Kid Made Snowman Lantern – Recycle Art

My children love being a part of the decorating process and love having their crafts and artwork on display. This time of year they love snowman more than anything, so they really enjoyed this one. It was like creating a jack-o-latern for them but Christmas style. The best part about this craft, was that we have everything on hand already and did not spend a dime! Big shout out to my Aunts Paula and Heather for inspiring this idea for me! Thanks Ladies!

Supplies Needed:

• Empty plastic container – We used vinegar and a 1 gallon milk containers
• Felt – Black and orange are the basics, but you can always change the colors around
• Scrap fleece – at least 19 inches long and 2o inches wide if using a vinegar bottle. You can use less for a milk jug
• Glue – basic white or clear glue works great
• Duck tape or hot glue gun – I used duck tape simply because it was easier to use while having helpful kiddos around.  😉
• Cut-tips and an old plastic lid to hold the glue
• Rubber-band or string- we used my daughter’s outchless ties
• Scissors
• Strand of Christmas lights

Directions:

Step 1: Gather needed supplies. Make sure to rinse out the containers first.

Step 2: Cut 7 circles out of the black felt between the size of a quarter and a nickel. If you fold over the black felt, you can cut more than 1 circle at a time. Cut a triangle out of the orange

Step 3: Use the cue tip to glue your “coal pieces and carrot” to the plastic container. A good glob works great. Very little glue barely held on the circles. We only glued half the carrot on because the kiddos wanted it to hang off. In fact, my son got an even more realistic carrot nose, by stretching his triangle a little to get a wobbly carrot look (see the snowman with the blue cap).

Step 4: Cut desired fleece fabric to size needed for the snow cap and scarfs. We aimed for 1 inch wider than the width of the hat and 3-4 inches taller than the top. For the scarfs, the kids picked out specific patterns that we did not have enough for length so we did two pieces 1-2 inches wide that made the right length.

Step 5: Make the cap by overlapping the length sides by 1.5 inches. Since I used tape, I added rolled pieces to make sure it stayed attached.

Step 6: Put the hat on the container. Fold the bottom up desired with to give it a lip. Add the rubber-band or tie a string just above the top of the plastic container to get a “puff” look. My son wanted a lot longer and cut in strips, so it looks like hair now.

Step 7: Add the scarfs, if you want them. I think they look cute both ways

Step 8: Cut a whole in the back for the lights to go into. Adding a little bit of a bend made it easy to start the cut.

Step 9: Add the lights and enjoy! My son somehow got it into his head that we needed fireflies to light these lanterns and kept asking me how we were going to catch them. I love his imagination!

Linked to: I Heart Nap Time, Lil’ Luna, Somewhat Simple, Tatertots & Jello & Today’s Creative Blog, Strawberry Mommycakes, Craftaholics Anonymous, LollyJane Get Your DIY On (ThankfulHouse) Tastefully Frugal