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One of my earliest Christmas memories was a tree decorated with ‘snow’. The tree was made of ordinary dried tree branches, but the first time I saw it, I was bowled over at how nice it looked. I didn’t know how Mama made the ‘snow’, but I remember taking a swipe and tasting it. It was AWFUL!! Later I asked her what it was (without telling her I did a taste test) and learned it was Perla soap. 😀

Just today, I came across this article in the Inquirer with detailed instructions on how to make a snowman out of Perla soap. It’s a little too late to make one this year. But who knows, I might attempt one next year so I’m posting it here for future reference. 😉

What you need:

Old newspapers, about 15 to 20 sheets
Perla soap, 8 bars
Rock salt, 1 ½ kilos
Plywood or wooden board, at least half an inch thick
Water
Rope or string
Thumb tacks
Old boxes
Old wrapping paper
Old ribbons (washable, preferably, so you can reuse them)
Colored construction paper
Big black buttons (at least seven)
Scarf
Bonnet
Other accessories (optional)

Directions

1. Roll pages of old newspapers and twist them into solid discs of different sizes to form the snowman’s body. Secure each disc with rope or string.

2. Connect each disc to the next with string. Arrange the discs from biggest to smallest, with the biggest disc as your base. Don’t forget that the smallest disc is going to be your snowman’s neck. Make sure the discs are tied securely to one another to keep your snowman solid.

3. Create the snowman’s head out of balled-up newspapers. Again, secure with rope or string.

4. Finish the snowman form by attaching the head to the neck with string.

5. Using string from the second disc, attach your snowman to the wooden board and hold the string down with thumbtacks.

6. Spear a small piece of soap on a fork and start beating it in a pail or a basin with just a cup of water. Keep beating it until the soap lathers and the water disappears.

7. After the water disappears, sprinkle rock salt all over the soap lather. Beat until rock salt dissolves. The texture of the soap lather should be stiffer than shaving cream. It shouldn’t drop and there should be no traces of water left—not in your basin or pail and not in the soap lather. Remember, patience is a virtue here.

8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until you’ve prepared enough “snow.”

9. Cover the entire wooden board with “snow.”

10. Cover your snowman with “snow.” Do it layer by layer until you have covered the whole snowman. Make sure to put a lot of soap on top of the head so it can hold the bonnet in place.

11. Put the scarf around the snowman’s neck and put the bonnet on its head.

12. Add two buttons to your snowman’s face, giving him eyes.

13. Using construction paper, make a snowman’s nose. Or use a carrot, if you wish.

14. Using construction paper, or any material you like, make a snowman’s mouth.

15. Add the rest of the snowman’s buttons. Feel free to add any other accessories. Dr. Lejano likes putting a cigar on her snowman.

16. Wrap old boxes with old wrapping paper and add ribbons. Feel free to put little surprises inside the boxes for your children to open later on. Surround your snowman with pretty Christmas gifts.

17. Add plants and trees and cover with Christmas lights if desired.

Reminders

The snowman can last for weeks. If it starts drying up and cracking, make new soap lather and reapply.

When you’ve decided to say bye-bye to your snowman, don’t throw out the reusable stuff—buttons, ribbons, boxes, etc. You might want to use them again when you build another snowman next year.

Article source: Inquirer.net
Photo: Clipart and Crafts

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