Sometimes a crafty inspiration strikes in the strangest places–in this case in a pile of backyard debris during an afternoon of Fall cleanup. There was a lone, leftover paving stone that was begging to be something more. I’d seen a book of funny spring critters made out of paving stones in a book in the craft store, but with winter coming on, I thought a frosty friend would be more appropriate.
So I set my daughter to work painting it white (she was more than happy to get out of weeding and raking) and then we decorated it like a snowman using felt scraps, a small carrot-shaped rock and some fuzzy pipe cleaners. We love the way he turned out, and because of the weight of the stone, he makes a great doorstop.
We plan on making a bunch of these blockheads to line up on our porch this winter to greet guests. If snowmen aren’t your thing, you could easily make the stones into other seasonal characters like Santas, reindeer or elves.
You will need:
Paving stone (available at home improvement stores for under $2.00)
white paint
acrylic sealer
black paint or permanent marker
orange paint or permanent marker
small triangular pebble
felt or fleece scrap
two extra-fuzzy pipe cleaners
one regular pipe cleaner
glue
You can find “Patio Paint” at some craft stores that is supposed to be weather-proof. But you can use regular acrylic paint if you seal your snowman with acrylic sealer and keep it out of the weather. Paint the paving stone white and let it dry. Paint the pebble orange for the nose and let it dry. Paint eyes and buttons (or glue on real buttons!) on the snowman. Glue on the nose. Curl the two fuzzy pipe cleaners into spirals to make the earmuffs. Glue one to each side of the head. Bend the regular pipe cleaner in a half-circle and glue each end into the earmuffs. Cut a scarf out of felt or fleece and bundle up!