How to Make a Snowman Christmas Ornament

Introduction
My son made several of these snowman ornaments to give as gift to friends and relatives. We made this instructable to share this fun and educational project. It was a great way to introduce him to some new techniques and get him in the habit of basic workshop safety. This project should not be completed without adult supervision.

Completion Time: ~1 hour (not including drying times)

Tools and Materials

Safety:

• Rubber Gloves
• Protective Eye Ware
• A well ventilated workspace

Tools:

• Child Safe Jigsaw (Real Power Tool Shop) or Hand Powered Equivalent
• Hand Drill
• Sand Paper
• Paint Brushes
• (2) Pair of Pliers or (1) Pair of Pliers and a Bench Vise
• Stainless Steel Container
• Scissors

Materials:

• Balsa Wood
• Acrylic Paints
• Krylon Crystal Clear Acyrlic Coating
• Wooden Shish Kabob Skewers
• Heavy Gauge Jewelery Making Wire
• Heavy Thread
• White Cotton Shoe Lace
• Clothing Dye
• Decorative Buttons (we used the caps of some brass rivets from Tandy Leather Factory)

Optional (If making multiple copies):

• Casting Resin (Alumilite)
• Silicone
• Casting Putty or Clay
• Super Glue

Step 1 Cutting the Body

Step 1: Make the Pattern
Draw your pattern or use ours by clicking on the link below

Scribd: Snowman Pattern

Step 2: Transfer the Pattern
If you have graphite paper handy you can use this to easily transfer you pattern. If not, you can make your own by scribbling heavily on the back side of your pattern with a #2 pencil (Picture 2).

Next place your pattern on top of the balsa wood and secure in place with pins or some heavy weights (Picture 1). Then trace the outlive of your pattern with a ball point pen. Be careful not to damage the balsa wood by pressing too hard (Picture 3).

Remove the pattern and use a pencil to darken the lines left by the transfer paper (Picture 4).

Step 3: Cut the Pattern
Be sure to put on your safety glasses. If you're not using a child-safe jigsaw like the Real Power Tool Shop some protective gloves should be worn as well.

Now cut out the body of the snowman (Picture 5).

Step 4: Shape the Eyes and Mouth
Rough out the eyes and mouth with the tip of a screwdriver or similar tool. Since the eyes and mouth should resemble coals, a crooked smile and misshapen eyes are what you are going for.

Step 5: Drill the Mount
Drill a small hole in the top of the head for the string to pass through, with which you will hang the finished product.

Step 6: Sand it Smooth
When you are finished cutting sand around the edges to give the snowman a nice smooth finish (Picture 6).

Comments

[mzteachuh]

I am so honored! I was given the lovely blue Snowman for Christmas 2010---now he's famous!--Grandma