Melting (Florida) Snowman Christmas/Holiday Decoration

I've seen snow a total of.. one time(s). This is because I've lived in Florida all my life, and anybody who's been here knows we have a shortage of it. As in no snow at all. That means I've never done certain kid activities like sledding, snowball wars, or building a snowman! (Though I did go ice skating recently!)

So, this year as a Christmas decoration project I decided to make a melting snowman for my front yard. I had to decide on something that would hold up outdoors so I immediately ruled out paper mache. (Though if you want an indoor decoration that'd probably be cheaper!)

Step 1: Gather Your Materials!

I used the following items to make my snowman, but you can add plenty of stuff, omit, or substitute plenty of stuff too! Everything I bought came from Walmart and Dollar tree.

*3 playballs of varying sizes (large, medium, and small)
*Spray paint (I used blue, orange, and white)
*Glitter
*Black rocks/buttons (I used the kind you use for floral arrangements/crafts)
*Great Stuff expanding foam
*Foam cone (Used for floral arrangements)
*Red ribbon
*Two sticks for arms
*Magician's Hat (Dollar Tree!!)

Step 2: Assemble the Base

The first step is assembling the base. Unless you want to spend forever and a day cleaning up foam from your garage floor I suggest a large sheet of cardboard as a workspace! Also take note that it is impossible to get expanding foam off of clothing. Wear something you are not attached to.

Start with the largest ball, and place it on your cardboard. It will stay in place easier if you stick it to the cardboard with some tape on the bottom. Create a base with the expanding foam as shown in the picture. It's easier to work your way up from the bottom so you are building on something.

It's okay if you need to come back later. If the foam isn't staying let some of it dry, and then add more when it's more solid. After you have a good base so that you're large ball won't move you can move on to the next two.

Add the other two balls to your assembly, and secure them with tape to keep them from moving. You'll probably have to tape three to four sides to keep them still. Then add some more foam at the bases to secure each ball to the other. After it has dried you can remove the tape.

Step 3: Expanding on the Base and Extras!

Now that the main part has dried you can expand on the base. Adds some drips for the melted effect, and add the arms on to your snowman. I ended up taping these to the sides of the medium sized portion of my snowman. Simply add foam over top of them to hide the tape.

If you want to blend things a bit you can use anything flat as a spatula. This way you can smooth the foam over a bit to make sections look more together.

Step 4: Painting (and Glitter)!

The funnest part of any project! It's time to paint. Get your colors ready, and start creating. There's not a lot of 'instructions' to go with spray paint. But a few tips to get a better result..

*Start with your darkest color first and then high light.

White is pretty difficult to get coverage with. So use the darkest color first. In my case it was a light blue color. Spray the entire thing with that color until you get an even coat. No more yellow!

*Highlight with your secondary color.

After you've got a good coat of blue highlight it with your secondary color. Use the white paint over top of the blue paint highlighting the areas you want to be brighter. I also gave it some clear coat paint too.

I also added some glitter at this point. Because you know; it's Christmas. Everything needs obscene amounts of shiny! I wanted to add LEDS to this projects somehow, but wasn't sure how to do it without popping the balls. (Suggestions?)

Step 5: Details Please.

Nose -

This is just a foam cone cut in half, and carved down to size. Paint it orange, and use some hot glue to stick it on.

buttons/eye/mouth - These are black rocks that are typically used for floral arrangements.

The sign was an after addition from a comment suggestion. It's actually metal - I got it from dollar tree, and painted it white. : )