Melted Snowman Ornament
By Russ Brewer

Materials:

A word about materials:

The Bake n’ Bend clay is perfect for most of the detail work on this project because once finished, your little snowman has to endure years of being put on and off Christmas trees while spending most of its time wrapped up with hundreds of other ornaments. The arms, the nose, and the scarf are all made with Bake n’ Bend and because they are flexible, they are less brittle and less likely to break off in storage. However, the white body of the snowman needs to be made out of SculpeyIII -- the texture is perfect, and you may break your glass ornament attempting to create the body. I also found that black SculpeyIII or Premo made a nice, crisp hat.

Also when choosing your glass ball ornament, try to choose one that is clear and without any glaze on it. I found that when the Sculpey was pressed against the ornament, if I wanted to adjust the clay or remove it, the colored glaze would come right off and stick to the clay. This isn’t all that bad because you can just cover it up again or your can then use some scrap clay to remove all the glazing, but this is a hassle that could be avoided with a clear glass ornament.

Directions:

Step 1: Making the Body

Take some white Sculpey III and make a ball about the size of a quarter. Take the hanger mechanism out of your glass ornament and set it aside. Squish the ball of white clay on top of your glass ornament. This will be a mound that will help form the head.

With another lump of white clay, make a pancake about 4 inches in diameter and ¼ inch thick. Push the white pancake on top of the ornament, over the clay ball that should already be there, and mold the clay until it begins to resemble a melted snowman. This step can be tricky because of trying to keep fingerprints from forming on the clay. I found that keeping my hands slightly wet helped reduce the fingerprinting.

Step 2: Making the Arms

To make Brown with Bake n' Bend (important for the flexible long-lasting arms): Take a large pinch of black Bake n' Bend clay, an equal pinch of beige Bake n' Bend clay and keep adding red and orange Bake n' Bend clay until you have a nice brown bark color about the dimension of a quarter.

Flatten 3/4 of the brown into an elongated rectangle. Take some beige and roll it into a 3/8 inch snake and lay it on the rectangle of brown. The beige becomes the wood part of the branch, however you need to have enough beige so that you can still see it after it’s been reduced and cut.

Next, take the two ornament wires that you straightened out and lay them end-to-end in the middle of the brown rectangle. Pull the sides of the brown clay up and wrap it around the beige clay and wires to form a rough cylinder. Pinch the edges of the brown clay together. Using your hand or fingers, roll the whole thing back and forth, reducing it until it becomes a thin snake. Although at first the wires will stick out of each side of the snake, as you reduce it, the clay will slowly cover the wires and eventually push out well beyond the tips of the wires. As you reduce the snake it will be more manageable if you cut the snake in half somewhere between the two wires.

When the snake gets about ¼” thick, add a couple of specks of black Bake n’ Bend clay for detail. Continue to roll the snake until it becomes about 3/16” thick. This will be the stick-arms.

Make another snake of brown clay with beige in the center. Reduce it to the same dimensions as your other sticks. This will be used to make the stick-hands.

Cut the smaller length snake into ½” sections. Attach them to the ends of the stick to become branch hands. I put one or two at the end, with another piece a little bit down the arm to add variety. When you’re done, your branches will have brown bark, beige wood in the center, and some knots along the shaft. Place your stick arms onto your baking surface.

Step 3: Making the Carrot Nose

Take some orange Bake n' Bend clay and roll in into a carrot-shaped cone. Using your Super-Slicer score the carrot in light, straight lines similar to a carrot. Trim off any excess. Set your carrot nose onto your baking surface.

Step 4: Making the Hat

Take some more clay and make two clay disks about 3/16 inch thick and the dimension of a dime. Squish them onto the brim of the hat.

Because we are making a melted snowman, a slightly lopsided hat might be more in character.

Take another ornament wire, form it into a long "u" shape. Press it through the hat leaving a loop about ¼” beyond the top of the hat with the two ends of the wires sticking out of the bottom of the hat.

Place the hat onto your cooking surface.

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Use an oven thermometer to check the accuracy of your oven! Now bake the hat, arms, and nose (NOT the body) for 15 minutes at 275 degrees and let them fully cool. If these items are cooked first, they will be much more workable when adding them to the snowman’s body.

Step 6: Making the scarf

Take some red Bake n' Bend clay and form a ¼” thick rectangle.Place a few small green Bake n' Bend clay balls on top of the red clay.

Using a roller, flatten out the clay into a long, thin ribbon. Slice off the excess clay to create a narrow band of red and green clay about 7 inches long. Using the Super-Slicer, cut a series of even lines into each end of the scarf to make a fringe.

Step 7: Adding the detail work

Push the hat into a slightly askew position on the head of the snowman, this will add to the melted effect and also hide any imperfections. If the wires that are sticking out from the bottom are too long, bend them or trim them. Now, drape the scarf around the shoulders of the snowman.

Make a thin green disk of clay about the size and slightly thinner than a penny. Cut away most of it so that it resembles a mistletoe leaf. Add tiny red beads. Place on the hat of the snowman and add slight pressure to mount it into place.

Step 8: Adding the Arms

Because this ornament has to endure being packed up every Christmas, and the arms tend not to last, secure the joint with some more clay—using white Bake n' Bend might actually prolong the life of the arms.

The finished product will have arms that are slightly bendable but I would caution against expecting to play with them. While the arm may bend into a desired position, the shoulder socket might not endure much movement.

Finally: Don't forget to write or carve the year into the back!

Step 9: Baking