How to Make a Snowman Out of Cottonballs & Paper Plates

Use household supplies such as cotton balls to create fun winter crafts.

Make inexpensive and festive kids crafts out of household items such as paper plates and cotton balls. A snowman is an easy winter craft that kids from 3 years old and up can make at home with a few simple supplies. Help children with cutting, and supervise while stapling and gluing. You will want to cover the work surface with newspaper before starting this craft to protect the work surface from the mess.

Things You'll Need

• Paper plates, 3 per snowman
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Glue
• Cotton balls
• Construction paper, black and orange
• Glitter, white (optional)
• Construction paper in other colors (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut two of the paper plates around the edges to make a medium-size circle and a small circle. Keep the first paper plate the original size for the snowman's bottom. Staple the three paper plates together, one above the other, with the largest plate for the bottom, the medium-size plate for the middle and the smallest plate on top.

2. Squeeze glue onto each of the plates in a generous amount. Adhere the cotton balls to the plates, covering the entire surface of each plate.

3. Cut a hat from the black construction paper. Have an adult draw a top hat shape onto the black paper, if needed. Cut out two circles for eyes and five small circles for the snowman's mouth, all from the black construction paper. Cut out a triangle from the orange construction paper for the snowman's nose. Glue the hat, eyes, nose and mouth to the top paper plate of the snowman, atop the cotton balls.

4. Add additional decoration to the snowman if desired. Drizzle glue over the cotton balls and dust white glitter over the glue to add sparkle. Cut out a scarf, boots or buttons for the snowman from different colors of construction paper if you'd like.

Tips & Warnings

• Wait until all the glue is dry before shaking off excess glitter. Otherwise, you might remove some of the cotton balls or construction paper.

References

• Fisher Price: Cotton Ball Snowman
• Easy Child Crafts: An Easy Paper Plate Snowman Craft
• Create-Kids-Crafts: Winter Crafts for Kids

Resources

• Family Fun: Cold Weather Crafts