Bundled-up Snow Family

What You Need

• Unfinished wooden snowmen: two 6-1/2-inch and one each of 8- and 10-inch
• Sandpaper: 100- and 150-grit
• Tack cloth
• Latex primer
• Paintbrushes: 1-inch flat, small round, and stencil
• Glossy acrylic paints: white and black
• Stencil paint creme: blue (We used Delta Stencil Magic Paint Creme: Cottage Blue.)
• Blue acrylic paint
• Wool felt: purple, green, red, and blue
• Sewing needle and matching sewing thread
• Fabric paint: light green, purple, and white
• Pinking shears and scallop-edge scissors
• Buttons: three each of 3/4-inch blue and red, three 1/2-inch purple, two 1/2-inch green, and one 3/4-inch snowflake
• Mandarin Orange Fimo Soft polymer clay
• T-pin
• Metal baking sheet
• Aluminum foil
• Glue gun and hotmelt adhesive

How to Make It

1. Sand all surfaces of the snowmen with 100- and then 150-grit sandpaper. Remove the sanding dust with a tack cloth. Apply primer; let the primer dry. Lightly sand again and wipe clean. Paint all surfaces of the snowmen glossy white. When the paint is dry, use a stencil brush and Cottage Blue to lightly shade the edges of each snowman. Let dry. Thin blue acrylic paint with water and use it to add stitch lines 1/4 inch from the edges of the snowmen.
2. For the purple snowman, cut a 1-1/2-x-14-inch scarf strip and an 8-1/2-x-4-inch hat rectangle from purple felt. Cut 1-inch slits for fringed scarf ends. Overlap the 4-inch edges of the hat to fit the head; sew the overlap together. Cut 1-inch slits along the top edge of hat to fringe; tie thread around the hat just below the fringe. Fold up 1 inch at the bottom edge for cuff. Use purple fabric paint to add dots to the scarf ends and cuff; let dry.
3. For the green snowman, use pinking shears to cut a 1-1/2-x-14-inch scarf strip and an 8-1/2-x-4-inch hat rectangle from green felt. Overlap the 4-inch edges of the hat to fit the head; sew overlap together. Tie thread around the hat 1 inch from the top. For the cuff, fold up 1 inch on he bottom edge. Use light green fabric paint to add stripes to the scarf ends and cuff; let dry.
4. For the red snowman, cut a 2-x-18-inch scarf strip, one 7-inch hat circle, and one 3-1/2-x-10-inch hat brim from red felt. Trim the short ends of the scarf with scallop-edge scissors. Make running stitches close to the edge of the hat circle; pull the thread ends to fit it on the snowman's head. Knot the thread and evenly distribute the gathers. Sew the gathered edge to one long edge of the brim, overlapping the brim at the back; sew the overlap together. Fold the brim twice to measure 1 3/4 inches wide. Paint white zigzag lines on the scarf ends and hat brim; let dry.
5. For the blue snowman, cut a 2-1/4-x-19-inch scarf strip and an 11-x-7-inch hat rectangle from blue felt. To fringe, cut 1-1/4-inch slits at each end of the scarf. Overlap the 7-inch edges of the hat to fit the snowman's head; sew the overlap together. Cut 1-inch slits along the top edge of the hat to fringe; tie thread around the hat just below the fringe. Fold up 1 inch twice at the bottom edge for a cuff. Glue a snowflake button to the hat center front. Knead the clay until it is smooth and pliable. Form it into a cone-shape nose for each snowman, about 1 to 1 1/2 inches long and 3/8 to 1/2 inch wide at the base. Twist the nose slightly, swirling the clay to resemble a carrot. Press the base against a flat surface. Press a T-pin into the clay to make grooves, going around the nose. Follow the manufacturer's instructions to bake the noses on an aluminum foil-covered baking sheet. Let the noses cool.
6. Refer to the photographs to finish each snowman. Attach the nose and buttons with hot glue. Dip the end of a paintbrush into black glossy paint, and dot the eyes; let dry. Place the hat on the head and secure with hot glue, stuffing with a small amount of fiberfill if desired. Tie the scarf around the neck, and tack in place with hot glue.

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