How to Make a Pine Cone Snowman on Skis!
Today's craft is very much based on some wonderful 1950s skiing figurines! There were many types- some were elves, some were snowmen, some had spun cotton bodies, and some had pine cone bodies. I think even Shiny Brite made a version of these at some point and they are just so cute. So today I am making one with a pine cone, a spun cotton head, chipboard skis, and an outfit crafted from metallic crepe paper.
For this project you need to go find a small pine cone, about 2 inches tall. That's a good scale to match the head and skis. The head I am using is this Simple Snowman head with dot eyes which is about 24mm diameter. You can also use a plain 25mm ball for the head and just dot the eyes on with a toothpick dipped in black paint. The other special item I am using is this chipboard ski kit, which is a replica of the skis on the vintage figurines. You can also just cut skis from a cereal box. They don't need to be any special shape like the chipboard kit- just skinny rectangles about 3 inches long with points cut at the front will do very nicely, and toothpicks with circles at the pokey ends are simple enough to make.
To make this figurine absolutely sparkle, I am using two kinds of glitter: fine grain glass glitter in clear for the face and nose, and white milk glass glitter to mix in for a snowy effect on the pine cone.
The step-by-step and assembly video are below. As an affiliate I may earn commission from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you. Your clicks support my work, thank you!
Supplies:
- Pine cone, roughly 2 inches tall
- 24mm Simple snowman head, or 25mm ball with eyes painted on
- Two 15mm Spun cotton eggs for feet
- Chipboard Ski Kit (sold out) or skis cut from cereal box and toothpicks for poles
- Metallic crepe paper
- Crepe paper streamers in orange for the nose
- Black and white craft paint, paint brush
- White pipe cleaner
- Toothpicks, foam block
- Low temp hot glue, glue sticks
- Elmer's Glue-All
- Beacon 3-in-1 glue or other strong, clear-drying glue
- Fine Grain Glass Glitter in Clear
- Fine Opaque White Snow Effect Glitter
Step 1:
Insert toothpicks into the 15mm spun cotton eggs to use as handles. Paint them with black craft paint, or the color of your choice. Stick the toothpicks into a foam block and allow to dry.
While they dry, prep the skis. In the chipboard ski kit, the skis come flat. Bend up the points at the front of the skis, and assemble the poles by poking the toothpicks into the small chipboard circles. If you are making these items by hand, simply cut 3 inch x 3/8 inch rectangles from a food box, and trim the front of each into points. Cut 3/8 inch circles for the poles, and pierce holes in the centers with pin before pushing in the toothpicks.
Step 2:
Hot glue the feet to the chipboard skis. Then, hold the pine cone on top of the feet, and rotate it until it settles over the feet. Some pine cones will have a knobby bit at the top that may need to be snipped in order to sit well. Once you find a good position for the pine cone, glue it in place. Paint the pine cone tips white.
Step 3:
Cut a 3 1/2 inch length of white pipe cleaner, and wrap the ends tightly around the tops of the ski poles. Apply a dot of glue to the top of the pine cone, and attach the center of the pipe cleaner arms. Apply another dot of glue on top of the arm segment, and press the head on.
Step 4:
To make a nice slender carrot nose, cut a length of orange streamers about 10 inches long on a diagonal, with the wide end measuring about 5/8 inch and tapering gradually to a point. Roll this small triangular strip up starting at the wide end. Seal the end with glue. Snip off the wide end of the carrot to shorten the length of the nose, and glue it to the face with a strong, clear-drying glue like Beacon 3-in-1. Allow the glue to dry fully.
Step 5:
Paint the front of the snowman's face as well as the nose with and even coat of Elmer's Glue-All. Sprinkle with Clear Fine Grain Glass Glitter. The glue will dry clear, and leave the face sparkling with frost.
Step 6:
Cut a rectangle of metallic crepe paper across the grain, about 2 inches wide, and long enough to wrap around your snowman's head. Stretch the paper rectangle around the head, overlapping it in the back, and seal with glue. Gather the top of the paper together to form the top of the hat, and snip off the excess length. Apply a little glue to the front of the hat, press on a length of pipe cleaner, and twist the ends of the pipe cleaner together in the back to create a furry trim. Roll up a small piece of pipe cleaner into a ball to make a pom pom, and glue it to the top of the hat.
For the scarf, cut a rectangle along the grain of the paper about 7 inches long and 3/4 inches wide. Gather it, and wrap around the neck of the snowman. Glue the tails in place, and cut off the excess length. Snip a fine fringe into the ends of the scarf.
Step 7:
Mix some white milk glass glitter into the fine grain clear glass glitter to make a sparkling snow mix. Paint Elmer's Glue-All onto the skis, the tops of the feet, and the pine cone tips. Spoon the snow glitter over all, and shake off the excess.
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