Spray Foam Snowman

I made this snowman with Loctite spray foam and exercise balls. You can use anything you want to shape your snowman. I made his head with crumbled newspapers in a Walmart bag covered with masking tape. There are all kinds of beach ball sizes you could also use.

I made the children with foam blocks, pool noodles and mannequin heads. I won't be including an instructable for them at this time as they're pretty much just thrown together with any means necessary!

Always work on plastic as the foam doesn't stick to plastic. I just use black garbage bags. Always wear GLOVES! This stuff is very sticky and near impossible to get off your skin!

I am not a professional anything, I am just a grandma who likes to make stuff so my directions are not the best as I'm still learning this one myself! I didn't have any directions to follow so I just winged it. I do hope it's enough to get you going though.

For the purpose of this demonstration I'm just using balloons. I've worked with foam for years so I kind of have an idea what I'm doing, but I don't recommend you use balloons. I do recommend you practice on something before you try to go big. This snowman took about 30 cans of foam. The 2 balls are about 55cm and 65cm

A few things to remember.

1. Always wear gloves

2. You can't work with Great Stuff like you can Loctite

3. Your snowman doesn't like the sun! He will turn yellow! I just painted mine with acrylics, but you may want to paint yours with enamel or oil based paint to protect it better.

4. My hat is a tree topper! I sprayed it and the children's clothes with water proof spray. My scarf is just fabric. Eyes/buttons are wooden circles and the nose is a toy. Be creative!

5. Just have fun with it, it doesn't have to be perfect.

Gloves (several pairs)

Plastic

Loctite Spray Foam (amount depends on how big you are going)

Spray Bottle

Curse Words Optional

Ok, first make a base to hold your ball. For this one I just twisted some newspaper and taped it together then taped it to the balloon with scotch tape. For the full sized snowman I used pool noodles formed in a circle and taped together.

Spray the foam around the base of your ball, you can do this in sections if you can't get around it. Spritz it with water, this helps it cure faster. Let it cure for at least 20 minutes before trying to remove it from the bag/plastic. If it's sticky at all just wait a little longer. Once it's firm you can peel it off the plastic. (or leave it on there to hold it still for you)

NOTE: you will more than likely find that once removed from the plastic your snowman is no longer level. Stick something under your base and add more foam...or trim it. Mine was so far off I literally used the tops to the foam cans to balance it out!

I'm going to tell you two different ways you could do this. The first one is to spray the foam on the ball very slowly trying to use as little foam as possible. Spray it with water then only wait about 2 or 3 minutes. You want it to get a slight film on it, just enough that it doesn't pull when you touch it.

Spray your gloves and start trying to spread the foam as far as you can. All of this can be done in sections until the ball is covered. You will have to do at least 2 or 3 layers this same way until it's covered as much as you want. Try to smooth the seams the best you can. Wait for the foam to harden between layers. The last photo is just to show you that what you choose to build on is not important. I just popped the balloon and pulled it out. You can leave the ball in or take it out, your choice. It took 1 full can for this one balloon.

Note: I did not make a full snowman with this method, I only did this one balloon. If I were to make another one this is the method I'd like to try on the whole thing. It seems to keep it all under control easier and may not need to be carved.

To connect the balls/balloons I simply used a little tape on one side to hold them in place until the foam on the other side firmed up. I did this with both methods. I found it easier to lay the snowman on it's side at this point before applying the foam to the second ball so that it doesn't drip all over the place. Try to make sure your ball stays centered where you want it.

This is the method I used on the big snowman.

Spray the ball with the foam...in sections seems to be best.

Spritz with water. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Check to see if the foam has a pretty good film on it. If not add another minute or two. Don't let it get too firm.

Once it has a good film on it you can press it down, this time you're not spreading it thin you're just pressing it down to try to get some shape to it.

After it's cured you can add more foam as desired until you get it the way you want.

You will have to carve it down to smooth it out. A bread or serrated knife works best for this. After carving you'll have to fill in holes, when doing this you don't want to let it puff up too much. Let it get a little film and just push it enough to cover the hole.

After all the holes are filled you'll want to add another layer using Method 1 to smooth it all out.

NOTE: If you're going to use this method I would recommend using Great Stuff for the layers that you'll be carving then using Loctite for smoothing the top layer. Great Stuff is much cheaper!

NOTE: Remember to spray your gloves whenever you're going to handle the foam, it it makes it easier and doesn't stick to your gloves as much.

Bonus Tip: If you have a good eye you might just find a nose laying on your workspace! I just pinched off the end of this piece of foam. :) Go make a snowman! And share pictures!