Craft Seed Pod, Sweet Gum Snowmen

       Sweet gum balls are easily found in many people's yards and parks during the fall. Because of their abundance, this craft will cost young ones little pocket money to craft with. 

       Where we live, in the midwest, some city and suburban areas are beginning to outlaw Sweet Gum trees because of the trouble folks have cleaning up after them. However, Sweet Gum are not only very beautiful in the fall, these trees produce excellent pods for both restoring and maintaining soil erosion, so they are well worth any discomfort they may cause when stepped upon! So plant those Sweet Gum trees in the corner of your lawn or an out-of-they-way place...

       And . . . if you have a dollhouse to decorate, why not make a few snowy friends to display on a mantle, tabletop, dresser, or counter this winter?

Snowmen made from pods off of
a Sweet Gum tree.

 Supply List:

• seed pods from sweet gum trees
• white, black and orange craft paint
• red or green ribbon
• oven-bake clay
• hot glue and hot glue gun
• scrap cardboard
• tacky white glue
• a couple of cotton balls

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. After collecting seed pods from a Sweet Gum tree, brush them clean.
2. Cut little 'bean' shapes from the scrap cardboard for the seed pods to be hot glued to. Ask an older person to help with this part of the craft.
3. Carefully stack the seed pods on top of each other between using hot glue to keep them in place. 
4. Use white paint to brush on enough color to cover the surfaces of these seed pods. 
5. Layer on unraveled cotton balls to represent 'snow.' Use the tacky white glue to apply this, not the hot glue. Let the cotton batting covered surfaces dry before continuing.
6. Shape the oven-bake clay into small balls to represent 'coal' and pointed cones to represent 'carrots.'
7. Bake the clay in the oven according to directions on the package.
8. Shape cotton batting into tiny faux knit caps for the seed pod snowmen and glue these on using tacky white glue
9. Cut and tie on ribbon for faux scarf details.
10. Glue on the baked coal eyes and carrot noses last. Paint them black and orange.
11. Now your dolls will have cute little snow people to decorate the dollhouse with during the holidays and winter as well.