How to Make Paper Snowmen

1. 1

   Step 1: Cut White Cardstock Into Half-Inch Paper Strips for the Snowman

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   Trim a sheet of white cardstock to 6 1/4 inches, then slice it into half-inch strips until you have eight. Turn the paper and do the same at 4 3/4 inches for another eight. Cut one long 8 1/2 inch strip for the arms and mark its centre at 4 1/4 inches with a pencil dot. Use the printable for any other lengths.

   Tip:

   Keep each length in its own pile. Mixing them up is the easiest way to end up with a lopsided ball.

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   Used in this stepwhite cardstock 8.5 x 11paper trimmer 12 inch

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2. 2

   Step 2: Trace the Top Hat, Boots and Mittens Templates Onto Black Cardstock

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   Cut the shapes off the bottom of the instruction sheet and snip them apart. Lay them on black cardstock and trace round each one with a pencil: the hat rectangle with tabs, the brim, the hat top and the boots. Trace the mittens onto patterned or red paper. Then cut everything out with scissors.

   Tip:

   Fold the red paper in half before you trace the mittens and you cut two at once.

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   Used in this stepblack cardstock 8.5 x 11kids safety scissors blunt tip

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3. 3

   Step 3: Roll the Black Cardstock Top Hat Into a Tube With Tape

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   Pull the hat rectangle over the edge of a table a few times so it starts to curl. Run double-sided tape along one short edge and roll it into a tube, tabs at the bottom. Add a strip of tape to the red paper band and wrap it round the tube, starting at the back seam and keeping it close to the bottom edge.

   Tip:

   Plain glue works here too if you have no tape runner. Hold the seam for a minute while it grabs.

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   Used in this stepdouble-sided tape runner

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4. 4

   Step 4: Glue the Brim and Top Onto the Paper Top Hat

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   Fold the little tabs at the bottom of the tube inward and put a glue dot on each one. Centre the tube on the large black circle and press the tabs down to make the brim. Do the same at the other end with the small circle for the top of the hat.

   Tip:

   The hat top is the fiddly bit. If it will not stay, leave it off. Nobody looks inside a snowman's hat.

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   Used in this stepGlue Dots

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5. 5

   Step 5: Punch Holes in the Paper Strip Stacks With a Crop-A-Dile

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   Punch a 1/8 inch hole at the centre mark on the long arm strip. Stack each pile of strips with the edges lined up and punch a hole through both ends of every stack. The holes are where the paper fasteners go, so keep them close to the ends and in the middle of the strip width.

   Tip:

   This is the step to give to an adult. The punch needs a firm squeeze through a full stack.

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   Used in this stepCrop-A-Dile hole punch

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6. 6

   Step 6: Curl the Arm Strip and Stick Red Paper Mittens on Each End

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   Curl the long arm strip over the table edge the way you did the hat. Put a glue dot on each mitten and press one onto each end of the strip. If you cut four mittens, put one on each side of both ends so they look right from the back too. Point both thumbs the same way.

   Tip:

   Lay the mitten onto the glue dot while the dot is still on its backing. It sticks much better.

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   Used in this stepGlue Dots

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7. 7

   Step 7: Join the Snowman Paper Strips With Brass Paper Fasteners

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   Push a brad through the holes at one end of the bottom stack and on through the next stack up, so the balls share a fastener where they meet. Keep going up the snowman. Slide the arm strip on through its centre hole, then the top stack. Open each fastener flat at the back as you go.

   Tip:

   Lay the pieces out in snowman order before you start. It is much easier to see which hole goes where.

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   Used in this stepbrass paper fasteners

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8. 8

   Step 8: Fan the Paper Strips Apart Into Round Snowman Balls

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   Start at the bottom. Take about half the strips in that section and rotate them round the fastener, then pull the rest apart. As the strips spread they bow out into a ball. Space them evenly and repeat for the middle and the head. Katie has the arm strip running through the middle ball, so the mittens hang at the sides.

   Tip:

   The head is the hardest, because short strips want to stick together. Separate them one by one.

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9. 9

   Step 9: Add the Top Hat and Stand the Paper Snowman on His Boots

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   Put a glue dot on each side of the top fastener and press the hat on. Stick glue dots on the boots a little out from the centre, with the mitten thumbs facing front. Set the snowman down and check he stands straight. If he tips forward, add a dot at the back to pull him upright.

   Tip:

   Space the bottom strips evenly before they touch the boots. Once they are glued they will not move.

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   Used in this stepGlue Dots

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10. 10

    Step 10: Draw a Face and Buttons on the Finished Paper Snowman

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    Use a black Sharpie to dot on buttons down the middle ball, plus two eyes and a smile on the head. An orange marker makes the carrot nose. That is him done. Stand him on a windowsill or a shelf, or give him to someone who needs a little winter cheer.

    Tip:

    Draw on the strip that faces front, the same side as the thumbs, so the face lines up with the mittens.

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    Used in this stepSharpie permanent markers fine point

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Keep going

How to Make a Paper Christmas Tree

10 steps · about 11 minutes

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