Recycle jars into painted snowmen candy containers.
Handmade gifts are always well-received during the holidays, and they can greatly reduce your gift-giving budget. Paint snowman jars, and fill them with store-wrapped or homemade candy. Give the jars as gifts to teachers, co-workers and the people who service your daily life, such as the newspaper boy, mailman and bus driver. Recycled quart jars provide a nice size for thoughtful Christmas gifts, and several painted snowmen jars can be completed in one evening.
Instructions
1. Dip a sponge into white acrylic enamel paint, and dab the entire outer surface of a quart-size glass jar. Do not paint the screw threads of the jar's neck. Allow the paint to dry. Repeat with additional coats of paint until complete coverage is achieved. The surface will have a bumpy texture that resembles snow.
2. Measure around the circumference of your lid. Cut a piece of fleece using the circumference, plus 1 inch for the width, and make it 8 inches long. Form the circumference edge of the fleece into a tube and overlap 1 inch. Apply hot glue between the overlap to create a seam.
3. Fold up one open end of the tube 2 inches--this is the brim of the hat. Apply glue to the outer rim of the lid, and place the brim of the hat over it. Press the hat into the glue to secure. Cut a 1/2-inch wide by 6-inch long strip of fleece. Gather the open top of the hat with your hands. Wrap the fleece strip around the gathers and tie into a knot. Place the hat/lid on the jar.
4. Dip a stencil brush into pink acrylic paint. Rub most of the paint into a paper towel for a drier brush. Pounce the brush in a circular motion, centering two 3-inch cheeks roughly 1 inch apart on the front of the jar. The seam of the hat determines the back of the snowman.
5. Lay the snowman jar on its side with the front facing up. Apply a dot of craft glue to the center of the face between the cheeks. Place a 1-inch flat orange button on the glue. Allow the glue to dry before lifting the jar.
6. Dip the end of a 1/2-inch diameter dowel scrap in black acrylic paint. Dot two eyes 1 inch above the nose and a 1/2 inch apart.
7. Draw a large smile using a black permanent marker. Start in the center of one cheek, drop the bottom of the smile to 1 inch above the bottom of the jar and end in the center of the other cheek.
