Happy Birthday Snow People

Who better to deliver birthday wishes on a chilly winter day than a happy little snowman? Think about it: Have you ever seen a snowman who didn't have a smile on his face? Snowmen are a celebration of winter, unexpected snow days, and family fun. And the best part about this snowman (or “snowlady") craft is that it can stay inside, sharing birthday smiles without melting!

This happy little guy is the finishing touch to a birthday vignette of floral cakes and cupcakes, and I created him with everyday materials found around the home. With a little research online, I found many snowman recipes that called for corn starch and shaving cream. After doing some experimenting, I went with the shaving cream version, but both work great! This snowman craft is a fabulous fun sensory activity to do with kids too.

Make a snowman craft (without snow)

What you need

• Two 16 oz. containers of corn starch
• One 10 oz. can of shaving cream

• Miscellaneous items to dress your snowman and add personality, such as:
  • Decorative beads
  • Sculpting clay
  • Twigs
  • Decorative paper, pom-poms, chenille stems (for birthday hat)
  • Wires
  • Glitter and faux snow

What to do

Pour the corn starch into a large bowl and slowly add the shaving cream, mixing it in as you go. Keep working the shaving cream into the corn starch until you can mold the mixture and it feels dry to the touch. You can store the faux snow mixture in a resealable bag, and it will keep for a few weeks.

Because this was for a birthday, I added a birthday hat that I made from a small piece of decorative paper, and added a silver pom-pom at the top and a silver chenille stem around the base.

I also made a little “Happy Birthday" sign and attached it to one of his little twig arms!

You can also add the sign to a pile of snow made with the cornstarch mixture. I used some faux snow around the snowman, as well as floral cakes and cupcakes, to complete the look.

Create a floral snowlady

Another way to make an indoor snowperson is with flowers. If you know someone who has a birthday and deserves to smile, then this is one homemade gift they would be delighted to receive!

What you need to make a snowlady

• 2 or 3 sizes of floral foam spheres
• A stick
• White button poms
• Decorative elements to create the face (beads, sculpting clay, etc.)

What to do

1. Thoroughly soak the foam spheres. I used three sizes, but you can use just two.
2. Place the largest sphere on a flat plate and insert the stick.

1. Place the next largest size on top of the larger one, and then the smallest. Cut the stick at the top if it is still sticking out.

1. Cut all the individual button poms from the main stem, leaving about 1 inch of stem on the flower to insert into the foam.

1. Start at the bottom and insert the button poms until you have covered all the foam.

This is a large snow lady — she stands a little over a foot tall — so it takes lots of button poms to make. (I used more than 15 stems.) You can create a smaller one using the same method, however.

For the birthday bouquet, I gathered a few stems in my hand and cut the bottoms short, and inserted them into the foam. I took the parts of the stems I had cut off and inserted them into the foam as well, and added a bow between the flowers and stems to make it look like she was holding a bouquet of fresh-cut flowers! Because I knew I was going to be giving her this bouquet, I didn’t put the button poms in the area where I planned to insert the bouquet.

For the floral crown, I used small sprigs of flowers and greens, and wired them together.

Creating any of these vignettes is a sure way to let someone know how special they on on their birthday — and every day!