“Do you want to build a snowman?”

My daughter squealed with excitement when I asked her one morning. I’ll bet your kids will too!

Of course, this meant that we also made a handful of Frozen Inspired Olaf Ornaments, and Snowman Head Ornaments. How could we build a snowman and not build Olaf?!

Related: Christmas Ornaments Kids Can Make

 DIY Polymer Clay Snowman Ornament

These cute little snowmen ornaments were inspired by the children’s book, “Snowmen and Night.”

Have you ever built a snowman and discovered the next day that his grin has gotten a little crooked, or his tree-branch arms have moved? And you’ve wondered . . . what do snowmen do at night? This delightful wintertime tale reveals all! Caralyn Buehner’s witty, imaginative verse offers many amusing details about the secret life of snowmen and where they go at night, while Mark Buehner’s roly-poly snowmen are bursting with personality and charm. From the highly successful team that created such winning titles as Fanny’s Dream, Snowmen at Night is fabulous, frosty, and fun!

So while my daughter dreamed of bringing Olaf to life. I thought of the wonderful ways to build snowmen and how they would melt and change in the oven, just like “Snowmen at Night!” Just look at them all!

Related: Winter Bucket List Family Guide for Seasonal Activities, Arts, and Crafts

DIY Polymer Clay Snowman Ornament Materials

• Polyform clay assorted Colors & White
• twigs (optional)
• Galvanized wire
• Wire cutters
• Ornament hooks or bakers twine
• clay tools (optional)
• Glass mat (optional)
• Oven bake clay bond and glaze pack (optional)

DIY Polymer Clay Snowman Ornament Directions

There are lots of ways to put these little snow people together. We made them five different ways and I’m sure you could come up with a lot more! The fun part is seeing how they melt and change, just like “Snowmen at Night” when you put them in the oven!

Basic directions are given below followed by photo tutorials of the different snowmen and women we made.

DIY Polymer Clay Snowman Ornament Basic Assembly Directions:

Wash your hands and clean the surface you will be working on. Polymer clay picks up every speck of dirt it can find. When working with white this is especially important.

You will even need to wash your hands after working with a color if you will be working with white again. Yes, really. I kept a wet washcloth nearby to keep our hands clean as my daughter and I worked.

1. Make pieces of the snowman; body, nose, eyes, buttons, arms, scarf, top hat or cap, twig arms, snowball legs, etc.
2. Assemble snowman by sticking the pieces together. Start with the body. First, add scarf if using one, then the nose and eyes. Next, add buttons and/or any other accessories you’d like to add. Last add twig arms and/or snowball legs if desired.
3. Cut 2-1/1/2 inch section of galvanized wire. Bend in half. Place this hook prongs down into the top of your ornament so you can hang it.
4. Bake according to polymer clay manufacturers directions. We baked ours in a 275 F oven for 25 mins standing upright on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

See photo examples with brief tutorials below.

How to make a snowman ornament:

The easiest way to make a carrot nose is to roll a little bit of orange polymer clay into a small ball. Next, roll one side of it like a snake until you have a small carrot. Then make two or three balls for the body and some eyes and buttons out of black clay.

Place the nose on first, followed by the eyes. Putting the nose on first makes it easier to know where the eyes go. Last, place buttons on the body of the snowman if desired.

How to make a snowman ornament with twig arms and no buttons:

Build a snowman. Add the nose and then the eyes. Choose the twigs that you would like to use and insert them into the left and right side body of the snowman.

Before baking, gently pull out the twigs and dot polyform bake and bond (included in set glaze listed above) into the holes before putting the twigs back in. This is optional. We tried it both ways. The twigs will bake in, but they hold much better when polyform bake and bond is used.

You can also use bake and bond to help the pieces of your snowman adhere together, but we did not find it necessary. We found that adding the wire to create hanger strengthened them just fine.

My daughter made this one. Isn’t it lovely!

How to make a snowman scarf:

Form a small rectangle of polyform clay. Use a rolling pin or a jar to flatten. Use an Exacto knife or clay tools to cut strips.

We like to work on a tempered glass cutting mat to protect our table. Most colors of polymer clay can stain. You can see the red coming off slightly in the photos below.

Using a glass cutting mat protects our table from stains and cuts, and we can pull a small snowman scarf off of it without it tearing. Highly recommend!

How to make a snowman ornament with a scarf, buttons, and top hat:

To make the top hat I made two balls of black clay. I flattened one to be the bottom of the top hat and formed the other into a cylinder shape that I then attached to the flat circle.

Put the scarf on by wrapping it around the neck before putting on the hat face and buttons. You can pull it gently to make it longer if needed.

Add wire to create hanger. I placed mine with a slight inward angle from the back of the hat. Be careful not to poke through!

Isn’t he adorable! I love how cute they all turned out!

Related: Christmas Gifts Kids Can Make

How to make a snowman ornament with a scarf, buttons, and cap:

Form the cap from a ball of clay by placing your thumb on one side to create the inner edge, then gently pull and form the rest of the clay into a cap shape with your thumb and forefinger of the other hand. I found spinning it around while I worked to be effective. When finished attach a small white ball of clay to the tip.

Next, wrap the scarf (I wrapped this one a little differently than the one above) and then add the buttons and face. Again you can gently pull on it to make it longer if needed.

You may find that you don’t have room for all the buttons depending on how you wrap the scarf. I only ended up using one of the three I made for this one.

Add wire to create a hanger.

How to make a snowman ornament with a scarf, buttons, and twig arms

Put body together, wrap scarf, add nose and eyes, add buttons, add twig arms.

This is the second snowman my daughter made before she started making Olaf over and over, and over again. I cut the scarf for her but she did everything else on her own. Proud mama!

I’m sure you see where this is going… You can make one with a scarf, top hat or cap and twig arms with or without buttons. You can design a different type of a cap, you could have one holding a flower, snowflake, or gift… Or you can build Olaf, etc., etc.

The possibilities are endless!

Making a homemade DIY polymer clay Snowman ornament is a simple craft for both kids and adults to make. Handmade ornaments like these cute snowmen are perfect for the Christmas tree. They make beautiful decorations and a great kid-made gift idea!

Be sure to check out Christmas Ornaments Kids Can Make, Christmas Gifts Kids Can Make and our Winter Bucket List for more fun ideas!