The tradition of making snowmen came to us from ancient pagan times; the snowman was treated with respect as the spirit of winter and asked that there would be no prolonged, severe frosts, but that spring would come sooner. Among European peoples, the snowman is always male, but snow women and snow maidens were invented by the Russian people. During pagan times, it was believed that winter natural phenomena (blizzards, snowfalls, blizzards) were controlled by female spirits. Therefore, in order to appease them and express their respect, they sculpted snow maidens and snow women.
But all this was a long time ago and everything is now forgotten. Now the snowman is a symbol of winter holidays for children and New Year's holidays for the older generation. Thanks to him, winter fun for children and adults becomes more interesting!
Snowman made of cotton wool
Cotton wool and glue are the materials that are always available in every home, and the manufacturing technique is so simple that a child can make a snowman on his own.
To make such a snowman you need to prepare:
- blue or white cardboard;
- colored paper or felt;
- scissors;
- glue;
- cotton wool
Step-by-step instruction:
- Roll the cotton wool into small balls with a diameter of 1-2 cm.
- On blue or white cardboard, draw the outline of a snowman with a pencil.
- Glue the rolled cotton wool along the contour and inside the circles of the snowman so that the pencil mark is hidden.
- Cut out two thin strips for the arms from brown paper or felt and glue them on.
- We cut out mittens, a scarf, a top hat, a carrot nose, buttons, eyes from felt or paper and glue them on. Buttons and eyes can be made from beads.
- Draw a mouth with a black felt-tip pen.
DIY cheerful snowman Olaf for the New Year
This cheerful cartoon snowman Olaf! He won the hearts of many children and their parents. Shall we invite him? To do this, we need to study the presented master class, add a little of our creativity and make a funny snowman with our own hands. I have attached ready-made templates that you can download and print. Perhaps you will come up with a different expression for the face and draw your own blank.
We print the templates on A4 sheet. Please note that the sample for the body has 4 parts, but the muzzles are different. Therefore, if you decide to make several types of Olaf, then cut out more blanks. In addition, our snowmen can not only stand, but also sit. It is enough to glue the legs not from the bottom, but from the front.
For the craft we will need:
- Ready template
- Scissors
- Glue
- Colored paper
- Markers
After the painstaking work of cutting, we begin assembly. Bend the elements along the dotted lines and apply glue to the outermost narrow area. Apply the opposite edge and get a semicircle. We repeat this with all the details.
We also bend Olaf's head along the dotted lines and glue along the thin edge.
Color the eyes with a black marker. You can also draw a carrot, but in our case we’ll cut it out of orange paper using a template later.
Now let's put everything together. On the largest part we glue the body on top and the legs on the bottom, as shown in the picture, and of course the head.
There are no ready-made arms on the template, so you can draw branches like these and glue them to the sides of the body. Moreover, Olaf can pose as you wish. Raise the handles or lower them. Or he can spread them to the sides, inviting them to hug.
Glue buttons on the caftan
And this is the second option with an open smile. Please note that the spout will not be flat. We'll make it stick out forward. To do this, cut out the carrot with an additional round piece to fix it on the surface. I hope the kids will really like this snowman. Moreover, they can be made completely different, even with the same blanks.
Snowman made of plasticine
You can also make a snowman using plasticine. Depending on your imagination, a gentle little man can be completely different, with different accessories and decorations.
To make a snowman from plasticine you need to prepare:
- plasticine - white, black, brown, orange and others;
- knife for plasticine.
How to do:
- From white plasticine we make three balls of different sizes for the body and 4 small identical balls for the arms and legs. Let's connect together.
- We make a bucket from blue plasticine, and a nose from orange plasticine.
- Let's put on a cheerful face.
- You can also make a beautiful scarf, broom, skis and other items that will make the snowman even more interesting.
Quantity matters
Sometimes it’s enough just to repeat a successful idea so that its effect increases many times over. Take a look, for example, at these “brave fellows” - one snowman in a black hat and scarf would look cute, of course, but nothing more, but when there is a whole line of them... And each one with his own character: one hangs his nose sadly , another has a chest like a wheel, the third looks dreamily into the distance.
The effect of a successful idea will increase many times over if it is repeated... and again... and again.
Or you can gather a motley group, where there will be snowmen of different “ages” and “genders”, where some scenes will even be played out between them... If you are going to the dacha with a large group on New Year’s holidays, take note of this idea: let everyone make a snow figure to your liking, and you will get a whole sculptural composition)) You can even organize a competition for the best snowman - the biggest, the funniest or the most charming
Quantity matters!
If there are a lot of guests, then the main thing is that there is enough snow for everyone. Well, it is advisable to think over the place for the “exposition” in advance, so that in the merry bustle you do not trample your favorite perennials that winter under the snow, or break the beds in the garden. By the way, the lawn is also not the best place for such entertainment: if you get carried away with sculpture, you can literally roll the snow cover down to the state of asphalt, which is not at all beneficial for the grass underneath it. Let the lawn sleep peacefully until spring - it’s worth choosing a better place for winter fun
The main thing is that there is enough snow for everyone
If a “crowd” of snowmen at your dacha is not part of your plans, you can limit yourself to a cheerful couple. These, for example, are clearly having a happy date. They probably ran to the skating rink.
These snowmen are clearly having a happy date.
And these have already settled down - they manage the housework... In order for your snowmen to turn into a real decoration of the dacha and create an original composition, it is better to think through the details of its design in advance. And it will be more convenient to sculpt figures if you know what exactly you want to depict, because moving a finished snowman to another place in your own height is a very difficult task.
Economic couple
Well, over time, the happy snowy couple has a baby. A cheerful family of snowmen is a charming decoration for a winter cottage, don’t you agree?
A cheerful family of snowmen is a charming decoration for a winter cottage
And even if these sculptures are short-lived, there is more room for new creativity. Don’t limit your imagination, try to come up with something completely new, unusual, unexpected.
Volumetric snowman made of cotton wool
With older children, you can make a snowman, which can become a decoration on the Christmas tree or which can be placed under a small Christmas tree.
Materials:
- cotton wool;
- PVA glue;
- soda;
- soap;
- toothpicks;
- brush;
- glitter;
- red or orange gouache;
- several black beads.
Manufacturing process:
- With soapy hands, roll two balls of different diameters from cotton wool and let dry.
- Mix PVA glue with a pinch of soda and glitter and coat the cotton balls with a brush.
- We wrap a small amount of cotton wool around the tip of a toothpick in the shape of a carrot nose cone. Paint the nose with orange or red paint mixed with PVA glue and let it dry.
- Connect two cotton balls of different diameters with a toothpick dipped in glue.
- Glue on a nose made of cotton wool, buttons and eyes made of beads.
- Hands can be made from thin branches or from small cotton balls.
- You can tie balls for the snowman from a small piece of fabric and make a cylinder out of paper; you can also make a hat out of a sock for the snowman instead of a cylinder.
How to sculpt snow figures
- Decide on the idea for the sculpture. Use one of the examples below as a template or come up with something of your own.
- Be sure to wear warm gloves, and to prevent them from getting wet while working, put another one on top - rubber ones.
- Prepare snow. For small snow figures, what is around is enough. If the plans are something monumental, more material will be needed.
- Start with the largest parts and gradually move to smaller ones. In this regard, modeling from snow is no different from working with plasticine.
- Create a base from heaps or lumps of snow, and then gradually add detail as planned.
- To make the structure stronger, moisten the snow with warm water and stick it layer by layer. Reinforce thin elements by inserting sticks or twigs inside the parts.
- To level surfaces, smooth them with your hands, a piece of plywood or a board. Create indentations and relief with spatulas.
- After freezing, decorate the snow figure with scraps of fabric, pieces of plastic or ready-made elements.
- To tint sculptures, dilute gouache or watercolor with warm water and apply to the surface with a brush, spray, or simply from a bottle.
- For patterns, use templates cut from film or plastic.
- Remove the snow from under the figure by drawing a kind of shadow so that the sculpture does not merge with the background and looks better.
Snowman made of threads
An openwork snowman made of yarn can become a cute home decoration in winter.
To make such a snowman you need:
- white threads for knitting;
- two balls;
- PVA glue;
- scissors;
- colored paper;
- twigs for hands
- some bright fabric.
How to make a snowman from threads:
- For the head and torso, inflate balloons of different sizes and tie securely.
- We wrap a thread soaked in PVA glue around the ball in different directions, leaving holes. This way the snowman will turn out to be openwork. You will need about 2-3 jars of glue. You can simplify the process by piercing a jar of glue with a needle and thread and pulling the yarn through it as you work.
- Let the balls wrapped in thread dry for 8-10 hours.
- When the glue dries, pierce the ball with a needle and remove the remaining rubber through the holes.
- We connect two balls of thread between the owl with glue or white thread.
- We make the hands from two identical branches, which just need to be inserted into the holes.
- We make a carrot nose and mouth from orange colored paper and glue it on.
- Eyes can be cut out of colored paper or bought ready-made in a store.
- To dress the snowman, we sew two mittens from bright fabric.
- We make a hat from a rectangle.
- Cut a long scarf from fabric and make cuts at the ends to create a fringe.
If desired, you can make arms and legs out of threads for the snowman using balls, glue and threads.
Pompom snowman
Funny snowmen are made from pompoms.
To make such a snowman you need:
- white yarn;
- cardboard;
- scissors;
- thin branches;
- glue;
- beads, ribbons, felt and other things for decoration.
How to do:
- To make a pompom from cardboard, cut out two circles with a hole in the middle and make a slit on one of the sides. Put them together, placing a thread inside, and wind white yarn, as in the photo. When there is enough yarn, cut all the threads along the outer circle with scissors between two cardboard circles. Using the thread that was placed between the cardboard, we tighten the cut yarn and remove the cardboard circles. The result is a pompom. For the snowman's head, you need to cut out circles from cardboard of a smaller diameter.
- We connect two pompoms together by tying the threads that were used to tighten the pompoms.
- We cut off the remaining threads.
- Decorate the snowman by gluing on the eyes and nose. We tie a scarf from a ribbon and make a headdress - wire headphones or a hat.
- We use two thin branches to secure the arms.
Snowman made of cotton pads
Cotton pads are also a good material to make a funny snowman. You can make a winter applique with the youngest children.
For this you will need:
- cardboard;
- cotton pads;
- colored paper;
- scissors;
- glue.
How to do:
- Glue three cotton pads in the shape of a snowman onto blue or dark blue cardboard.
- Cut out small circles from the disks for the arms and legs. Paste it on.
- We make a hat, nose and broom out of paper and glue it on.
- We draw eyes and buttons with felt-tip pens.
Snowman toy made from cotton pads
Using cotton pads with older children you can make a three-dimensional snowman.
Materials:
- cotton pads;
- stapler;
- needle and thread;
- glue;
- wire;
- beads, sparkles, thin rain.
How to make a snowman:
- We fold the cotton pad into four and secure the end with a stapler.
- We string folded cotton pads through the ends and tighten the thread. It turns out to be a ball. The more disks you connect, the larger the diameter of the ball you get.
- We make three balls of different sizes and connect them together with hot glue.
- Glue on beaded buttons.
- Making a hat out of the rain.
- We wrap rain around the wire and make a broom out of it.
Snowman made from plastic spoons
Funny decorations for the New Year's table in the form of snowmen can be made from white plastic spoons.
Materials:
- plastic spoons;
- paper or plastic cups;
- glue;
- acrylic paints;
- paper;
- sponge;
- cotton wool;
- felt, pieces of fabric;
- markers.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Draw a snowman's face on a plastic spoon.
- Cut out a scarf from fabric or felt and glue it on.
- We make a hat out of felt and secure it with glue.
- We paint the cups with acrylic paint.
- Inside the glass we place pieces of sponge with a small slot for spoons.
- We set the spoons and fill the glass with washed off white paper, and decorate the top with cotton wool.
Quantity matters
Sometimes it’s enough just to repeat a successful idea so that its effect increases many times over. Take a look, for example, at these “brave fellows” - one snowman in a black hat and scarf would look cute, of course, but nothing more, but when there is a whole line of them... And each one with his own character: one hangs his nose sadly , another has a chest like a wheel, the third looks dreamily into the distance.
The effect of a successful idea will increase many times over if it is repeated... and again... and again.
Or you can gather a motley group, where there will be snowmen of different “ages” and “genders”, where some scenes will even be played out between them... If you are going to the dacha with a large group on New Year’s holidays, take note of this idea: let everyone make a snow figure to your liking, and you will get a whole sculptural composition)) You can even organize a competition for the best snowman - the biggest, the funniest or the most charming
Quantity matters!
If there are a lot of guests, then the main thing is that there is enough snow for everyone. Well, it is advisable to think over the place for the “exposition” in advance, so that in the merry bustle you do not trample your favorite perennials that winter under the snow, or break the beds in the garden. By the way, the lawn is also not the best place for such entertainment: if you get carried away with sculpture, you can literally roll the snow cover down to the state of asphalt, which is not at all beneficial for the grass underneath it. Let the lawn sleep peacefully until spring - it’s worth choosing a better place for winter fun
The main thing is that there is enough snow for everyone
If a “crowd” of snowmen at your dacha is not part of your plans, you can limit yourself to a cheerful couple. These, for example, are clearly having a happy date. They probably ran to the skating rink.
These snowmen are clearly having a happy date.
And these have already settled down - they manage the housework... In order for your snowmen to turn into a real decoration of the dacha and create an original composition, it is better to think through the details of its design in advance. And it will be more convenient to sculpt figures if you know what exactly you want to depict, because moving a finished snowman to another place in your own height is a very difficult task.
Economic couple
Well, over time, the happy snowy couple has a baby. A cheerful family of snowmen is a charming decoration for a winter cottage, don’t you agree?
A cheerful family of snowmen is a charming decoration for a winter cottage
And even if these sculptures are short-lived, there is more room for new creativity. Don’t limit your imagination, try to come up with something completely new, unusual, unexpected.
Snowman made from a sock
Beautiful and plump snowmen are made from socks. These snow men can be planted under the Christmas tree or used to decorate your home.
What do you need:
- white sock;
- scissors;
- needle and thread;
- rice or other light grains;
- several buttons and tailor's pins;
- a piece of fabric for a scarf.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Cut the sock as in the photo.
- We sew up the upper part from the side of the cut and tie it with thread.
- Turn the sock over to the other side.
- Fill the resulting bag with cereal.
- We tighten the filled bag with a thread at the top and where the snowman’s neck is.
- We make eyes and a nose from tailor's pins, sew or glue several buttons, and tie a fabric scarf.
- From the bottom of the sock that remains, we make a hat.
Springy paper snowman
These paper snowmen look good on the Christmas tree, and if you make a lot of these people, you can make a whole garland.
For one snowman you need:
- two sheets of white paper;
- colored paper;
- glue;
- scissors;
- felt-tip pen;
- paper cupcake tin.
Manufacturing process:
- We cut two sheets of paper into strips - one sheet lengthwise and the other crosswise. This produces two sets of paper strips.
- We collect the strips into two paper balls of different sizes and glue them together.
- Glue two balls together.
- We decorate the craft with paper clothes, draw eyes, buttons, and glue on a nose made of orange paper.
- Glue the muffin tin like a hat.
Going to scale
A paper snowman craft looks cozy in an apartment, next to the Christmas tree. But decorations are also needed for the street. A figure made from plastic cups will fit well next to the front door. And if you secure the base well, you don’t have to worry about the safety of the snowman. A gust of wind will definitely not blow it away.
You will need an impressive supply of cups - more than 200 pieces. It doesn't hurt to pay attention to the rim. If it is thin, it will be easier to connect the blanks, and the snowman will come out more solid.
Large containers will be used for the body, small containers will be needed for the head. Technically fasten the glasses together using a stapler until you get a circle. The bottoms should be directed to the center. Add similar rows and thus make a ball. Leave a hole at the bottom to connect the head to the body.
Use the same method to make a second ball. All that remains is to fasten them together and decorate them. Add a thin garland with many small lights to the scarf and hat. She will revive her figure and give her New Year's charm.
