Every year for Christmas I make ornaments to give out to friends and family with my son. This year we made snowmen. They came out quite nice.
First I went to the local craft store and picked up some wood bits. Normally I'd turn something on my lathe but this year things were so busy I didn't have a chance so I bought pre-made craft parts from the store. I think the part I got for the hat is supposed to be a doll house flower pot but it worked out great for me.
I also picked up some cheap acrylic paint. I like using this stuff with my kid because cleanup is easy and it's non toxic.
I thought I might paint on a nose but liked it without so no orange was used.
Once we got home we gave each ball a coat of white paint and the hats a coat of black.
Because it has one coat hand applied it gives it a rustic appearance.
All of the parts except the hat and the largest bead came with holes all the way through. The large bead was actually a knob so it had a partial hole. I used my hand drill and a 1/8" bit to drill through these.
I then cut a length of string, doubled it over and threaded it through the beads. This was probably the hardest part. If I were to make them again I'd opt for some thicker nylon string.
A small amount of hot glue filled each end with just enough to hold the string in place.
Lastly we cut the string and used a sharpie to draw the face.
On the bottom I have my son write the year and his name. I do this with all my projects as I believe it's important to sign your work
Have a Merry Christmas.