If you’re looking for the cutest winter craft for preschoolers, you must try this Melting Snowman Craft! It’s easy to make and students love it!
We use our homemade puffy paint recipe, which dries puffy and makes this craft unique!
Materials for the Melting Snowman Craft
- 1.5 cups of shaving cream (The best kind is Barbasol – off brands make the puffy paint not work as well)
- 1/2 cup Elmer’s white glue
- 1/4 cup All-Purpose flour
- bowl
- spatula
- plastic baggie or squeeze bottle
- scissors
- colored paper
- googly eyes
- tiny black pom poms
- snow sequins (optional)
This recipe makes enough for 3 snowmen crafts. I recommend making the craft on blue cardstock paper to create a nice contrast between the paper and the melted snowman.
How to Make the Melting Snowman Craft
Begin by pouring the shaving cream and glue into a bowl.
Add in the flour and stir well. Use a spoon to scoop 1/3rd of the mixture into a plastic baggie. Seal the bag, then snip one of the bottom corners.
Squeeze some of it onto the paper. It doesn’t have to look pretty. Then use a paintbrush to spread the mixture around to look like a melting snowman.
Then add items to it to make it look like a melting snowman. Some ideas include a black paper hat, googly eyes, orange paper nose, paper twig arms, and whatever else you’d like!
After you make this, let it dry for several hours. It will still be puffy, but you can touch it without anything moving out of place.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can you make this mixture ahead of time? Yes, you can make it up to two hours in advance.
- What if my students don’t like the smell of shaving cream? Add in a couple of drops of peppermint essential oil!
- How many melted snowmen will one recipe of puffy paint make? It makes about 3 snowmen.
- Do I have to use a plastic baggie? No, you can just use a paintbrush to spread the mixture around. It’s just easier with the bag.
- Is flour necessary for the recipe? Not necessarily. You can omit the flour, the white part will just be puffier. The flour gives the mixture a little more weight. If you have students with Celiac disease in your classroom, you should do the recipe without flour.
Check out this video to see how to make it!
Hope you’ll try it out! Feel free to print this recipe below!
Melting Snowman Craft
Equipment
- 1 bowl
- 1 spatula
- 1 plastic bag
- 1 paintbrush
- 1 scissors
- 1-2 pieces of colored paper
- 2 googly eyes
- 6 tiny black pom poms
- 1 jar of glitter (optional)
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups shaving cream Barbasol is the best brand for this!
- 1/2 cup Elmer's white glue
- 1/4 cup All-purpose flour
Instructions
- Pour the shaving cream and glue into a bowl.
- Add in the flour and stir well.
- Use a spoon to scoop 1/3rd of the mixture into a plastic baggie. Seal the bag, then snip one of the bottom corners.
- Squeeze some of it onto a piece of paper. It doesn’t have to look pretty. Then use a paintbrush to spread the mixture around to look like a melting snowman.
- Add items to it to make it look like a melting snowman. Some ideas include a black paper hat, googly eyes, orange paper nose, paper twig arms, and whatever else you’d like!
- Let it dry for several hours. It will still be puffy, but you can touch it without anything moving out of place.
Notes
- Can you make this mixture ahead of time? Yes, you can make it up to two hours in advance.
- What if my students don’t like the smell of shaving cream? Add in a couple of drops of peppermint essential oil!
- How many melted snowmen will one recipe of puffy paint make? It makes about 3 snowmen.
- Do I have to use a plastic baggie? No, you can just use a paintbrush to spread the mixture around. It’s just easier with the bag.
- Is flour necessary for the recipe? Not necessarily. You can omit the flour, the white part will just be puffier. The flour gives the mixture a little more weight. If you have students with Celiac disease in your classroom, you should do the recipe without flour.
I added this poem at the bottom:
I made a little snowman,
I made him just like that.
The sun came out and melted him,
An now my snowman’s flat.
I love it!
I have done puffy paint several times with just shaving cream and glue, no flour. It works great, dries nice and puffy. I use this with a book: Sneezy the Snowman. The children make a regular snowman and a melted snowman. They love it.
Thank you so much for letting me know!! Great idea to use that book!
Can this recipe be done without the flour?
No, the flour is essential. It is what makes the paint look puffy.
I can’t use shaving cream at my daycare with the kids due to a licensing regulation. Can you substitute it for anything to make this?
I’m sorry! I haven’t tried it with anything else, so I can’t say if it will. Maybe whipped cream? But I really don’t know.
We did this today & the kids were not impressed with the manly smell of shaving foam, so we added a couple of drops peppermint oil – a proper Christmassy full sensory experience! Thank u.
Ooh I love the idea to add peppermint oil. Thanks for sharing! Glad you enjoyed it!
Love your melted snowmen. This is something my three year old ESS class would love to make. Thank you.
I have the same question as someone above.
How far in advance can you mix up the puffy paint? Will it dry out even if it’s sealed up in the bag?
I just tested it out, so I apologize for the late reply. You can make it up to two hours ahead of time. After that, the shaving cream doesn’t hold up and the craft doesn’t turn out the same.
Is this plain flour?
Yes it is. Sorry I should’ve clarified!
How far in advance of craft time can you mix up the puffy paint? Will it dry out at all even if it’s sealed up in the bag?
About how many melted snowmen will one recipe of puffy paint make?😊
One recipe is enough for three snowmen. Sorry I didn’t write that in the post!
Love these ideas