Craft Project: Snowman Door Wreath(s)

Do you Pinterest? If so, you might have recently seen a snowman like this. There was no doubt that I needed to make one for my own front door. It wasn't a project I was able to do before Christmas, but around here, we don't see much snow or snowmen until January and February. So I think it's okay that Christmas is over, and this guy will still be on my door through January. In addition to the big one on my door, both of my girls wanted to each make a small one, so we did.

If you can catch a craft store with a sale, you can get some
grapevine wreaths at a discount. Be sure to get three different
sizes, keeping in mind how big your snowman will
be with all three wreaths laid in a row. It's okay to lay
them out on the floor at the craft store.

These are the smaller wreaths we picked out for
the girls' snowmen.

I painted our wreaths white using a white gloss spray paint. However, I've seen others who have made similar snowmen using the natural wreath.

In addition to the wreaths, you will need a half a hat and a scarf, as
well as something to attach the pieces together. I used white pipe cleaner
to camouflage.

For my large snowman, I found a foam hat in the craft section at Hobby Lobby. For the smaller snowmen, I found a smaller felt-like hat, also in the craft section at Hobby Lobby. I crocheted all three scarves for our snowmen. If you don't want to worry about crocheting or knitting a scarf, you might already have an old scarf that would get the job done for a large snowman. If you're making smaller snowmen, you might find some scrap fabric that you could use for a scarf.

Use the pipe cleaner, or wire, or whatever you have on hand to attach the three wreaths together, but try to hide it inside the wreath so it isn't visible on the front. Cut the hat in half, and glue it to the top wreath. I used a small bit of black wire to attach the hat to the large snowman as I was afraid the glue wouldn't hold up. My older daughter wanted to made sure her hat was crooked, and my younger daughter made sure her hat sat straight on top of his head. Add your scarf and any other decoration.

I added some jingle bells to the big snowman.
They hang from some cord attached just under the scarf.

I also added some ribbon around the hat, along with a fabric flower.

These are the girls' snowmen. Given the smaller size, we
didn't add any extra decoration. I only needed one hat
for these two snowmen. One snowman has half of the hat
and one snowman has the other half.

I put my older daughter's on the wall
in the dining room.

My younger daughter's on the wall
in the living room.

Yes, it's after New Year's and I haven't taken down my Christmas decorations yet. I've been having too much fun playing. But the girls go back to school tomorrow, so I won't have any more excuses.

The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 1:3

Beaded Wind Chime

A couple years ago, my neighbor made wind chimes from silverware and pan lids. He made them for the folks who worked at their church's VBS, and there was an extra that he gave to me. After this summer, the lines he used to string the forks (spoon) disintegrated, so it needed a little repair.

I decided to upgrade and add a little BLING as
I repaired it.

Before. I don't have a photo of it put together the way my
neighbor made it. This is what it looked like after it fell
apart. He drilled holes around the lid and in the handle
of the forks and spoon to recycle these yard sale finds
into something new.

To begin, I purchased a fancy drawer pull and
replaced the lid handle. I found this pull at Hobby
Lobby when they were having a sale on them.

I gathered together a lot of medium sized beads... some of them from my
own stash of random beads, some from the clearance section at Hobby Lobby,
and I also took apart a bead necklace that we were no longer wearing.

I used fishing line to string each fork (spoon) to hang from the lid. The fishing line will not fall apart like the line my neighbor originally used. But on the line, between the fork (spoon) and the lid, I strung beads the entire length of the line.

To get the bead on the top of the lid, I doubled
the length of the line I needed and threaded it through the hole
in the lid, then through a single bead, and back down through
the hole. I strung the rest of my beads on the double line,
and then to finish off was able to tie the lines together to secure it.

I strung a small beaded line from the handle so
I could hang my creation. This caused
the lid to hang a little off center, which is okay by me
because now I can see my pretty drawer pull.

Completed wind chime... and it really does
chime! I love it!

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. Proverbs 31:30

Food Craft: Melted Snowman Cookies

It's warm enough here today... our snowmen melted. Of course that would assume we had snow to make a real snowman in the first place. Around here, we have to come up with snowless snowmen. This idea came from hanging out on Pinterest.

For this fun snack, you just need some sugar cookies, frosting, and marshmallows.

Spray a bit of Pam on a plate first to keep your marshmallows
from sticking, and cook them for a few seconds. Long enough
so they start to puff out, but you don't want them to
double in size.

Spread white frosting on the cookie...

... and place marshmallow to the side of the cookie, off center.

Decorate the cookie as if the marshmallow and frosting is your
snowman melting to the ground.

Then eat one, and enjoy!

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. Deuteronomy 7:9