How to Make a Tealight Snowman

Battery-operated tealights are great alternatives to real tealights, but did you know that they have other uses too? Turned on their side, they look almost like a snowman's face! All you have to do is add some eyes, a mouth, and some accessories.

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]Making the Base

1. Get a battery-operated tealight. You can find them in arts and crafts stores as well as in the candle section of a supermarket. A white tealight would work best, but you can also get a white glitter one for a fancier snowman.
   
2. Turn the candle so that the flame is pointing away from you. Set the candle down on the table first, then rotate it until the tip of the flame is pointing away from you. Most battery-operated tealights have a flame that curves slightly to one side, rather than pointing straight up.^[1] Having the flame tilted upward will make the snowman look more jolly.
   
3. Draw a simple snowman face using a black permanent marker. Make two dots above the flame for the eyes. Make four to five dots below the flame to make the mouth.^[2] Make sure that the tip of the flame is pointing upwards, towards the eyes.
   
   • For a more dimensional look, use black puff paint.
   • If you are using a glitter tealight, draw the face using black puff paint. Regular marker won't show up.
4. Consider coloring the flame in with an orange permanent marker. The flame will look yellow-orange when it is turned on, but it will look white when it's turned off. You can fix this by coloring the flame in with an orange permanent marker.^[3]
   
   • Don't use a washable "kid's" marker. The color will rub off.
   • Don't use paint or paint pens. They are opaque, and the color won't shine through.
5. Cut an 11-inch (27.94-centimeter) long piece of thin ribbon and tie the ends together to form a loop.^[4] You can use any color you want, but red, white, or green are most commonly associated with winter and Christmas. Choose the thinnest ribbon you can find, about 1/16 to 1/8-inch (0.16 to 0.32-centimeter).
   
6. Hot glue the ribbon to the back of the tealight. Place a drop of hot glue on the back of the tealight, close to the top. Press the knotted part of the ribbon into the glue, and let it set.
   

[Edit]Adding the Accessories

1. Cut a 2½-inch (6.35-centimeter) long piece of pipe cleaner. You can use any color you want, but red or green would work best.
   
2. Hot glue the pipe cleaner to the top of the tealight. Draw a line of hot glue around the top edge of the tealight, right above the eyes. Quickly press the pipe cleaner into the glue. If you need to, gently curve the pipe cleaner first, so that you don't risk accidentally touching the glue.
   
3. Hot glue two mini pompoms to either end of the pipe cleaner. Choose two pompoms in a contrasting color. Place a drop of hot glue at either end of the pipe cleaner. Quickly press the pompoms into the glue.^[5]
   
4. Cut a 4½-inch (11.43-centimeter) long piece of ribbon.^[6] Choose a thin ribbon, about ¼ to ½ inch (0.64 to 1.27 centimeters) wide. Use a color that matches your ear muffs.
   
   • If you can't find any ribbon, use a strip of felt instead.
5. Cross the ends together to form a loop, and secure them with a drop of hot glue. Cross the left end over the right to form a loop, sort of like the Breast Cancer Awareness ribbon. Secure the loop with a drop of hot glue.^[7]
   
6. Glue the scarf to the tealight. Place a drop of hot glue on the back of the tealight, close to the bottom. Press the inside part of the loop against the glue, so that the crossed part is in front. Make sure that the tail ends of the ribbon are pointing down.^[8]
   
7. Trim the ends of the ribbon, if needed. The ribbon should pop up against the bottom of the tealight. If it keeps hanging down, use a drop of hot glue to keep it in place.
   

[Edit]Tips

• Hot glue a flat-backed safety pin to the back and wear it as a brooch.^[9]
• Hot glue a magnet to the back and use it as a fridge magnet.^[10]
• When gluing something to the back of the tealight, be careful not to cover the switch or the battery.
• Hot glue can leave behind threads or "whiskers," which can make your work look messy. Be sure to pull those off when you're done.
• Make a whole family of snowmen and vary the designs.

[Edit]Warnings

• Avoid touching the hot glue gun's nozzle.
• Avoid touching the hot glue.

[Edit]Things You'll Need

• Battery-operate tealight
• Black permanent marker or puff paint
• Orange permanent marker (optional)
• Pipe cleaner
• 2 mini pompoms
• 1/16 to 1/8-inch (0.16 to 0.32-centimeter) ribbon
• ¼ to ½ inch (0.64 to 1.27-centimeter) ribbon
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks

[Edit]References

1. ↑ http://onelittleproject.com/tea-light-snowman-ornaments/2/
2. ↑ http://onelittleproject.com/tea-light-snowman-ornaments/2/
3. ↑ http://onelittleproject.com/tea-light-snowman-ornaments/2/
4. ↑ http://onelittleproject.com/tea-light-snowman-ornaments/2/
5. ↑ http://onelittleproject.com/tea-light-snowman-ornaments/2/
6. ↑ http://onelittleproject.com/tea-light-snowman-ornaments/2/
7. ↑ http://onelittleproject.com/tea-light-snowman-ornaments/2/
8. ↑ http://onelittleproject.com/tea-light-snowman-ornaments/2/
9. ↑ http://www.serenestamper.com/2012/12/snowman-tealight-ornaments.html
10. ↑ http://www.serenestamper.com/2012/12/snowman-tealight-ornaments.html