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This has got to be one of my favorite art recipes ever! It is so easy, inexpensive and versatile!

January gives us the perfect opportunity to whip up batches of Magic Puffy Snow (as my students lovingly call it) to make our very own snowmen.

To make this glorious winter art, all you need is white shaving cream (I used the cheapest one from Walmart) and good ol’ regular Elmer’s white glue. The texture is so fun for kids to paint or create with. It’s a sensory experience in itself, and then the “snow” dries and leaves a 3D puffy look.
(See recipe below)

For our January snow theme, we mix our puffy snow recipe up in the sensory bin and then use spoons to drop balls of it on a blue piece of cardstock, making snowmen. Then we decorate them for art. We often mixed in a drop of peppermint oil and sprinkled on clear iridescent glitter so they look even more magical.

After you spoon the mixture onto your paper, and before the snowmen dry, have students decorate it with googly eyes, buttons, orange noses, hats, arms, and scarves cut out from paper or foam. They don’t need to push these decorations into the snowmen, tell them to lightly place it on the snow so the puff doesn’t go down. The glue will naturally hold the things in place. My students also loved sprinkling on some additional clear glitter for extra magic.

For younger students, you might enjoy singing simple songs like this while creating your snowmen:

• • Once There Was a Snowman
  • I’m a Little Snowman
  • Let’s Make a Snowman

You could introduce this activity, or do a follow-up activity by reading a few books about snowmen. Some of my favorite books can be found here: adabofgluewilldo.com/books-about-snowman

Magic Puffy Snow Recipe:

• 1. Start by combining 1 cup white Elmer’s runny glue with 1 cup of cheap, white shaving cream (shake really well) in a big bowl.
  2. Mix together until it looks like thick, whipping cream. *It’s easier to make in small batches for use in small groups of students because it does air dry rather quickly.
  3. Mix in a few drops of peppermint essential oil if desired for an added sensory experience. I’ve found the best technique for the snowmen is to do it in dollops. You can add more to it to make it look more thick and puffy. The glue helps it hold its shape.
  4. Drop large spoonfuls of the Puffy Snow onto paper to create snowman art.
  5. Sprinkle on iridescent glitter to add in the Magic!!
  6. Leave the art to dry flat overnight for best results.

Watch a step-by-step tutorial on TikTok.

This simple, exciting recipe is the biggest hit and I like to use it multiple times during the year for other art projects. You can try adding a bit of glow-in-the-dark paint to the recipe and making 3D ghosts on black paper in October, or adding different food colorings to the paint puffy for Easter eggs in April.

The opportunities are endless! Let your creativity take you there. Enjoy!

-Debbie