Decorative Snowman Cardholder

By: Debi Schmitz for Styrofoam Brand Foam

Display all your pretty Christmas cards on a decorative snowman cardholder. It's great for the kitchen or dining room. Even if you don't have any cards to display you can still have the decoration up.

Tips:

Cutting: STYROFOAM Brand Products cuts easily with a serrated knife, hacksaw, floral knife or Xacto®7 knife. Wax the knife blade with an old candle for easier, smoother cuts.

Gluing: For a fast, sure bond, use a low-temperature glue gun. Hot glue guns can be used but might melt a small portion of the foam. (Please follow manufacturer's safety instructions when operating a glue gun.) White craft glue is a tried and true favorite for STYROFOAM Brand Products; use floral picks or toothpicks to hold pieces together while drying.

Materials:

STYROFOAM Brand Products:
1- 2" x 12" x 36" sheet
1- 7-3/8 x 1-3/16" discs
1- 4" ball

Felt:

1- 2" x 4" orange strip
2- yds. white
1- 1/2 yd. charcoal
1- 1/2 yd. red
1- 12" square kelly green
1- 1/6 yd. gingham fabric for cheeks and hatband
Fabric scraps for patches

Buttons:

1-"1 black, 1- 1" red

Other Materials:

1- 2" x 24" x 3" strip of lathe or plank wood
1- pair 28 mm wiggle eyes
White chenille stem
White acrylic paint
7- stems 26-gauge wire
7- stems 16-gauge wire
Paint brush
Scissors
Wire cutters
Craft glue or glue gun and glue sticks
Pins
Pattern

Steps:

From sheet of STYROFOAM, cut the following pieces: 8 1/2" x 17" for body, 4" x 18" for arms, 2" x 11" for hat brim and 3" x 6 1/2" for hat top.
Cut ball of STYROFOAM in half. Use Pattern A on flat side of half ball to cut hand; reverse pattern and cut second hand.
Insert (4) 2" lengths of wire halfway into face of 1 disc; place drops of glue on disc face. Secure second disc to first. Use Pattern B to cut head from doubled discs.
Cut the following pieces from felt: Charcoal gray felt - 17" x 8" (hat brim); 9" x 12 1/2" (hat top, front); 2 1/2" x 6" (hat top, back) White felt - 14 1/2" x 23" (body, front); 8" x 16 1/2" (body, back); 10" x 24" (arms, front); 3 1/2" x 17 1/2" (arms, back); 13" square (head); 7" circle (head, back) Red felt - Two 10" squares (hands, front); two 3 1/2" circles (hands, back)
Wrap hat brim in felt like a package, gluing long edges to back. Cover fronts of hat top, body and arms in similar fashion; cover backs with corresponding back pieces. If necessary, use straight pins to help hold felt in place.
Using wire and glue (see Step 3), attach top of hat to brim. Glue a 1 1/2" x 20" strip of gingham fabric around hat, right above brim.
Center head on 13" square of white felt. Tightly pull felt to back and glue. Trim excess felt from back and cover with 7" circle of white felt.
Cover hands with red felt, following instructions in Step 6 (curved half of ball is the front of the hand).
Assemble snowman with wire and glue: attach arms to body, head to arms, hat to head, and hands to arms.
Paint wood strip white; let dry. Glue to back of snowman from hat to bottom of body. Glue 2" x 7" strip of charcoal felt across end of wood to back of hat. Repeat at bottom of wood with white strip of felt. Attach 4 more white strips on wood to securely hold wood to snowman.
Insert chenille stem behind wood at neck. Twist tightly to wood and shape small loop for hanging; trim excess stem.
Glue 3" x 26" strip of charcoal felt from chin of snowman to bottom of body, overlapping to back. Cut 9 holly leaves (Pattern C) from green felt. Glue 3 leaves to hat and 3 pairs of leaves to charcoal strip as pictured. Glue 3 red buttons to center of 3 leaves on hat and 1 button on center of each leaf pair.
Cut carrot nose from Pattern D. Glue (2) 12" gingham fabric patches to face for cheeks. Glue on carrot nose, wiggle eyes and button mouth (5 black buttons) as pictured.
Tie 6" x 36" strip of red felt around snowman's neck. Cut ends of scarf into 3" strips. Glue 2 small patches of scrap fabric to end of scarf. Glue remaining black buttons onto patches. Glue 1 small patch to a mitten as pictured. Attach holiday cards to snowman with pins.