How to Make a Wooden Snowman Ornament

Welcome to day 5 of my 12 days of Christmas Crafting. Today I am making a wooden snowman ornament from a dollar store tumbling block game.

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My kids and I have played our fair share of Jenga. But did you know that those little blocks make the perfect Christmas ornaments? Now before you start digging out your Jenga set, keep in mind that there are a number of cheaper, no-name Jenga sets that make this craft very economical.

In fact, my local dollar store carries a knock-off called Tumbling Blocks. It’s basically the same thing, however, the blocks are a bit smaller.

What You Need

This is a very easy craft that would be great to do with kids or a class. It involves very few supplies.

Wooden block.
White paint. Use anything that will work on wood: craft paint, milk paint, chalk paint or even house paint.
Black and orange permanent markers. I used Sharpies but I’m sure any permanent marker will do
Ribbon, yarn, fabric, twine or raffia to be used for the scarf.
Glue. This is something to glue the fabric to the wood. A glue gun or craft glue should work.
Eye screws. I picked these up at my local home improvement store. You don’t need anything too big as the blocks are quite small. The size of mine are 13/16.
Twine, yarn or string for hanging.

Prepare your block by painting it white. Once done, allow ample time to dry. The amount of time depends on the type of paint that you used.

I like to affix the scarf first. I find it easier to draw the face around the scarf. You can either glue the ribbon on or tie it. If tieing the ribbon, you may wish to secure it with a spot of glue on the back.
Using your black marker, make the eyes, mouth and buttons.
Using your orange marker, draw a carrot nose.
Screw in the eye screws.
Cut a length of twine or string. I cut mine about 5 inches long.
Thread it through the eye screw and tie a knot.

See how easy this was? It turned out really cute. These will look so cute on your Christmas tree or as an adornment on a gift.

Tips for Attaching the Eye Screw

At first glance, attaching the eye screw should be easy – simply screw it in. However, I found that due to the small size it was rather fiddly. Here are a few suggestions to make it easier for you.

brute force – if the wood is soft enough and you can get it started, you can simply screw them in. This was not the case for me.
pre-drilling a hole – you will need a very small drill bit. I didn’t have one and to be honest, the thought of drilling something that small made me a bit nervous
pre-nailing a hole – hammer a small nail (like a finishing nail) into the top and then remove. I found this method to be the easiest.

It’s about getting it started. Once you have the eye screw in, it can also be challenging to turn it as it is so little. My son came up with the tip by holding the eye screw with a pair of needle-nosed pliers and then turning the wood.