Cut Now, Measure Later : Teacher Gifts: Snowman Pencils

Hello again!

Christmas vacation is inching closer, so now is a great time to think about any teachers in your life who would enjoy a sweet gift. My mom and several of my friends are teachers, so I know very well how hard they work every day. :) Why not take a little time to make something special for the teacher in your life?

I love anything to do with school supplies, so this craft idea from Martha is a great non-food project that any teacher would love. :)

Supplies:

-Pencils (#2, of course!)

-Small styrofoam balls (I used 15/16", but you could use different sizes for the top and bottom)

-Hot glue

-For accessories: pipe cleaners, pom poms, felt, beads

Ok, this is a quick and easy project! First, smell the new box of pencils. Surely I'm not the only one who loves the smell of school supplies. ;)

Next, take two styrofoam balls and press on them (gently) to make one slightly flat side on each ball.

Use the non-eraser end of the pencil to press into one of the balls, about 1/4-1/2". (This hole should go into the opposite side of the flattened part of the styrofoam ball.)

Now place a little bit of hot glue on the tip of the eraser and secure the ball onto it.

*Note: The styrofoam ball seemed to be pretty secure without the glue, so if you want your teacher to be able to use the eraser, you can try it without the hot glue! I was worried that the pencils would lose their snowmen in transit, so I used glue. You could give the teacher a cute eraser to go with his/her pencils if you like!

Now use the glue to attach the other styrofoam ball to the one on the eraser. (Glue the flattened sides together.)

Time for eyes! I used glass beads, but you could anything small that you have around the house. Martha suggested using seeds. :) If you have any chia seeds at home, I think that would work really well.

I used a pencil to mark where to glue the eyes, then used little bit of hot glue to secure the beads into the styrofoam.

For the nose, I cut a small triangle of orange felt and secured it with glue. I used a bamboo skewer to push it into the styrofoam a little bit.

PS- Don't be afraid to use different colors or supplies for the eyes!

Now you have a snowman/snowlady! :) I love earmuffs, so I decided to use pipe cleaners and pom poms to keep each snowman's ears warm. Hot glue the pipe cleaners to the sides of the snowman's head, then glue the pom poms over the ends of the pipe cleaners.