How to: Festive FIMO Snowman Jewellery
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
When the supermarket shelves are brimming with Christmas goodies, your summer clothes all packed away in boxes and your thick winter coats are hanging up in the hallway again, then it’s time to start thinking about Christmas! About cosy winter evenings in front of the fire, about trees and gardens covered in a thick layer of snow … and snowball fights. All those who don’t want to wait any longer for the first snow to fall can get into the Christmas mood early by putting on this attractive combination made out of FIMO. The adorable snowmen and sparkling snowflakes are a real eye catcher – each one cuter than the next. Not only does this jewellery guarantee you an instant white Christmas, it also makes a superb present with a personal touch.
You will need:
- FIMO Effect Glitter White
- FIMO Effect Glitter Red
- FIMO Soft Tangerine
- FIMO Soft Black
- Ring Base
- Metal Shaped Cutters
- Bead Roller
- Modelling Tools
- Blade Set
- Acrylic Roller
- Gloss Varnish
- Oven Thermometer
- Paint Box
- 40cm finished chain
- Earring hooks
- Silver-coloured florist wire
- Pliers
- Glass, ceramic bowl or cup
- All-purpose Glue
Step 1
Basically, the snowman is made out of two different-sized balls. For the body, take the larger of the two balls (approx. 25 mm in diameter) and flatten it a little. Then, for the head, do the same with the smaller ball (approx. 15 mm in diameter), placing it so that it slightly overlaps the first one. Make a sausage approx. 5 mm in diameter for the arms and cut off two 1 cm long pieces.
Step 2
The snowman’s hanger is fixed in his hat. To make the hanger, take a piece of wire and shape it into a loop. Then, bend the ends to the sides to give it a good hold in the FIMO later. Next, using black FIMO, roll out an approx. 1 cm thick sausage and cut a 1 cm long piece off it. Make an indent in one side of the top hat.
Step 3
Now it’s time to give the snowman a broom. To do this, roll out a thin string of black FIMO. Cut a 3 cm long piece off it for the broomstick. Then shape the FIMO into an approx. 1.5 cm long, cone-shaped piece and, using the knife, make lots of fine grooves on it. Place it on the end of the broomstick. A final fine string of FIMO placed across the broomhead makes it look as though the bristles are being held together.
TIP: It’s best to harden the broom in the oven on its own first. This makes it easier to position on the snowman’s arm later and ensure that it keeps its shape.
Step 4
Now put the hat on the snowman. Then add the broom and the arms and press everything on firmly. Use small black balls for the eyes and buttons. The orange coloured carrot nose and mouth are made out of fine strings of FIMO. The scarf is made out of a sausage of FIMO. Flatten it a little, cut one end off straight and use the knife to fray it.
Step 5
To make the snowflakes, roll out an approx. 5 mm thick sheet of white glitter FIMO using the acrylic roller. Place one of the two small six-pointed stars on it and – just as if you were making biscuits – cut out a number of stars. Fill the ring base with white glitter FIMO and place one of the stars on it.
Step 6
Make a hole through the middle of the snowflakes using a straight piece of wire – this is for stringing them onto the necklace later. A tool for making a snowflake pattern can be made easily out of a piece of wire. To do so, take an approx. 10 cm long piece of florist wire and bend both ends at right angles as shown – one end about 2 cm in and the other end about 2-3 mm in. Press the ends onto the snowflake carefully to make the desired pattern.
Step 7
With the bead roller, it’s easy to make nice, uniform-shaped beads. To do so, roll the FIMO to form an approx. 1 cm thick sausage. Then cut approx. 1 cm wide pieces off it and shape them into balls in your hands. Place them in the bead roller and slide it back and forth a couple of times. This gives you perfectly shaped beads.
Step 8
Cut off approx. 10 cm of florist wire and use it to make a hole as close as possible to the middle of the beads. Turn the beads around and push the wire through the hole again from the opposite side. This is the best way to keep your beads in shape when making holes. Next, thread all of the beads onto the length of wire and hang this over a glass bowl. Place in the oven like this in order to avoid a denting of the beads.
Step 9
Harden the finished pieces in the oven for around 30 minutes at 110°C. After cooling, the snowflakes are given an extra treatment: To make the pattern stand out more, brush over the grooves with a thin layer of blue watercolour paint. Allow to dry for a moment and then remove any excess paint with a piece of kitchen roll. Leave to dry properly! Finish off by applying a thin coat of FIMO gloss varnish to all pieces. Now all that remains to be done is string the pieces onto the necklace and add the clasp and thread the earrings onto a piece of florist wire and fix onto the earring hooks. If necessary, you can stick the snowflake onto the ring base with glue. This will keep it stuck tight.
TIP: You can make the small, silver-coloured spacer beads yourself: To do so, use the bead roller to make small balls out of silver FIMO effect and then add a layer of silver coloured leaf metal. Make holes, harden and add a coat of gloss varnish – finished!
