S is for Snowman

Most of my Christmas decorations are hand-me-downs. Disgarded items that were either too old or too ugly for my mom to use in her house. I love these odds and ends that I've inherited. Even though they are old now, they used to adorn my parents' house every year when I was little and probably my grandparents' house before that. They remind me of a time when life was easy and Christmas was still filled with magic.

Among the decorations headed for the garbage were two cute snowman couples probably made by some nice older lady many years ago. These are the types of decorations I love where you can see the time and love that went into their construction. One set was made from plastic bottles covered in quilt batting. The other was made from styrofoam balls covered neatly in crocheted snow. I placed these meager snow couples on the buffet in my dining room and stepped back. They were so cute sitting there with their little hats, muffs, and scarves, but something was missing. I needed to add my touch to this troop of snow people.

As I began thinking of what I could add to this growing snow family, I decided that making a snow couple of my own would make these inherited decorations feel more like my own. I didn't want to have to buy any supplies to make them, so I rummaged through my craft supplies. A few leftover scraps of felt, some random buttons, an old pair of running socks, and I was on my way. Here are the basic instructions for making your own snowman.

SOCK SNOWMEN

You will need:

1 white athletic sock (preferably a tube sock with texture on the inside)
Rice or Plastic Beads
Batting, stuffing, cotton balls, or cloth scraps
Yarn, Twine, or Hair-ties
Fabric (felt works well, but you could use any scraps you have)
Craft glue or hot glue
Buttons, sticks, and other decorations

Instructions:

1. Decide whether you want your snowman body to be smooth or rough. For a smooth snowman leave the sock right side out or for a more textured look turn it inside out.
2. Hold the top of the sock open and fill with enough rice to form a sturdy base for your snowman to sit on. Then add enough soft filling to build your base ball.
3. Lift the sock up slightly, pinch above filling, and slide filling down to form bottom ball. Tie around sock below where you've pinched to seal the bottom ball.
4. Repeat with a little less rice and filling to form the middle ball and the ball for the head. Then trim the top of the sock approximately 1 inch above the last tie.
5. The snowman's body is not complete. Use the buttons to make a face and scraps of cloth or felt to make the scraf and hat. Be creative!