Snowmen

I woke up Christmas Eve morning and said to my son,

"Levi, it's Christmas Eve today.

Tomorrow is Christmas."

"No," he responded, assuredly.

"It can't be Christmas Eve.  There isn't any snow outside."

I was going to explain to him that not every Christmas ends up being a white Christmas

but didn't want to squelch his Christmas ideals at the moment,

so I decided to just let the day happen and he'd learn on his own.

A few hours later, it started snowing,

so then he believed me that it was Christmas Eve.

Perhaps God shows His sense of humor when things like this happen;

or maybe He just delights in seeing the smile on a little boy sledding in the snow on Christmas Eve.

Anyhow, I thought it funny the way kids think.

Up until Christmas Eve, the only snowmen we had were painted ones.

So, if you are lacking in snow and want some snowmen in your life,

here's how to paint a snowman.

First of all, you'll want to get on some mittens.

Just teasing.

You'll want to build some snowballs though,

using your white paint, of course.

You can make them round, like the one I did on the bell above,

or you can make them fun and fictional,

with legs and arms.

(I painted these snowfolk on an old cupboard door I had primed with green paint;

somebody gave me these when they got their kitchen cabinet doors replaced.)

After the white snowmen are formed and a second coat added,

I like to shade the undersides with a sweep of light blue mixed with white.

A simple curved shape along the bottom edge of each snowball makes it look like shadowing.

You can blend it in as much as you like.

Next you'll want to add your carrot nose,

some coal eyes,

a button mouth,

and a black top hat

(or stocking cap if you prefer).

For really small snowmen like the ones I did on the bell ornament,

I like to use Martha Stewart's all purpose paints.

The tips are very precise, making them easier to use than a brush.

A paint pen or permanent marker paint pen work great, too.

For scarves, I start with a thin line at the neck...

and then add a curved line underneath,

and then fill in between the two lines,

so it looks like it is going around a round body.

This looks great as is,

but if you want it even more of a realistic look,

you can shade the lower parts of the scarf where a shadow would be

with the complimentary color;

or you can add some white and put a few swipes of that

on the upper part of the scarf where it looks like sunlight would hit.

Don't forget to do the same to the tie around the hat, too.

After the painting dried,

I sealed it with some brown and clear wax so it would have an older look.

My daughter fell in love with this painting...

and was very happy it didn't sell at the craft sales.

It's always nice to have a few things not sell for some extra Christmas presents,
especially if one of my kids has said she hopes it doesn't sell...
which is a not so nice but a nice thing to say,
I guess.




So now you can go build a snowman without getting cold...

although you're still welcome to make a pot of hot chocolate;
 that is mandatory with snowman making,
isn't it?

Linking up to:
Gnowfglins.com
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