Chipper Recycle Craft | Make a Christmas Snowman

If you live in an area where there is no snow to make a Christmas snowman, try one of these crafts with your little one and make your very own snowman or snow-woman from recycled material! Even if you have snow around, having a little homemade snowman on the tree or around the house makes a cute decoration! Make a treasure hunt out of it and see what materials you can find around the house or outside. You can even make little stick arms if you have a glue gun. Finding the perfect stick can make a great outing with the kids. Use burned out bulbs to be really eco-friendly or some saved toilet paper rolls to start and then get creative!

IF USING PAINT: Wipe bulb down with rubbing alcohol, this will help the paint adhere to the bulb. Let dry. Paint entire light bulb with white acrylic paint and let dry. Apply a second coat. If finish appears streaked, you can use a large paint brush or a sponge to blot on a “stucco” look. It is not necessary to paint the socket. Allow bulb to dry completely. Alternatively, try using some spray-on adhesive and white glitter to create a snowy effect, as seen in the video below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6Z-700tMXY]

You can use puffy craft paint for the eyes, nose, mouth and buttons or use permanent black and orange markers once the paint is dry. Alternatively, you could also use colored paper and cut out small round dots for the mouth, eyes and buttons and a small triangle for the nose. In our toilet  paper snowman, we used small black pompom’s and a small piece of orange pipe cleaner for the nose. Work with whatever you have around the house or let your kids get creative! Half of the fun is figuring out what to use to make your craft.

For the scarf try finding some thick string to tie around the top of the bulb or cut up an old sock! You could event use colored paper or some pipe cleaners. Just like if you were making a real snowman, you have to work with what you can find!

For the hat, you could use a piece of black paper, color the metal with a permanent marker, or get crafty with some cloth or an old sock. To hang your snow man on the tree, use some twine or wire and wrap around the groves of the top.

Toilet Paper Roll Snowman

Start out with a recycled toilet paper roll. Chipper  had a white one but you can easily cover a cardboard toilet paper roll with some white paper (cut cut out a strip thick enough to cover roll and then attach with tape or glue). Then find materials for the nose, buttons, hat, mouth and scarf! Add some arms if you’re feeling ambitious. Here, Chipper used what he had in his craft box: pipe cleaners, pom pom balls, googly eyes, sequins, and a bit of construction paper! Good supplies to have on hand for any craft are: scissors, tape or glue and your imagination!

First, make your face! Chipper used black pom pom balls for the nose and mouth and googly eyes!

Then add the arms! We used black pipe cleaners here and poked a small hole in either side of your paper roll using a pair of scissors. You can use small sticks here or wrap a pipe cleaner around the snowman neck to attach the arms.

Instead of a hat, Chipper made some ear muffs using two pom pom balls and a small piece of cut pipe cleaner. We attached using glue and you can make the band stay by poking tiny little holes and bending the very tip of your pipe cleaner on either side and insert them into the holes. Regular old Elmer’s glue works to attach the muffs.

Cut a thin strip of construction paper for the scarf and attach with double-sided tape or glue. Alternatively, use a old sock, cut a thin strip, and tie around your roll! For buttons, Chipper just glued on some sequins but you can use real buttons, pom pom balls, or whatever you have on hand! There are TONS of crafts to make from recycled materials and paper rolls. Start your own collection by saving your rolls in a paper bag in the bathroom. Keep a designated craft box filled with materials and supplies so you and the kids can get crafty whenever possible. Crafts are not only a lot of fun, they are a great way to connect and practice motor skills!

Other ideas: Make Santa with some cotton balls or construction paper or make a little Rudolph–Let’s Go Chipper this Holiday Season!