Snowmen Clothespins

I always love it when it is warm and dry so I can take some of my messier crafts outdoors.  I have been making these clothespin snowmen for several years and I nearly always sell out.  I buy the clothespins at the dollar tree.  It is the cheapest place around but you do need to look at each one before painting and cull out the broken or irregular ones.  I have an old table that I keep in the back yard that I use to paint or rust things on.  I lay out all the pins and spray them with white paint.  When they are dry, I turn them over and paint the other side.

 When they are all dry, I bring them inside and using a sharpie, I dot on eyes and buttons.  Some have their faces on the long piece and some on the short.  See below.

 I put mouths on some.  Some I leave without.  I use a fine line marker for this.  I try to mix it up a little.

 For the noses I use orange paint.  Again, I try to make it so no two are exactly alike.  If you use a small brush, you can dot it where the nose begins and drag it in the direction you want to make it look like a long carrot.

 I save all my scraps and this is the perfect use for them.  Small thin strips are tied around the "neck" or joint of the pin.  I display these in a large bowl or basket.  Customers love to go thru the bowl, finding the right ones.

You can use these to decorate packages, hang on the tree, or even put on a piece of jute for a garland.