For today's craft, I thought I would show you how to make a cheerful snowman out of a magnetic chip clip. I found these clips at the dollar store for 3 for $1.00.
The materials you will need are as follows:1 - 3" chip clip (the sample shown was from Dollar Tree, 3 per card)
1 - 3" x 4" piece of fleece
1 - 1/2" x 8" piece of fleece
1 - brown chenille stem
1 - 1/2" white pom
1 - 1/2" x 1/2" piece of orange felt or craft foam
1 - 1/2" decorative snowflake
1 - small rubberband
For tools, you will need a scissors for the felt, wire cutters or a strong pair of scissors to cut the chenille stem, a fine black marker, and glue (hot glue is faster but white glue is safer for children.) You will also need to seal one side of the fleece for the hat, which can be sewed or glued.
Gather the supplies and tools. Take the 3" x 4" piece of fleece and fold it in half, so that you now have a piece that is 3" x 2". Sew or glue the open edge of the 3" side, which will form a tube 2" wide. If you're making these in quantity, such as for a classroom party, it's easiest to cut a long strip of fabric that is 4" wide folded to 2" wide, sew the whole length all at once, then cut the 3" lengths from the longer strip.
Next, turn the tube inside out so that the edge of the seam is turned inside. Place the rubber band tightly around one end of the tube about 1/2" from the edge of the fabric.
Use the scissors to snip the 1/2" length of fabric past the rubber band to form the tassels for the hat. Turn back the other end of the fleece to form the cuff of the hat.
Open the clip and slide the hat over the end of the clip, positioning only on the front half of the clip so that the clip will continue to open. Don't glue the hat in place until after you've positioned the scarf.
Open the clip and slip the 8" piece of fleece into the clip near the hinge.
Bring the two ends of the scarf to the front and tie. Lightly glue the scarf and hat in place.
The arms of the snowman should be about 6" long. Cut two additional lengths of chenille stem about 3/4" long each. Twist the short pieces around the ends of the long piece to form hands.
Insert the arms into the center of the clip and glue in place with the scarf.
Glue the 1/2" white pom into one of the hands of the snowman.
Position the other arm as a wave. Finish your snowman by trimming the orange felt to make a nose and glue in position on the face. Use the black marker to draw eyes, and optionally a mouth. Glue the snowflake to the hat.That's it!!
If you can't find the exact chip clip, you might need to alter the measurements of the hat slightly. Just measure around the end of the chip clip where the hat would sit, and substitute the new measurement for the 4" length, adding 1/2" allowance for the seam. If you're adjusting by a lot, you'll also want to consider whether the height of the hat is adequate, as well as the scarf and arm length.
Let me know how this worked for you.
