a set of six cotton batting icicles for my tree.

Supply List:

• Both white cotton batting balls and a white cotton batting sheet
• iridescent glitter
• red holly berries
• faux pin needles (cut an artificial branch)
• masking tape
• wooden skewers
• newsprint
• white school glue
• white tacky glue
• scissors
• wire to shape a hooks

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1.  I purchased wooden skewers for this project from the grocery store and then broke them in half. You may make your own icicles any length that you desire. But, do use a strong stick, pencil or skewer inside the core of your icicles. These will prevent the ornaments from breaking, should these receive a bit of rough handling over time.
2. Crush newsprint and layer masking tape on top of it to shape your icicle's form.
3. I used cotton batting wire to shape hooks on top of each icicle for hanging. Glue and tape these firmly in place before you begin wrapping the icicles with cotton.
4. In this case, I recommend that you wrap the first layer with a sheet of cotton batting and white school glue. Wrap the subsequent layers with unraveled cotton balls.
5. After you have layered both cotton and glue, ending with a light coating of glue always, let the icicles dry thoroughly in a warm area.
6. Poke a hole into the surface of your icicle and fill it with tacky white glue and faux berries/pine needles. Let dry.
7. Unravel white cotton balls and apply glue in a spiral pattern down the length of your icicle. Wrap and twist a last layer of batting to form the pattern demonstrated in the photos below. 
8. Wipe on a final coating of white school glue and sprinkle a generous amount of iridescent glitter onto the wet surface. Let the icicles dry and then hang them on the tree for an impressive winter display!

Pictured above are the wooden skewers wrapped and ready to be turned into something special.

The first layer of batting is made of a cotton sheet, normally this is used to line blankets and quilts with.

After your icicles dry, poke a holes into their surfaces and paste in faux pine needles and berries.

To add the final touches, wrap and twist cotton batting down the length of each icicle with glue. On the far right you can see that I've also sprinkled glitter onto the surfaces of my icicles.

See More Versions of Spun Cotton Icicles:

• Two trees from smile mercantile
• A most unusual bottle brush tree. Spun cotton ornaments too.
• Merry The's Christmas Collection

How to Sew Sock Snowmen Ornaments

Left, is a sock snowman made by my younger child when she was eight
 or nine years old. Right, is the snowman that I made while working along
with her during the family craft project. I can recall her giggles while
making these even now. Her snowman hangs on our family tree and mine
on her own tree in her bedroom.

       Sock snowmen are so easy to craft that your children can craft these along with you. They make great introductory assignments for a children's sewing class too. 

       Always be sure to give young people new needles to work with and do not allow them to share their needles with any other person. Keep peroxide on hand for accidental pricks!

Supply List:

• clean, white tube socks (infant sizes)
• additional decorative Christmas themed socks (infant sizes)
• solid colored socks and fabric scraps
• pom poms
• buttons, beads and ribbons
• needle and white thread
• dental floss
• cotton batting for stuffing
• Sharp scissors 

Step-by-Step Directions:

1.  Cut the top half of each white tube sock where the heal meets the ankle. This is the part of the tube sock that you will use to sew your snowman's body.
2. Sew a straight stitch (with dental floss) across one end of the tube and then turn the sock inside out before stuffing it with cotton batting. It doesn't really matter if you choose the smooth side or the textured side to face outside for the body. This is a matter of preference.
3. Sew the open end of the tube closed using a slip stitch and the dental floss. The floss is stronger and will stand up to wear.
4. Thread/knot the floss on your needle again and then hand bast around the center of your stuffed figure, while pushing the stuffing to the left or right to form snow ball like shapes in the tube. Pull the basting firmly into place and back stitch over it so that it will not come loose. You may like to do this more than once in order to sew a snowman with multiple torso parts.
5. You can dress your snow person by cutting up more decorative socks for his cap, sweater and scarf. Whenever you attach an additional knit piece be sure to turn under and slip stitch the ruff edges, otherwise these will unravel over time.
6. Sew on buttons and beads to make interesting, quirky expressions.
7. Tack on ribbon for hanging these funny little guys on your tree.

These sock snowmen are made with rubber bands and rice. 

A little too heavy for the tree but delightful to decorate 

tables and chimney mantels with.

More Sock Snowmen:

• Sew Primitive Sock Snowmen Ornaments - tea bath dyeing
• Olaf Sock Snowman Tutorial
• Adorable Snowman Sock Puppet Craft

More Snowman Crafts for Christmas:

1. Snowman diorama (video)
2. Paper snowman mobile
3. The snowman crafts from Crafty Journal
4. Cotton Ball Snowman Craft For Kids
5. Snowman made with egg cartons (video)
6. How to make a snowman using large plastic cups (video)
7. Hot glue snowman ornament
8. Glow in the dark milk jug snowmen

Craft a Juggling Snowman Ornament

      This charming little snowman ornament has always been a favorite on our family tree. I made him when my adult kids were very young. This was back when I had lots of little mismatched socks floating around the dresser drawers, under beds and stuffed between cushions in my living room! So the supplies needed for my snowball juggler will be easy for young parents to acquire.

This snowman juggles snowballs on my Christmas tree every year!

 Supply List:

• white or ivory felt
• red and stripped children's socks
• plaid wool scraps for snowman's scarf
• pom pom to match the sock for your snowman's stocking hat
• papier-mâché pulp (Celluclay)
• brown embroidery floss and needle
• thin wire
• cotton batting (stuffing)
• Sculpey (white, oven bake clay)
• black, white and  orange acrylic paints
• white, translucent glitter
• miniature cookie cutter for the button 
• tacky white glue

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Draw and cut a snowman's body in any size that you like. You can trace the general shape of my snowman from the photo above. I did not really use a pattern of any kind to make my juggler; snowmen can be just about any lumpy shape and they will look cute.
2. Trace around the pattern with a soft pencil on top of your white felt. I used ivory colored felt for my snowman but that is what I had on hand at the time.
3. Leave the bottom end of the felt snowman open. Turn the felt sewing inside out and stuff the snowman's body with cotton batting.
4. Sew the opening of his body shut using a slip stitch. 
5. After this step, I used brown embroidery floss to embellish the seams of my snowman with a blanket stitch. Then I also added the words, "Let It Snow" with a back stitch across the lower half of his body. 
6. Then I took a child's red sock and cut off it's cuffs and toe in order to wrap the remaining tube around my snowman's torso. Then I cut the remaining cuff of the sock in half and wrapped these around the snowman's arms, whip stitching the sides together with red thread. I also turned under all of my sock seams and whip stitched these shut so that my knit sock sweater would not unravel with use over time.
7. Cut a thin piece of plaid wool and wrap it around the snowman's neck to give him a scarf. 
8. Cut the toe from a second baby sock, roll it's edges a bit and fit this over your snowman's head. Whip stitch around this stocking cap in order to keep it in place. Sew on a matching pom pom.
9. Unwrap your Sculpey, roll out a carrot shape for his nose and cut out a tiny snowman using a miniature cookie cutter. Take your embroidery needle and add two button holes through the clay before backing everything at 170 degrees in the oven for ten minutes. 
10. Let the clay cool and paint the nose bright orange. Paint the button as you please.
11. Glue the carrot nose onto the snowman's face. 
12. Paint a few black dots for eyes and a mouth to imitate coal.
13. Sew on the clay button to the snowman's sweater.
14. Clip and bend you wire and poke this with a bit of tacky glue on it's tips, through the felt hands of your snowman. It helps for the end tips to be bent a bit so that the wire will not work it's way out of the felt over time. You will need to wrestle with this a little but it is not as hard to insert as it sounds.
15. Take a bit of Celluclay from it's package and add a very small amount of water to the mixture. Stir and form snowballs over the wire armature. Let this dry hard overnight.
16. Paint the snowballs with white acrylics and then glue on the translucent glitter to finish your juggling snowman ornament.

Close up shots of my juggling snowman.

See more little crafted felt snowmen:

• Pamela Susan's felt snowman
• Penny felt snowmen mat
• Primitive snowman craft

How to craft more snow people for Christmas:

1. Snowman crafts from favecrafts
2. Claypot snowman craft for Kids
3. Laughing snowman paper bag craft
4. Snowman craft idea using white chrysanthemums
5. Cute pom pom snowman craft
6. Glass block snowmen (video)
7. A wooden melted snowman craft
8. Snowglobe Snowman
9. Craft a Paper Snowman Wreath

Victorian Snowball Garland Tutorial

Craft a playful snowball garland for your own Christmas tree. Garlands like the one shown above were hung on Christmas trees in American homes during the Victorian era.

Unravel white cotton balls before wrapping the
egg carton cups.

 Supply List:

• white cotton balls
• paper egg cartons
• white school glue
• white tacky glue
• dental floss
• needle
• scissors
• white or translucent beads/bugle beads
• two hooks
• translucent glitter

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Collect and cut apart the cup shapes from paper egg cartons. I used 13 for this particular garland but it doesn't really matter how many of these your choose to include. 
2. Pull out a relatively long piece of dental floss and thread it onto a needle. Make sure that this needle is thin enough to thread floss through your bugle beads. It is important to use dental floss instead of thread for this process. It is by far more resilient.
3. Thread two or three extra long bugle beads and then one larger white bead before centering a portion of the dental floss across the egg cup. 
4. The egg cup should have a continuous beading of tacky white glue squeezed around the top edge of cups lip. See the pictures below.
5. Now gingerly take a second paper egg cup and press it on top of the glued edge. You can add a bit of white cotton batting to help seal this uneven seam around the two egg cups. 
6. It take only a few seconds for this seam to bond well enough for you to keep working. String another few bugle beads onto the other side of the finished snowball shape and repeat this process until you have the number of egg carton "snowballs" that you want on your garland. See pictures below.
7. Wrap the remaining ends of the dental floss around a wire hook for each end of the garland. 
8. Glue approximately half of the wire hook to the inside of each end paper egg cup before gluing together the end snowballs of the garland. Let the garland dry thoroughly.
9. Unravel white cotton balls before wrapping the egg carton cups.
10. Spread white school glue with your finger tips over the surface of each cup and wrap cotton batting onto the surface. Repeat the process until you are happy with how the snowball looks.
11. Coat the last layer with white school glue and sprinkle translucent glitter onto the wet surface. Let the garland dry.

Detailed photographs of the snowball garland craft. Far Right, see how the garland is threaded and assembled at the same time.

The egg cups do not need to fit together perfectly. Making snowballs is not an exacting process. Have fun, it will stick.

Here is the end result. I think this garland looks best on a silver and white tree. It is also an authentic inclusion to a Victorian tree. The garland is so light weight that it may even be hung on a feather tree!

More Snowball Ornaments: 

• Craft Miniature Snow Scene Baubles
• Making Snowballs From a Bedspread!
• Snowball Ornaments from Queen B
• Coffee Filter Snowball Ornament
• Snowball Ornaments Made with Toilet Paper
• String Snowball Ornament

Enhance a Christmas Stocking With Costume Jewelry

 I used a grey felt, silver and crystal seed beads and a simple
 scene depicting a snowman to create this small stocking that
 now hangs on my youngest child's Christmas tree every year.

      When my mother-in-law passed away many years ago, I was given a few pieces of her costume jewelry. I did not frequently wear rhinestones nor did my little ones at that time, for they were quite young.
      I did, however, have a mind to use these vintage pins in some way so that my children could have some sentimental memory associated with them. So I incorporated this glittery costume jewelry into a couple of beaded Christmas stockings. Then I gifted these to my girls on the Christmas following their grandmother's death.
      Now every year I see these charming little socks hanging on their trees and think of her. She would have liked for her granddaughter's to remember her most at Christmas, for she was quite the Christmas fanatic herself. It was one of the happiest common interests that we shared together before her passing.
      The pins can also be removed for wearing should my daughters care to use them for that purpose some day.
      I will also post photos of my older girl's version as soon as she unpacks her ornaments for the season.

My appliqued snowman is made from white wool and he
sports a wooly scrap scarf as well.

Photographed here is one of the little rhinestone twig pins
that once belonged to my mother-in-law.

I finished the top edge of these stockings with wire and glass
seed beads. The sides of the stockings are finished with
embroidery floss using the blanket stitch.

More Christmas Stocking Glitz:

• MacKenzie-Childs Jeweled Peacock Christmas Stocking
• Victorian Christmas Stocking Elegant Lady Rose Boot
• Cute Little Christmas Stockings by Christine Ott

Craft Gourd Snowman Ornaments

Children always enjoy crafting these gourd snowmen during the holidays.

      You will need to plan ahead for this particular ornament craft. It requires that gourds be dried several months in advance. Drying gourds is not an exact science. There are always a few that don't make it to an acceptable stage and mold must be roughly sanded off before applying paint.

Supply List:

• baby socks for the snowman's stocking hat
• plaid paper
• black seed beads
• orange oven-dry clay
• paper face mask (to prevent the inhaling of mold spores)
• white school glue
• white tacky glue
• either white acrylic paints or Gesso
• scissors
• dried gourds
• wire for hanging the ornament
• translucent glitter 

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. You will need to prepare your gourds by hanging them in a sunny dry spot. They will get a little moldy, however.
2. Where a paper mask while you remove most of the mold with a fine grade sandpaper. 
3. Then apply either a bit of Gesso or white acrylic paint with a sponge. I let some of the original patina of my gourds show through because I prefer the look.
4. Now fold and trim a few baby socks for your gourds stocking caps. Glue these on top of the gourds with tacky white glue.
5. Cut a few strips of plaid scrapbook paper and snip the ends to create a fringed edge. Glue these scarfs directly onto the surface of the gourds.
6. Use tiny, black seed beads for each snowman's eyes and mouth.
7. Roll out a carrot shaped nose from orange oven-fire clay. Bake according to the package's instructions. Glue the carrot nose to the center of each snowman's face.
8. Brush a thin wash of white glue onto the gourds and sprinkle a bit of translucent glitter wherever you wish.
9. Hook a wire hanger through the stocking hat for hanging.

This is just part 1. follow the links at youtube to view additional video.

See More Gourd Crafts:

• How to Craft a Christmas Gourd Snowman
• How to Craft a Christmas Gourd Santa
• Fall Decorating: Make Luminaries Out of Dried Gourds

Make more little snowmen for Christmas:

1. Multiple snowman crafts from Kid Activities
2. DIY duct tape/bottle cap snowmen (video)
3. Simple shapes snowman paper bag puppet
4. Frosty collection of snowman crafts
5. Winter snowman crafts at DLTK
6. Toilet-Paper Tube Snowman Craft
7. How to make a snowman hair clippie
8. How to make a balloon snowman (video)

Make a Jingle Bell Snowman Ornament

Finished Jingle Bell Snowman

 Supply List:

• jingle bells 
• white paint
• black permanent ink marker (fine tip)
• red chenille stem
• two red pom-poms
• orange toothpick
• soft paint brush 
• sandpaper
• white glue
• wire for hanger and for stringing together the jingle bells (approx. 2 ft.)
• white twine or cotton batting for wrapping the wire between the bells.

Step-by-Step Directions:

1. Sand the surfaces of the silver jingle bells so that the white acrylic paint may adhere to the smooth surfaces properly.
2. String a wire around the first jingle bell hook and then pass it up through the bottom of the next. Feed the wire through the inside of the bell's hook, wrap it around the hook and then feed it up through the bottom of the third bell through the next hook from the inside. Now wrap the wire around the top third bell's outside hook firmly. The bells should look stacked.
3. Wrap twine or a bit of cotton dipped in white glue around the wires sandwiched between the stacked bells. This will keep them lined up better and prevent small fingers from getting nicked by the wire ends.
4. Now paint the jingle bells white with a soft brush and hang the snowman from a hook until it is finished drying.
5. Wrap and cut a bit of the chenille stem to glue onto the top head of the snowman. This will be his "earmuffs." Attach on either end a red pom-pom.
6. Glue on a clipping from an orange toothpick for his nose.
7. Draw on black dots for coal colored eyes and buttons.

These bells have been both sanded and strung together with wire.
The sanding helps the white paint to adhere to the otherwise slick surface.

More Jingle Bell Snowmen:

• Jingles the Snowman 
• Cute Snowman by Linda Albrecht
• Handpainted Rustic Snowman Bell Ornaments

Craft Miniature Snow Scene Baubles

Paper mache bauble halves are perfect supplies
for this vintage bauble craft.

      Craft enthusiasts have been assembling miniature snow scenes inside of all kinds of baubles for more than 100 years. Sometimes you can find little snow scenes inside of: hollowed out eggs, recycled Altoid containers or any number of tiny boxes. I used both a plastic bauble half and three paper bauble halves that I purchased from my local hobby shop for this project.

      There is really very little work involved in the crafting of these sweet little snow scenes, especially if you have a stack of old Christmas cards on hand. Children ages nine and up will enjoy pasting in all of the elements and be overjoyed with the ease of crafting ornaments with such professional results. 

      Parents and teachers, however, must do a little leg work in order to make the craft transpire smoothly with minimal frustration. Take a quick peek at the cards you have on hand and make sure to collect or purchase miniatures that compliment the card's themes. Snow scenes are by far the easiest to collect for because miniature deer and trees are typically sold in hobby stores around Christmas time for these kinds of craft projects. 

      You will definitely have more success purchasing miniatures online than in finding these supplies inside shops. This is because crafts are trendy just like anything else and this project is considered a bit too old-fashioned by many folks. However, vintage is in and I predict that the supplies will become more varied and abundant within the next few years.

I made four snow scene baubles with three
 old Christmas cards. See how children can
recycle Christmas cards into window views.

My Supply List:

• translucent white glitter
• white school glue
• paper pulp (premix)
• tacky white glue
• tiny figurines (dear, carolers etc...)
• tiny bottle brush trees
• old Christmas cards (landscapes, city scenes)
• cotton balls 
• tiny stickers
• mica chips or miniature mirrors (for ground cover)
• wire for hooks
• hallow bauble halves (plastic or paper, I used both)
• acrylic paints; white and blue

      Here I have also made a tiny snowman for the plastic deer to romp around on my chilly evening view. Did you know that deer are most active during evening, night and twilight hours? The blanket of snow here is made from white paper pulp that anyone can purchase in a craft shop. It comes in a large bulky bag, but it goes far when sharing it with a whole classroom of students. To prevent your paper mache baubles form being misshapen during the drying time of this craft, give your little students each a bowl to keep the wet ornament in while they are working. Let the ornament dry inside the bowl overnight.

      This tiny snow scene is my favorite because it is so blue. It helps to cut a series of slashes on the edges of your card clippings in order to make then fit nicely inside of the bauble shape. Also the smaller the scene, the easier the fit.

      The success of this miniature view was sheer dumb luck! I just happened to have a tiny set of carolers in my old stash of holiday miniatures. When I came across this tossed Christmas card of a German village at Christmas time, I knew that it would make a perfect ornament vignette. I cut the card down and pasted in the scene, added white paper pulp, pressed in the caroling figures with a bit of glue and dusted my snow scene with glitter.

      I pasted in a larger clipping of a tree and painted a pale sky into the background of this little view. Then I added little penguin stickers a plastic tree and paper pulp for snow to the foreground. I pressed mica chips into the paper pulp for the pond (If you can not find mica chips, use a tiny mirror.) and added a final dusting of glitter to the entire interior.

      To apply cotton batting the the backside of a bauble half made from plastic, you will need to first rough it up with a bit of sandpaper, cover it with white school glue, unravel the cotton balls and press them into the glue. add another coat of glue and cotton then add a third final coat of glue. Press the glue into the cotton batting with your finger tips.

Here you can see the back sides of my snowball baubles.
 I applied glitter to three of them and cotton batting to one.

See More Snow Scenes Inside Ornaments:

• Winter Wonderland photo ornaments with friends and family inside from Debi's Design
• DIY: mini snow globe ornament from nobiggie
• Photo uploaded to Vintage Look Christmas Ornament Discussion