My dining room table has been overflowing with snowmen of one kind or another for the last week and a half, as I have been whipping out snowman-faced pins, magnets and wine corks! The pins and magnets were some of my best sellers at last year’s craft show, and the wine corks will be new this year. It is the craft, food and WINE show, so I figured they were appropriate! 🙂
I started out by spraying all the small wooden discs (not the corks) with my favorite off-white spray paint: Rustoleum’s American Accents Ivory Silk. I like the off-white better than bright white!
For the magnets, I use “Dazzle Tac” which is a strong jewelry glue. Those magnets will not budge! I tried hot glue in the past, but the magnets pop right off. Go with the Dazzle Tac or something of similar strength if you want the magnets to last.
I will likely display them on a big enamel pan. I made tons of them; big and small. Sold out last year! 🙂
Sparkle Mod Podge gives them a subtle sparkle, and also seals them.
For the pins – same thing. Dazzle Tac to adhere the backs and sparkle Mod Podge to seal. I grubbied up some more tags, stamped them, and pinned them to the tag. This way they can even be hung up on a tree or on a hook for display.
For the wine corks, I ordered these in bulk from Widget Co. They amounted to 55 cents a piece, which is cheaper than the ones I was buying at Wally World (and way nicer too!).
These I hand painted with my off-white acrylic paint (color: unbleached titanium)
Aren’t they cute?
Because of the finish on the wood part of the corks, the acrylic paint scratches off easily. There was no way I was sanding them all down before I painted them…there’s too many and I can’t be bothered. So I decided to give them a couple of coats of polyurethane to harden/seal them up. I didn’t want to get it all over the cork part, so I came up with this solution: poking holes in a thicker stock paper, and pushing the corks down through so that just the wooden part is exposed.
This is wrapping paper that is a little on the stiffer side…perfect for holding the corks in place. I gave them a good 3 coats.
I tried doing some “peppermint candy” corks also, but I didn’t like the way they came out. I am a perfectionist and I just didn’t like that it didn’t look smooth – free handing the black lines didn’t work so well. Maybe a little stencil or something could make it easier?
Overall I have happy with the way the snowmen came out. I am thinking about doing some pumpkin face corks/pins/magnets for Fall. I got a few other little projects done over the weekend as well, including lots of spray painting and making-over some thrift store finds. I’ll share soon! 🙂
Hope everyone had a great weekend…now it’s back to the ol’ grind…ugh! 🙂
Aug 01, 2011 @ 08:57:21
I can’t get enough of these snowmen. I love them! I buy them for gifts-then keep them all for myself!
Aug 01, 2011 @ 09:00:59
Thanks Barb!!!!! 🙂
Aug 01, 2011 @ 11:26:47
I love the pumpkin idea. Can’t wait to see them!
Sep 11, 2011 @ 22:21:48
These are great! How much do you sell them for?
Sep 12, 2011 @ 09:58:17
Hi Melinda,
I have been selling the pins for $1.50, the magnets for $1 and have yet to sell the snowman corks, but will probably try to sell them for $2.00. They will be for sale in my booth at The Carriage Place Co-op around holiday time and at my craft shows…but I’m not selling online…YET! I am thinking about doing an Etsy store soon! 🙂 Thanks for checking out my blog!!
Sep 09, 2012 @ 21:55:44
Where do you find the wooden discs and magnets?
Sep 10, 2012 @ 06:42:10
Hi Linda – the magnets I get in a 50 pack at Walmart in the craft section, and the wooden discs I get at the craft store – usually Michael’s. I think all the craft stores carry some form of small wooden discs. Good luck! 🙂 Maggie
Dec 30, 2013 @ 20:36:00
very clever —thanks
Jul 12, 2014 @ 10:57:28
Very cute! A suggestion for dealing with that ‘sheen’ on the cork tops other than the extra poly top coats would be to PRIME them before painting them. KILZ primer comes in spray or brush on at the hardware store. aj
Jul 13, 2014 @ 09:19:59
Great tip AJ – thank you! I did not know the Kilz came in spray form. Those corks were one of my first experiences painting over a poly coated wood piece and of course the paint easily came off afterwards. I have been sanding since then but a quick coat of the kilz primer seems like an easier solution. Thanks again! maggie
Nov 16, 2014 @ 22:35:36
These are SO CUTE! Do you just use paint pens to make their faces? And how do you blush their cheeks? Thanks =)
Nov 17, 2014 @ 12:55:15
Hi Becky, I just used regular paint and paint brush for the faces but you could use definitely paint pens for the faces if you want! Those work great and I have used them for other similar projects. 🙂 The rosy cheeks were made with a little stencil brush where I just used a tiny bit of pink paint and dry brushed them on. Hope this helps, and happy crafting!!! 🙂
Sep 24, 2015 @ 15:19:07
Hi Becky, I love the cork idea. We have tons of these around the house and I have been looking for something to do with them. I had a thought for you regarding the polyurethane process. Cut the top off an egg carton, then turn the bottom part upside down, cut holes in what is now the tops of the egg holders and put them through there. I think I am going to make some this weekend. Thanks for the idea.
Sep 24, 2015 @ 15:52:26
Hi Donna, this is Maggie, not sure who Becky is? hehe. I love the idea of using the egg carton as a holder for them. You could even prop them up for painting and other steps using the egg carton. Great tip!!! Hope you have fun if you decide to try them. Happy Fall to you! Maggie 🙂
Jul 08, 2016 @ 16:12:57
I love them,I will be making them,what size are you wooden disc?
Aug 22, 2016 @ 06:37:39
Hi Elizabeth, the discs are just over 1″. I think 1 inch and a quarter. Have fun making them! It’s always been one of my favorite projects. 🙂 maggie
Sep 28, 2017 @ 15:26:40
Super cute idea. I want my preschool class to make these. What size round disks did you use?
Thank you
Candy
Sep 29, 2017 @ 07:39:54
For these I used the 1 1/4 inch discs but the craft stores carry all different sizes depending on what size you’d like to make. 🙂 Hope that helps!
Dec 17, 2017 @ 10:04:17
Thankyou my sister just gave me two bags of corks
I had no idea what to do with them. Could you tell me roughly what I should charge for the cork snowmen? Thanks I appreciate it.
Dec 17, 2017 @ 10:12:42
Oops I should of read the other comments first lol I think I will only paint the top so they can use it to cork their bottle some people are funny about paint on their food keepers
Dec 21, 2017 @ 11:42:42
Hi Robin, yes I would definitely only paint the tops that will not be touching the food/drink. Also one thing I learned doing that project is so sand down the tops if there’s a glossy finish, because the paint peeled off the those cork tops really bad, and I was really bummed. If it’s just normal cork material you should be all good! Hope you have fun making them! Oh and I think I charged like $3 for mine, if that helps. Have a nice holiday! Maggie