It’s time to get into the holiday spirit! With Christmas right around the corner, it’s the perfect time for some holiday crafts. We thought we would take a little break from science experiments, so today, we’re going to show you how to re-purpose one of our test strip vials into a snowman. If you’ve been doing all the experiments we posted this year, you should definitely have a vial or two. Hopefully, you saved them!

Let’s get started… Pump up those holiday tunes and start raiding the craft closet.

Materials

  • White flip-top test strip vial
  • Black permanent marker
  • Orange permanent marker
  • Buttons
  • Felt, ribbon or fabric scraps
  • Small twigs, wire or craft pipe cleaners
  • Black construction paper
  • Scissors
  • Tape
  • Hot glue & hot glue gun

Instructions

First, you’ll need to remove the label from the vial. Our labels have a very strong adhesive so they don’t peel off. You’ll definitely need to soak the vial in warm, soapy water in order to remove. Soak for about 20 minutes, then try scraping off. An abrasive sponge can be helpful. You could also add some vinegar to the soapy water to help loosen the adhesive as well. Once you’ve got the label off, clean and dry the vial.

You can construct your snowman in whatever order you like. We’ll just let you know what you’ll need to do.

The Hat:

Using the black construction paper and scissors, cut out a top hat for your snowman. Essentially, you just need to cut a larger circle for the brim, a smaller circle for the top, and a rectangle to fold around for the middle section. We searched “top hat templates” online and found a few examples. Tape the top hat pieces together to complete.

You could also make the top hat out of felt or thick, sturdy fabric. You could even make a regular winter hat out of felt or fabric, or ear muffs out of craft pom pom balls. Just use whatever you have on hand! And if you really want to get creative, you could decorate the top hat with a little red ribbon, some “snow”, a poinsettia, greenery, etc.

Glue the hat onto the vial lid to secure.

The Scarf:

To make the scarf, simply cut up a strip of felt or fabric, or use a thin strip of ribbon. Wrap it around the snowman’s neck, and secure in place with glue.

The Body:

Using your black permanent marker, draw two eyes and a mouth for your snowman’s face. Draw a carrot nose with the orange permanent marker. Again, you can get creative here with how you draw the snowman’s face. Or, if you prefer to glue on pieces of construction paper, felt, etc., you could make his face stand out a bit more.

Glue a couple of buttons on below the scarf.

Using whatever you have on hand (twigs, wire, craft pipe cleaners, construction paper, etc.), make two arms for the snowman and glue them on.

Ta-da! You have a test strip vial snowman! This craft can have so many great uses. You could set it out as a decoration, making a set of them to go together. You could glue some string or wire on the lid and make it into an ornament. You could fill the vial with candy and give it to someone as a gift.

This craft can be as easy or advanced as you want, so get the kids involved and get crafting!