Part 2 – How To Make A Papier- Mâché Snowman
After the little Papier-Mâché snowman from Part 1 was dry, I realized his feet aren’t so steady. I had used the cream cheese box to cut out and make soles for his feet. That cardboard is not so firm and somehow the ends of his feet curled in the front. As you can imagine, that created a bit of a wobbly snowman. Extra paper clay had to be applied there and flattened to make him a little more stable, which meant more drying time. Sigh…
To remedy this, on the second snowman, I used a pizza box lid to create soles for feet. Let me tell you that this was a far better idea. After stuffing the newspaper sleeve, applying the paper strips, and allowing that to dry, I glued the pizza box lid soles in the appropriate spots and allowed the Tacky glue to dry.
Then, the paper clay was used to fill in the space around the bottom, creating a nice base. Paper clay was also applied in a ring around the neck. The clay was allowed to dry. This helped to stabilize the head and the base. I think I will start doing this with all of the snowmen!
After the clay had completely dried, a coat of white primer and paint is applied. I really like the paint used on the pumpkins as a base but that particular paint does not come in white. This Olympic primer and paint-in-one works really nicely, too.
He’s beginning to look more like a snowman now and less like an alien or a troll! Lol!
Making A Scarf and Ear Muff Band For The Papier-Mâché Snowman
Remember the Easy DIY Melted Snowman Tablescape from last year? I had some of the fabric left from the flannel plaid scarf. This is used to create a little scarf for this first snowman. The snowman stands about 10″ tall. The scarf measures 18″ long and ended up being 1 – 7/8″ wide. The lines of the plaid are followed as a guide to cut straight lines.
Threads are removed from both ends to create fringe. I didn’t bother to sew up the edges. They are left raw. There shouldn’t be a lot of strain on them once they are tied around the little fellow’s neck.
Since the plaid has a green stripe in it, too, florist wire is used to create a band for the earmuffs. (I saw this done on a snowman in a store and thought it was so clever! However, they had used some black wire. The florist wire seems perfect for this project.)
His eyes are painted with regular acrylic craft paint. Since they are supposed to look like coal, they are painted black. Of course, his carrot nose is painted orange. Red paint, to match the plaid fabric, is used for the mittens and the earmuffs. And, he now looks more like a snowman, doesn’t he?
A big crooked smile is painted on his face. White twinkles are painted on his ‘coal’ eyes and white snowflakes brighten up his red mittens.
Frosty is looking a little too bright and new. A water-based antiquing medium by FokArt is used to take off the new look. The antiquing medium is watered down with a wet brush and applied to the snowman in sections. Then, the surface is quickly rubbed with a paper towel and most of the antiquing medium is removed. It looks subtle but that is a good thing!
After the antiquing is dry, it is time to add some sparkle to Frosty! Brush on a light coat of Mod Podge, a section at a time. Brush Mod Podge and then sprinkle clear glitter over the wet Mod Podge.
I have to tell you right now, looking at this little snowman really puts a smile on my face.
Next, using the Loctite Super Glue, the ends of his coiled band for the earmuffs are glued into the little holes made earlier.
The plaid scarf was the finishing touch. I love this little snowman! Another two are in various stages of becoming snowmen, too.
Be Social!
Yes, come join 38 k + followers on our Pinterest Boards, where we pin our favorite creative ideas and share ours!
Follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Bloglovin’, and Facebook so you won’t miss anything! I would love for you to share this post with your friends! They need amazing ideas, too! Pin it! It only takes a second! #Papermache #papermachesnowman #snowman
Have you ever used a matte white spray paint either as the base coat of Mr Snowman & Fam?
I’m big on finding shortcut’s that give the same results, something I started doing back when my 5 kids were at school and Momma had a little free time!
Kids have all grown and moved on since then, but the shortcuts are ingrained now!
Take care & happy new year!
Hi Stacey! No, I haven’t used spray paint for the base coat. You will want to use a primer and sealer as the base coat, and it shouldn’t matter if it’s painted on with a brush or spray painted. I just happened to have a can of Kilz primer and sealer. Being frugal, that is what I used. You make a good point. Thank you for sharing! Happy New Year to you, too!