My childhood memories are full of time spent deep in cold white snowdrifts with a frozen face and fingers, suffering silently in order to make the biggest and the best snowman on the block.
There is something incredibly nostalgic about snowmen. Even as an adult I can't help foaming over the first perfect snowfall, eager to get outside to create! At least until I'm brutally reminded just how laboriously intensive making a snowman is, from how heavy snow can be to the disgusted discovery that the mound I'd been pushing all through the yard for the last ten minutes includes a massive spot of yellow snow!
Ewww....
So rather than get my children and myself all bundled up for what will inevitably be a knock-down-drag-out-quarrel over any of the following: How to properly make a snowman, whose fingers are the coldest and "who threw that snowball at my eye?" How about bringing the snowman making indoors!
You will need:
- White terry cloth fabric
- Fiberfill
- glue gun and glue sticks
- polymer clay in orange and black
- scrap fabric
- small sticks, bell or pipe cleaners (optional)
Make three round, connected circles on 8 1/2 x 11 paper to represent the head, belly and bottom of a snowman. Cut and pin to the white terry cloth fabric, leaving plenty of seam allowance and cutting two of each. Put like sides together, sew, leaving a large enough gap at the bottom so as to turn the snowman from wrong side to right and fill with fiberfill.
Once your snowman is full, sew the hole closed.
Using black polymer clay, make five small circles for a mouth, two larger circles for eyes and three slightly larger than the eyes for "buttons" on the belly. A carrot nose can be made using orange polymer clay; bake according to instructions.
Once the clay nose, eyes, mouth and buttons have cooled completely use a hot glue gun to glue clay pieces to the face and belly of your snowman. Use scrap fabric to tie about the neck for a scarf and more scrap fabric to wrap about the head as a sock hat. I wrap and glue the end of the sock hat just off the shoulder of my snowman where a pinch of fiberfill or a small bell completes the end of the hat.
Optional small sticks, pipe cleaners, clay or wire can be added for arms and hands. Make gloves out of scrap fabric or clay and glue to the ends. Leave your snowman without arms if putting on a Christmas tree as it makes for easier placement and storage.
