Snowman Make-do Tutorial

For those who have been waiting for this Snowman Make-do Tutorial, it's finally here. I intended to have this done sooner but my internet connection has been the pits, on and off and loading up photos has been tediously slow. I have copy-righted this project and ask that you please give credit where credit is due. You can make them and sell them but they can not be mass produced nor can the pattern be copied and sold. These snowfellas are simple to make and a lot of fun. If you have any questions please send me an email and I will answer as quickly as possible.

OK, let's get started.

Supplies List:

4" styrofoam ball.

Joint compound ( you can find a small pre-mixed container of this at Wal-Mart)

Old tube sock

Moss

Small rusty bell

Medium rusty bell ( the size bells you use is your choice)

Winter red berries

Photo mount spray adhesive

Hot glue

Americana acrylic paints ( Buttermilk, lamp Black, Soft White, Russet, Burnt Orange, Burnt Umber, White, Hertiage Brick Red.

Brushes (sizes: large flat brush, small round, liner and round stencil or scruffy brush)

Homespun fabric

Dowel (the size will depend on the hole size in your mill spool or whatever item you use as the base)

I have used a 7 inch old mill spool for this project but don't limit yourself to only this. You can also use a chair leg (like I did for Jacz), spindle, a candle stick (like the big-headed snowman), there are many possibilities so if you can't find a mill spool consider one of these options.

Insert a small wooden dowel rod or wooden skewer into the styrofoam ball (this is used only to hold it while it dries). With a spatula add the joint compound to the Styrofoam ball. Don’t make it too thick or it will take forever to dry but don’t make it so thin you can see the stryofoam. Allow to dry about 30 minutes and then smooth it out by dipping your finger in a cup of water and tapping the mud with your wet finger. Tap and then smooth, tap and smooth. Keep your finger wet so the compound doesn’t stick to your finger Don’t worry if it isn’t completely smooth, mine never are. Now allow the compound to dry for 18-24 hours.

Once the head is dried, basecoat it with Buttermilk. When the paint is dry, draw on the nose, eyes and mouth. Now, dry brush the cheeks with Russet. Make sure you remove most of the paint from the brush so the color is not to heavy. Paint the nose with Burnt orange. shade with Russet. Shade around the nose with Burnt Umber. Add white hatch marks to the nose. Dot the eyes with Lamp Black. Dot the mouth with Lamp Black; use a smaller dot of white to high light the mouth. Water down some Burnt Umber and shade around the eyes and mouth.  Paint the snowflakes with White and dot the ends and center with White.

I am not stating the size of the dowel that is used for the neck because the mill spool you use may be a different size than what I have used. Or, if you are using something other than a mill spool you may or may not need a dowel rod. If you are using a dowel rod, cut it into a 5" length. I could not find a dowel rod that fit perfectly, I had to sand down the end so it would fit. No problem there since it won't be showing anyway. Base coat the dowel with Buttermilk. After it has dried add the stripes using Heritage Brick. You can give it a primitive look with some stain.

Add some wood glue to the end of the rod and insert into the mill spool. Lightly hammer the rod into the spool. Be care because the spool might split.

Now comes the fun part. Push the remaining end into the styrofoam ball. Make sure you push it at least 2-3 inches into the ball and that the head is not tilted down. Now, pull it out and add hot glue into the ball. Be somewhat generous with the hot glue. You want to make sure the head is secure.  Push the dowel back into the ball and hold it steady until the glue dries. Awww, it already looks cute!

Ready for the hat? This part you might want to do while the joint compound is drying on the head. I use a coffee stain with Elmers glue in it which makes the fabric stiff. Add the sock into this mixture, wring out the excess stain. Bake it in the oven on a low temperture (around 225 degrees) checking it frequently so it doesn't burn. Beware, it will burn if it gets to hot and may even catch on fire, please, please, pleeeeze, check it often. I don't dry mine all the way in the oven since I make these while the head is drying; I turn the oven off and let the sock continue to dry on it's own.

Once the sock is dried. Pull it onto the head and position it how you want it to look, then hot glue it into place. I also position the top part and hot glue it into place. Using a small strip of homespun, tie the medium sized jingle bell on the end of the sock. Using hot glue add some moss to the top of the sock hat; then add a small jingle bell, some red Christmas berries and a couple of cardstock snowflakes. Add a piece of homespun around the neck. With a piece of rusty wire, I add the homemade cinnamon salt dough snowflake.  You can find this recipe by googling for it.  There are a lot of recipes out there for these type of ornaments.  Followig the directions of the spray adhesive, spray the piece and quickly add the glass glitter. For the tag, I use a computer font and print it onto a ecru colored cardstock. Cut it out and use a hole punch at the top. To reinforce the hole I add a piece of masking tape. Rather than stain, I use brown shoe polish in the cake (or solid) form to antique the tag; it gives it a waxy look which I like. Tie the tag around the neck using a piece of homespun.

There! Your done. Aren't they cute? I hope you enjoy making this (these) snowfellas as much as I did.  

Til next time....

~willa~