How To Make A Papier-Mâché Lady Snowman

How to make a Papier- Mâché Lady Snowman?  Well, Frosty needed a female counterpart, didn’t he?  Following the same process we used to make Frosty, the lady snowman was created using another newspaper sleeve.  The snowmen will all be somewhat uniform by using the same size plastic newspaper sleeve.    

 

I deliberately made this lady snowman a little bit shorter than Frosty, but the process is the same.  Fill the lower portion of the plastic sleeve with wadded-up newspaper, tie a knot in the plastic,  make a ball out of newspaper, insert in the sleeve for the head, and tie a knot above this.

Once again, masking tape is used to create the legs.  A twisted sheet of newspaper is used to create shoulders and arms.  I want this one to have a little bit of character with her arms up in the air.

The middle portion, where the twisted newspaper is placed across the back, is flattened to blend in with the body.  Then, it is taped in position.

The newspaper is twisted tighter and taped to resemble arms.  The twisted newspaper is cut the length desired for the arms and the end is folded back and taped, keeping in mind that she is to be wearing mittens.

I am still making and using the same Papier- Mâché glue and clay used for the Papier- Mâché pumpkins earlier to create these snowmen.  

The process of gluing the paper strips to the figure begins.  This is also done in a couple of settings.  It just seems that allowing drying time between sessions of applying the glue and the strips, makes it easier to manage.  

After the paper strips were applied and allowed to dry, the soles were applied.

This time, I used the lid of a carryout pizza box to cut out the soles of her feet.  (The cream cheese box was too flimsy.)  The cardboard soles were glued to the bottom of the legs, the figure was supported with a bottle, and the glue was allowed to dry.

 

Then, the paper clay is packed in around the ‘feet’, filling in the spaces.  The figure is propped up against a bottle again.  Paper clay is filled in around the neck to support the wobbly head, too.  The clay is allowed to dry.  (This is a good thing!)  It helps to stabilize the head and the base.  I will do this with all of the snowmen!

Then, apply the clay to the body and head.  I usually cover parts of the body, allow that to semi-dry, and then fill in around that, until the body is completely covered.  You can see that sections of the body are dried, some semi-dried, and the feet are flattened, leveled, and allowed to dry with the snowman on his back.

Two oversized buttons made from paper clay are formed and applied to the front of the snowman’s chest.  A carrot nose is shaped and attached to the face.  Her carrot nose is a little shorter than Frosty’s.  Little pieces of rolled and flattened clay are then applied to resemble ruffles at the top of the mittens.

  The key to applying these details is blending the edges into the clay where it is attached.  It doesn’t really seem to matter whether that clay is dry or wet.  You can see the clay is in different stages of drying on this snowman in this picture.

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Painting the Snow Lady 

The Olympic primer and paint in one is painted over the entire snowman.  (Refer to How To Make A Papier-Mâché Snowman – Part 2 for details on this.)

 

The carrot nose is painted orange.  The mittens and the buttons are painted green.  A cute little smile and two black eyes are painted on the lady snowman’s face. 

Then, a watered-down wash of antiquing medium was painted on in sections and rubbed off with a paper towel.

Next, a thin coat of Mod Podge is painted over the white of the snow lady in sections and, just like Frosty, clear glitter is sprinkled over the glue.  I avoided the black eyes, the mouth, the orange nose, and the green-painted areas.

Each time I look at these, I have to smile!  Just think, this was made from a newspaper sleeve and wadded-up newspaper!  Such humble beginnings and they look so darn cute!

Making the Lady Snowman Hat

Well, the lady snowman needed a hat.  There is red felt in my fabric stash.  I used the same red and green plaid for a neck scarf that was used for Frosty.  (My plan was to buy a coordinating fabric but obligations and grandkids made a shopping trip impossible.) In contrast to Frosty, the red hat and the green buttons and mittens seem a perfect combination.

So, to begin this hat, I cut out a round piece of scrap paper.  Then, another circle was cut inside of that about the size I thought her head would fit in nicely.

It was a little small.  I widened that inner circle and it fit perfectly.  Now, the brim would be a little too thin.

When the brim was cut from the felt, instead of cutting out another pattern, I just eyeballed it, cutting equidistant outside of that outer circle.  (I could offer a pattern but your snowman head might be larger or smaller.  You can make your own and make the brim wider or thinner.  It is pretty easy to do!)

 

The felt brim was used to cut a crown for the hat.  I just laid the brim on a piece of felt and cut around the outside diameter. 

Using a needle and thread, hand baste around the outer edge of the crown as shown in the picture.

Fold the brim in half, left to right, and mark with straight pins.  You could also use chalk to mark if you prefer.  Fold in half again, top to bottom, and mark with straight pins.  Repeat for the crown.  You need to match up the four pins on the brim and four on the crown. 

Then, match the straight pins dividing the felt pieces into quarters, pulling up the gathering stitches, and begin pinning together the outside edge of the crown piece to the inside edge of the brim piece.  Ultimately, the crown will be wrapped around the brim and the brim will be inside.  Secure the end of the thread to hold the gathering stitches in place.

At this point, you can either hand stitch, or use the sewing machine, to stitch the brim to the crown.  Stitch about 1/8″ from the edge.  Remove from the machine and clip the threads.

 

Once sewn, the hat can be turned right side out and it is ready to be embellished.  My initial thought was to add the front of an old earring to the hat but I came across this tiny holly and berry and decided it was perfect.  The holly was hot glued to the hat along the edge of the crown. 

 

Another scarf is made in the same way Frosty’s was made only a little bit shorter. 

My goodness!  Isn’t she just the cutest thing?  Has this inspired you to make your own lady snowman?  Feel free to leave your comments below!