Snowman Soup and a Couple of Winners.....

"Snowflakes are kisses from heaven."

~unknown~

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas! Rarely ever happens where I live but a girl can dream can't she? Since I may not get the real thing, I decided to kick off my Spirit of Giving Christmas posts with a little snow ALL this upcoming week! We are going to start off small until we get the snowball rollin' right up to the next give away on Dec. 4!

Speaking of give aways, the winners from yesterdays entries are:#6, Catherine Holman! You can visit Catherine's beautiful blog here. Catherine is a wonderful artist who paints in the folk art style. Each of her paintings comes with a little story and I just love her work. Congrats Catherine, email me your address and I will get your package right out. AND.....
#9, Susie! You can visit Susie's blog here. Susie is a garden guru with a deep love for growing things and an appreciation for the beauty of God's natural world. You are sure to love her blog and she has a wonderful knowledge of plants. Congrats Susie, email me your address and your package will be on its way!

I love to have really quick and easy ideas for gifts that I can have on hand for visitors during the holiday season. Something that could be given to a child's teacher at school or church, or perhaps a little something I can tuck a tip into and give to those who provide me with special services, like my hairstylist or postman, you get the idea. I think Snowman Soup fits the bill! It is quick, cute, and easy, just what I need during the busyness of the holidays and it yummy too! Snowman Soup:

*White Card Stock
*Patterned Paper
*Vellum OR you can substitute any of the following: cotton batting, white felt, or fiber fill OR white craft foam
(If you use velum, you will need vellum tape by 3M)
*Cellophane Bag, plain or snowflake patterned, OR Brown Paper Lunch Bag OR Colored Gift Bag
*Assorted Embellishments, buttons, ribbon, beads, etc. for snowman face and clothing
*Ribbon or Twine
*Mini resealable bag, can be found in craft stores near jewelry making supplies or at grocery stores, buy the snack size zip bags
*Glue
*Hole Punch
*Scissor

Soup Ingredients:

*1 single serving of instant hot cocoa mix
*Mini Marshmallows
*1 Candy Cane
*2 to 3 Chocolates

Empty contents of hot cocoa mix into a mug, add one or two chocolates, add boiling water, stir with peppermint candy cane to mix and flavor the snowman soup. Sip and enjoy!

Makes one serving

POEM:

Was told that you've been
real good this year,
always glad to
hear it.
With freezing
weather
drawing near.
You'll need to
warm the spirit.
So here's a little
Snowman Soup
complete with stirring stick.
Add hot water,
sip it slow
it's sure to
do the trick!

NOTE: Copy and save the poem to print out OR if you would like a copy of this poem that is to scale, with eight copies per 8 1/2" x 11" sheet, just email me and I will return your email with an attachment you can print out onto card stock. I can also send you the snowman pattern if needed.

INSTRUCTIONS:

*Cut 6" x 4 1/4" rectangle of patterned paper to make bag topper*Tear vellum strips to form snow drifts and adhere with vellum tape OR cut felt, batting into snow drift shapes and adhere with craft glue or spray glue OR glue on fiberfill for snow OR use plain white paperNOTE: The vellum only shows up if you use a dark background paper or card stock

*Print out poem on white card stock, trim, and glue to bag front as shown in the photo, you may want to mat the poem on a coordinating piece of card stock OR ink the edges for a little color OR trim with a decorative scissor*From white felt cut out a snowman shape, approx. 3" tall and no wider than 1 3/4" at widest point, and glue to bag topper front and embellish as desired*Fill bag with Snowman Soup ingredients. Fold bag top closed.

*Fold over top of bag topper 3/4"* Place bag top in fold of topper, punch holes through all layers.*Thread ribbon or twine through holes and tie closed, trimming the ends. For the pastel packages I made, I used colored marshmallows while others received white. Click on any photo to enlarge for a detailed view.BONUS IDEA:
Save time - mat the poem with a colored tag and tie it to a holiday mug filled with the Snowman Soup ingredients, pop it in a gift bag, and you are done!

Don't limit yourself to traditional papers or embellishments, below are some variations on the theme.
This little guy is a traditional snowman all cut from felt. I dotted the eyes and mouth with black craft paint and cut arms from black card stock.This one would be perfect for a little boy. As a little twist, I used shiny silver tape, found in hardware stores, for the snow. (I snitched mine from Handy Hubby's workshop.)Who says snow can't be pink? I think pink is perfect for this little green eyed girl! Her cheeks are dusted with blush by using an eye shadow applicator. Her arms are cut from felt and give her a hugable look!This cutie is a little bit country with his burlap hat and textured wallpaper snow. He has real twig arms and a tiny corduroy scarf.
Torn from handmade paper and tinted with chalk this little guy came out looking a bit more like a leprechaun than a snowman, but you get the idea! He sits atop snow drifts of cardboard with a felt hat embellished with a sheet music band.
White paper snow drifts are edged in pink chalk where a sparkly miss sports a fanciful hat with a glittered band, a big pink bow and silver bead buttons finish off her costume.This little guy is as traditional as they come, a simple snowman with a red jewel nose and black ribbon scarf. He too sits atop silver snow and sports silver branch arms.
BONUS IDEA: Stamp a brown paper bag for a country or vintage look using a snowflake stamp and brown ink to compliment the style of your tag. KIDS CORNER:While little hands are certainly sweet and often helpful, (they can fill the bags!), they often want to get in on the act of creating something. Most children find making a Melted Snowman a funny idea.
This is a quick and easy craft that will need little supervision or preparation. If you have older children, have them prepare and supervise the activity while you get other holiday plans underway.MATERIALS:
*White felt or white cotton batting, cut in blob shape
*White pompoms or Cotton balls
*Wiggle eyes
*Buttons
*Black seed beads
*Twigs
*Black felt, cut in shape of hat
*Orange craft foam, felt, or construction paper, cut in small triangle for nose
*White craft glue
*Scissor

*Start by cutting out a white blob shape, this will be your snowman body
*Glue pompom or cotton ball onto your felt, this will be your snowman head
*To make the face, glue on two wiggle eyes, orange triangle nose, and beads for mouth
*To finish body, glue on buttons and twig arms
*Cut out hat shape and glue to front of head

BONUS IDEA: Leave enough room on the front of each snowman for adding a name, outline in glue and glitter, use a paint pen, etc. Place a melting snowman on the plate of each place setting as place cards and watch little faces light up at their art being a part of your holiday celebration

On Sunday I will share one of our special family holiday traditions with you. Monday I will return to "Let it Snow!" week and I have two special guest bloggers I will be directing you to for tutorials. I'll show you my attempts and variations of their ideas, and give you a peek at one of the give away prizes!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy