Festival of Trees Part Two

My work on the silent auction tree continues.  Having determined that this would be a snowman themed tree, I needed to find some snowman ornaments.  I searched Pinterest and leafed through my Christmas craft books for some time before making my selection.  Several years ago I had crafted sets of folk art ornaments made from an instant paper mache and I thought it would be fun to use this idea as a base for my snowmen. Off I went in search of the materials to make these cute little guys. 

 

The project consisted of gluing together Styrofoam balls and applying the wet slimy gray mixture to the snowman shape.  The paper mache was sticky and I had to keep my hands wet so that I could smooth the stuff at least semi evenly over the shape. But that's the beauty of paper mache and folk art, imperfection just adds to the charm. I used so much water that it took a few days for them to dry out.  Once dry, I gave them a light sanding and added the little noses which took another day to dry.  All the little guys received two coats of white paint, with another day to dry.  When I was done with the white, I painted the eyes, buttons and noses.  More drying time. Do you see where I’m going with this?  So much time spent waiting between each step.  This is why I started the tree so early.  I had a feeling this would happen.

 

 

Now that the snowmen were all painted, they looked cute but a little dull.  These guys needed a little glitz.  Out came the mod podge and they all received a coating.  Hmm, still not quite right.  Glitter!  Glitter makes everything sparkle and shine.  The addition of a little silver bling around the necks and they are just right.

Here they are on the tree.  I had hoped to finish decorating the tree this week-end but no such luck. I’ve started working on the next little ornament but you guessed it, it needs to dry. I’m still searching for a little this and that to finish up.  Stay tuned, it can’t possibly be long now!