Light Bulb Snowman

With a fresh layer of snow on the ground in the last 24 hours, I thought I would put together a tutorial for a fun snowman craft.

And this little guy has the added bonus of being made from a spent light bulb.

For materials, you will need the following:
1 - flood-light style light bulb
1 - 4" x 5" piece of fleece for the hat
1 - 3/4" x 16" piece of fleece for the scarf
1 - 3" x 3-1/2" piece of fleece for the muff
1 - 6" length of paper-wrapped wire (this is usually found in the floral supply section)
1 - small triangle of orange craft foam
1 - small rubber band
1 - small snowflake embellishment
For supplies, you will need white spray paint, sugar, scissors, black marker and glue.

Begin by preparing the light bulb. Spray a coat of white paint, covering the whole light bulb except for the screw end. To keep from getting paint on my fingers, I put my hand in a plastic bag before handling the bulb.

Immediately coat the light bulb with sugar by pouring the sugar over the wet paint, covering any wet paint. Apply another light coat of paint to set the sugar in place. You should be able to set the light bulb down to dry with minimal damage to the paintwork.

Next, begin the hat. Fold the largest piece of fleece in half, so that you have a piece that is 2" x 5". Fleece is usually more stretchy in one direction than the other. It works best to have the stretchy direction running the 4" length, since this is the part that will need to be stretched around the light bulb.

Sew or glue the open side opposite the fold, leaving about a 1/4" seam allowance.

Turn the hat right-side-out.

Gather the fleece about 1" from the end and secure tightly with a rubber band.

Use scissors to cut strips in the fleece from the open end to the rubber band.

Optionally, use pinking shears to finish the opposite end.

Fold back a short section of fleece to form a cuff.

Place the hat onto the light bulb, covering the screw end.

Next, sew the muff. Fold the med-sized fleece in half to form a 1-1/2" x 3-1/2" piece. Stitch the edge opposite the fold.

Turn the stitched piece right-side-out.

Tuck in the ends of the muff.


Next, put the wire through the muff and fold up the ends.

Glue the muff to the front of the light bulb, and position the arms.

Next, use scissors to cut fringe into the ends of the scarf.

Tie the scarf around the neck of the snowman.

Glue the nose to the face of the snowman.

Use the black marker to place eyes on the face.

Glue the snowflake to the hat.

Isn't it great to make something fun out of something you would have thrown in the trash?




Enjoy!! See my inspiration here.

And be sure to check out the endless list of inspirational ideas at my home page childmade.com.