Button Snowmen
Making homemade holiday crafts with your children is a great way to spend time together. These adorable button snowmen help your littles build fine motor skills and coordination while practicing sorting and measuring. With just a few items you may already have around your house, you can make your own button snowman for decorating all winter long.
You'll Need:
Assorted 12-inch crafting pipe cleaners
Assorted white buttons from approx. 1/2 inch through 1 1/2 inch diameter (about 15-20 per snowman)
Assorted black buttons from 1/2 inch through 1 1/2 inch diameter (about 5 per snowman)
Assorted scraps of ribbon, approx. 4-6 inches long (1 per snowman)
Fine tip or extra-fine-tip permanent markers in black and orange
Fine tip or extra-fine-tip permanent marker in a different color (for buttons)
To Make:
Choose a flat button (any color) for the base. Gently fold a 12-inch chenille stem roughly in half, and slide the base button onto the stem by pushing its ends through opposite holes in the button.
Make two stacks of white buttons: one for the body, one for the head. Depending on how large your largest buttons are, you’ll probably use 15-20 total buttons between the two stacks. One stack should make a larger looking “ball” shape – that’s the body. The other should look like a somewhat smaller “ball” and contain fewer buttons – that’s your head.
Starting with the bottom of the larger stack, slide your buttons onto the chenille ends, one at a time, in order. As you go, keep an eye on how the shape of your snowman looks. If anything appears not-quite-right, feel free to swap out a larger or smaller button into each “ball” of snow as needed.
Next make your hat and add it onto the stack. For the hat, you’ll want 5 or 6 buttons total: one larger (1 inch or slightly larger diameter) black button, 3-4 smaller (half-inch, give or take – all same size) black buttons, and one of a size in between those. Stack them up first, just like you did with the white “balls,” and adjust until you get a look you like. Then add them on top of the stack of white buttons.
When you have all the buttons on and are pleased with how it looks, twist the two ends together close to the top of the hat to secure your buttons in place. Then bend the remaining tails into a loop and secure the ends to each other at the top, being careful not to leave any sharp ends poking out.
You can draw on the face with your permanent marker, and add the arms. For the arms take a 6-inch chenille stem, and twist it around the central stem you stacked the buttons on.
Finally, add a scarf. Choose a scrap of ribbon (anywhere from 3-5 inches long works well) and tie it securely around your snowman’s neck.
(Optional) Add buttons down the front. You can, of course, use the same black marker you used for eyes and nose to make a little row of buttons down the front of your snowman or choose a different color for your snowman’s buttons.