SNOWMAN LID ORNAMENTS

Hey Ya'll, Morning!  

And warning, photo overload of snowmen!

I was lagging yesterday in the craft making department.  That is until I saw this craft made from metal jar lids and I immediately wanted to make some. So I got started and ended up making around 60. Yep, I'm tired of painting snowmen faces for a few days now. ;-)

Here's how I made them in case you want to give it a go.

I started out with a bunch of plain ole, metal Mason Jar lids in two sizes of

Regular: 2 2/4"

Wide Mouth: 3 3/4"

Some were new and shiny, some old and rusty. It doesn't matter to me.

And I spray painted them a base color in various shades of green and maroon that I had on hand.

The white was used for speckling (snow) only because it's a cheaper can and doesn't cover good.

Here are the Rustoleum and Valspar that cover great in one coat:

After they dry, they are a flat, softer color. Then we're ready to get started painting with craft paint.

My favorite brand is Folk Art but I do have a lot of Apple Barrel on hand too.

Just start by making various circles for the basic face shape of the snowman. 

I use Antique White as the color.

Sometimes I dab my brush, sometimes swirl.

Then just on to the dots for the eyes, and carrots for the noses.

When you think of them all as dots and such, it's easier for me to paint, rather than thinking, "oh I have to paint a face." Dots and carrots come easier. ;-)

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY HELP PAGE on DRAWING SNOWMAN FACES

Dot by Dot

Oh and a I wanted to make a few in the cute blue that I had first found online, so I used a craft paint blue, in the closest color and just brushed it on for a few:

Here's a few more pics of the various ones I hand painted in whatever type of face came to mind at the time. 

And after what felt like a million snowman faces later,

a few candy canes,

 gingerbread men,

I decided to start adding the wire hangers.

I happened to have a metal punch on hand, but you can easily use a hammer and a nail to punch a hole in each side for a wire.

Two good hits, on a sturdy wood back is all it takes to get a good hole.

Here's the back. Oh yea, for some, I painted the backs a variety of colors, just to add a different, unique touch.

I used regular, thin gauge craft wire for the hangers. 

At first the wire was bright silver, 

but I didn't like it much, so after I cut it in strips, I spray painted them black.

I like the black much better.

And then after putting all the wires in and twirling the tips with a pencil so they wouldn't slip back through, I got out the homespun and pieces of Christmas garland.

And here is how they ended up turning out:

These are my absolute favorite of them all. The old blue looking ones.

These are now for sale in my local co-op craft booth and my ebay shop.

Happy Crating ya'll,

-Lisa

Update:  And here's the set of Halloween themed if you're interested.

Snowman Spoon Magnets

The Peddlers Mall has kept me pretty busy lately with the holidays coming up so fast.  My hand made crafts are already selling out! I couldn't be more happier!  Just knowing that people really like the little things I make is an awesome feeling!

Here is the latest little snowman crafts I have made.  Snowman wooden spoon magnets. I priced these little primitive cuties for only .99 cents each so that it will be a cheap gift for anyone to pickup.

These started out as little wooden spoons that I had won off from an eBay auction.  I got a pack of like 48 or so for $7.00, since it was an open package. Great deal! Still plenty enough for me to use.

They are approximately 3 5/8" tall so they will make for some cute little snowman magnets! Not sure where these were bought from originally but I'd guess WalMart has some similiar.

First, I laid them all out on some wax paper so that my counters will stay somewhat clean.  Then I gave them a quick coat of off white craft paint.  (If it had been warmer outside, I would have simply spray painted them but it was like 20* outside!)

Just dab on a glob of orange and pull your paintbrush straight down. That's it for the noses! Simple.

And above you can see that I used some dark orange to paint on little skinny noses. These are popular on the primitive themed snowmen.

And next I free handed on some little cute faces.

Just use your imagination when painting on the faces. Give each a different look by simply doing the eyebrows differently or the mouths.

I like the little X's for mouths for some reason, lol.

Next, I tied on little bits of pieces of homespun fabric in all different colors to make these little snowmen a scarf.  I had bunches of these leftover from various other crafts and I always save the little scraps for things like this.

And then it was time to add the little magnet on the back.  I got this package of 20 magnets at the local Dollar Mart for only $1.00 called Magnetic Buttons.  Sadly last month that store closed though.

20 magnetic buttons for only $1.00 from the Dollar Mart.

These are small but strong enough to hold up these little wooden spoon snowman magnets.

Here you can see instead of all having black buttons of coal down the body, I wrote a few words such as "love and friends."  It just adds a bit more cuteness I think and gives each it's own personality.

Look close and you can see the little strips of homespun fabric as scarfs.  I just tied a simple knot in them around the neck area.

As you see above, I stuck them in an old white enamel pan for display.  These pans make them look cute and are an easy magnetic board to stick them to for displaying.

I was going to add little jingle bells to the scarves but I couldn't find any in my craft supplies small enough.

So here you have it, my Snowman Wooden Spoon Magnets made out of plain wooden sticks, similar to ice cream spoons, for only $ .99 in my Peddlers Mall Booth #555.

You may also like my previous post:

SNOWMAN MAGNETS from FREE Paint Stir Sticks : Primitive Snowmen

Primitive Rag Balls

I call these simple "rag balls" when they don't have the hook for hanging. Rag balls are a common primitive decoration in the country around here. 

All you need is some plain ole' Styrofoam balls, fabric and hot glue!

Cut up the fabric in manageable strips, depending on the size of your Styrofoam balls, and hot glue'em on. Add on some crafting wire if you want a hanger. And that's it.

image from Walmart.com

You can simply fill any old bowl with them to add a dash of color here or there.

 

Below are some hand-made Christmas tree rag balls I made.

Price: $1.00 each for hanging ragball ornaments (with wire hook) = Sold out

Price: $4.95 for a set of 5 Ragball bowl fillers (without hooks)

Update: New patterns/colors to choose from in Booth #555. Photos coming soon!