Want to Build a Snowman?

Alicia W
by Alicia W
7 Materials
$10
2 Hours
Easy
Now that winter is upon us, you can go out into the snow and build snowman that will melt in a few days OR you can go to your favorite store and purchase some cotton/polyester clothesline and make a snowman that will last forever.
Along with the cotton/polyester clothesline, you will also need at least three punch balls/balloons.
Begin by blowing up the punch balls. You will need three of various sizes - small, medium, and large. This is what we’ll use as the mold for our snowman.
Punch balls work better than balloons because they are thicker.
A-I used underlament but you can also use Portland cement. Either of these cements are finer than regular cement and is easier to work with; however, they do set up fairly quickly.
B-Add the underlament to a bucket.
C-Add water.
My ratio was 2:1 meaning 2 cups of underlament to 1 cup of water.
Stir the underlament and water together using your gloved hand or a paint stiring stick.
Continue to add underlament and water until you achieve a slurry which is a little thinner than cream of wheat.
Take the clothesline off of it’s spool. Cut into long pieces. (It’s easier if you cut the clothesline into long pieces instead of using the entire spool of clothesline at one time as it’s easier to work with.)
Place one end of the clothesline underneath the handle of the bucket (top picture)
Place the clothesline in the underlament and allow it to soak a minute or two.


Remove the end of the clothesline and tie it to the top of the punchball.
Remove the clothesline from the bucket and begin to wrap it around the ball.
Continue adding pieces of clothesline to the bucket of underlament and then wrapping it around the ball until you’ve achieved the look you want.
Use an aluminum pan to set the ball on to dry. I had these little loaf pans on hand but you can use anything that will lift the ball off of the table.
Allow to dry at least 24 hours.
Once the clothesline is dry, pop the balloons and pull them out.


I used a planting urn to display my snowman since the ground was frozen.
Place a piece of rebar through the hole in the urn.
Add large rocks to weigh down the urn and to hold the rebar in place.
Place each ball onto the rebar threading the rebar through the holes in each ball.
You can see the rebar (outlined in yellow) in the second picture.
Use cable ties to attach the balls together.
Dress your snowman in whatever winter attire you like. I added a carrot nose too.
I love my snowman and I think Elsa & Anna would approve too.
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  • Mcgypsy9 Mcgypsy9 on Dec 30, 2022

    This is so cute! I have some large urns that were empty. They had trees in them but I pulled them out and bought these stacked ornament things and put in the urns instead. They are adorable but I really love this snowman so I think I will make some of these and use some planters I already have outside. Your snowman is perfect! Great job!

    in the pic the top cut off. I haven’t finished these yet. I am going to add bobbles and boxes to the bottom where the greenery is, just haven’t found what I need yet.

  • Katen Katen on Nov 18, 2023

    Olaf worthy. As others have posted you have made a cute snowman that you can embellish to suit your tastes or leave unadorned and still have a cute snowman. I know at my house no real carrot on my front porch. Tired of critters coming on porch to eat (pumpkin fiasco last year). Even a baby deer. But I have orange card stock that I have roll into a cone, staple, and spray heavily with spar urethane. Worked at Easter. Lasted long enough to celebrate Spring Or look at fake veggies. This is worth the minimal effort. Thanks for sharing

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