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Easy Snowman Craft
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How to Make a Pipe Cleaner Snowman

Make an adorable pipe cleaner snowman with just a few simple supplies, perfect for winter crafting with kids. These fluffy little snowmen are soft, lightweight, and the perfect size for little hands.
Active Time45 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Yield: 1 pipe cleaner snowman
Author: Debbie Chapman
Cost: $2

Equipment

Materials

Instructions

Step 1: Find what you need

  • Gather your supplies and materials.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman Supplies

Step 2: Make the base of the snowman

  • To make the base of the snowman you'll need aluminum foil. You can also use Styrofoam balls.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • For the bottom of the snowman, rip off a piece of foil at least 15 inches long. Begin crumpling the foil into a ball with a flat bottom and relatively flat top.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Compress the tin foil until your ball is about 1-1/2 inches across and at least 1-1/4 inches tall. You can use a ruler or the sides of your scissors to smooth down the edges if it gets sharp.
    Try to make the ball look roughly like a snowball. It can be hard to make a perfect round shape with foil, but try your best. It's okay if the edges aren't completely flat and even -- adding the pipe cleaners will clean up the shape a lot.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Repeat, making a medium "snowball" and a small one.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman

Step 3: Cover the snowballs and glue them together

  • Begin by wrapping the pipe cleaner around itself. It's easiest to use tweezers to get a really tight wrap at the edge of the pipe cleaner, but this is optional.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Wrap a few more times until you have a spiral.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Add hot glue to the flat bottom of the largest "snowball".
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Then set the pipe cleaner in place, centering it as best you can.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Hold the pipe cleaner a few seconds so it sticks well and then add more hot glue to the foil.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Continue gluing and wrapping the pipe cleaner so it goes around the ball. Try to push the pipe cleaner tight against itself so the foil doesn't show through.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • At the beginning and end of each pipe cleaner you'll have to hold it in place longer so it stays. Once the bottom is covered, begin wrapping around the side of the snowball.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Continue wrapping the pipe cleaner around, gluing a bit at a time. Keep the pipe cleaner shape nice and rounded, not pushing it down too much in areas where the ball isn't perfectly shaped.
    Repeat until you reach the top of the ball. You don't have to go all the way to the middle -- this part will be covered.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Repeat, covering the medium and small balls with white pipe cleaners as well.
    For these, both the tops and bottoms can be left uncovered in the middle. (If you're making earmuffs instead of a hat, cover the top center of the small snowball.)
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • To put the snowman together, begin by adding a generous amount of glue to the top center of the bottom snowball.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Add the middle ball to the glue, making sure it's nice and centered. Then repeat, adding the small ball to the top of the middle ball.
    Make sure the snowman is balanced and looks good when standing.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman

Step 4: Make a hat and scarf

  • Use black cardstock for the base of the snowman's hat. Cut a 2 inch circle and a rectangle about 3 inches long and 3/4 inch wide.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Add glue to one short end of the rectangle.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Connect the other end of the paper, making a circular shape. Then add a thin line of glue to the side of it. Connect it to the center of the 2 inch circle.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Glue another piece of paper to the top of the hat. You can pre-cut a circle to fit, or just glue a rectangle on top and cut around it.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Then cover the outside of the hat with black pipe cleaners. Start at the top center of the hat, making a tight circle like you did for the bottom of the snowman.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Once the hat is covered you can wrap a red pipe cleaner around as a hat band.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Then glue the hat to the top of the snowman's head.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • To make the snowman's scarf, use 2 colours (or 2 different shades) of pipe cleaner. Wrap them around each other to create a "striped" scarf.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Wrap the scarf around the snowman's neck, so the scarf goes to one side. Bend the pipe cleaners in curves to give the scarf life, and then cut each end shorter, as needed.
    You can glue the scarf in place, or just twist it around the "neck" of the snowman.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman

Step 5: Add features to the snowman

  • Use an orange pipe cleaner to make the snowman's nose. Begin by bending the edge up about 1/4 inch.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Wrap the pipe cleaner around itself a couple times, creating a triangle shape. Cut off the excess pipe cleaner and use your fingertips (or tweezers) to make the end of the nose really pointed.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Add glue to the flat end of the nose and attach it in place.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • For the snowman's eyes and buttons we used flatback doll eyes in 2 different sizes.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Attach the eyes above the nose and then place the 3 buttons on the middle snowball.
    We found it easiest to add a dot of glue to the snowman and then press them on. You can also use tweezers to place these small pieces.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Your pipe cleaner snowman is complete!
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman
  • Now have fun making a whole snow family in different sizes and with different colours of scarves!
    You can even make earmuffs for the snowmen instead of hats -- read more about how to do this below.
    Pipe Cleaner Snowman

Video

Notes

Looking for more pipe cleaner crafts? Here's a few of our favourites:
Beaded Pipe Cleaner Snowflakes
Pipe Cleaner Pine Cones
Heart Rings from Pipe Cleaners