Free Holiday Craft Project Frosty the Floam Man!

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Frosty the Floam Man
Free Holiday Craft Project
Copyright 2009 Margot Potter

I had to make some on-air samples for a recent QVC appearance featuring the uniquely interesting substance known as Floam. (You can watch part of the video here!) I gathered up three oversized Styrofoam balls (courtesy of the fine folks from FloraCraft), a mini top hat created by my lovely daughter, some annealed iron wire and my collection of vintage buttons (you can buy these by the pound on eBay) and created this charming snowman. He’s currently standing guard in our entryway over a blanket of faux snow being cautiously regarded by our faux crow. I’ve got a thing for snowmen. What can I say?

Here’s how I made him, feel free to improvise with the materials you have on hand.

Materials
3 graduated Styrofoam balls (5”, 6”, 7”)
3 red buttons (vintage or new)
1 green button (vintage or new)
2 black buttons (vintage or new)
7 8mm hematite faceted beads (or other beads)
5 3.5 oz. tubs Floam in white
20 gauge annealed iron wire (or other rusty style dark craft wire or actual sticks)
Red craft felt
Mini Top Hat (black)
Tiny Tinsel Pin
Aleene’s Foamtastic Craft Glue

Tools
Round nose pliers
Chain nose pliers
Memory wire shears (annealed iron will wreck your wire cutters)
Fiskars scissors

1. Cover your Styrofoam balls with Floam. Let them dry on a non-stick silicone craft sheet. It could take a day or two, check the bottoms to adjust any drippy Floam. I made these intentionally lumpy like a real snowman.

2. Cut six 5” sections of annealed wire with memory wire shears. Put three into the center of the largest Styrofoam ball and slide on the second ball. Repeat for the next ball to create your snowman base.

3. Glue buttons as in photo. Glue on beads to form a smile. Allow glue to dry.

4. Cut a long 2.5” strip of red craft felt, repeat. Attach the ends with glue or a safety pin. Use scissors to cut fringe on both exposed ends. Wrap around the snowman’s neck.

5. Attach your mini-top hat (instructions for hat are here or you can buy a pre-made one at the craft store) using a u-shaped segment of annealed iron wire to thread it into the head of the snowman. Add your tiny tinsel pin to the front of the hat.

6. Create wire arms by wrapping a second 3” section of wire around the longer wire arms. Mine are approximately 6” long.

7. If you want your snowman to stand freely, glue him to a thick piece cardboard or wood.