the snowman: ornament kit

One of my favorite holiday books is Raymond Briggs' The Snowman...it's such a lovely and sad book, all the more powerful because it's wordless. So I was very excited when my friend Holly posted a swap in which participants were to create an ornament kit for their partner based on this book.

I considered making a few different things, including a sewing kit or a needle-felting kit, but thought those might be a little too complicated to get the look just right--and so much of what is beautiful about the book is the artwork. Since I'd had such fun rediscovering Shrinky Dinks recently, I decided to make instructions for making shrink film ornaments for my partner.

I made a test ornament with a miniature snowy pompom, a silver bell, and tinsel pipe cleaner. It turned out looking very sweet, especially after I added a subtle bit of glitter glue to the snow. I included 5 different images for my partner to make, along with the appropriate materials and instructions--I hope she enjoys putting everything together!

The book is wonderful...but so is the cartoon adaptation, which has lovely music and soft, muted colors. If you've never seen the film, The Snowman is available to view here and continues here. I would normally quibble over adding an introduction for a book like this, but when the speaker is David Bowie--and he casually throws a snowman scarf around his neck--all is forgiven. Please do watch the film (and read the book!) when you have a moment...it will transport you to a snowy, gentle place you won't easily forget.