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DIY Snowman Decor – Easy Wooden Christmas Decoration

If you are searching for a cute Christmas decoration to make this year, look no further than this easy DIY snowman decor project. This rustic Christmas craft can be made in a few hours and your holiday guests will love it. 

With a few pieces of wood, paint, some craft supplies, and basic tools, this cute snowman project is ready to hang on your wall or near your front door.

I’ve included a step-by-step tutorial with photos and instructions showing how to make this Christmas decor project. If you are a visual learner, you can watch how I made it in this YouTube video.

Collage showing a DIY snowman decor project and a blue door and shutter with the decoration on it.

Some of the links below are affiliate links. I earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you if you purchase through an affiliate link.

Making this DIY snowman decor project

I used leftover wood salvaged from my recent pantry makeover where I added a shiplap sliding door. Using reclaimed wood in decoration projects is a great way to help save the environment. However, any wood you have will work for this project.

Wooden pieces of an old door frame painted white on a green lawn.

You’ll need the following supplies to make the DIY wooden snowman decoration:

Instructions for making the DIY snowman craft

Measure and cut four pieces of wood to make the slats for the snowman’s body. Cut the ends of the pieces flat and square so that they line up evenly.Man's hand measuring and cutting pieces of wood for a craft project.
You’ll also need to cut two small pieces of plywood to use as braces on the back of the body to keep the snowman slats in place.

Rub the wooden pieces with sandpaper to make sure the wood is smooth. Then, lay out the four snowman pieces, face side down, and use a large nail to space them evenly. 

Mans hand with a saw, cutting wood, and pieces of wood with a brace on the back and a nail to space the boards.

Attach the plywood braces with small nails 2″ down from the top edge and 2″ up from the bottom of the edge. The braces will hold the pieces of wood in place.

Attach a metal saw tooth hanger to the top brace.Metal sawtooth hanger on a piece of wood with hammer and other hangers in a plastic case.

The next step is to cut a shorter piece of wood to make the snowman’s hat brim. Cut this piece on a 60 degree angle on both sides.

Paint the four pieces of wood white and allow the paint to dry. Then paint the top of the four pieces of wood black, on a 20 degree angle, to make the top of the hat.

Finally, paint the angled piece of wood black, to make the brim of the hat. See the images below showing how to paint the wood for the wooden snowman wall hanging.Pieces of wood and a yardstick near some painted pieces of wood.

Nail the angled, black, piece of wood to the area where the paint changes from black to white to make the snowman’s hat.

Use a small paintbrush to paint some icicle shapes on the top and brim of the hat. Then, using the tip of your paint brush, stipple some white craft paint to give the illusion of snow on the hat. Collage showing how to paint wood to look like a snowman's hat.

If you want to freehand paint the snowman face, first lightly draw the pattern of the face on the wood with a pencil. Then when you are satisfied with how it looks, you can paint over it.

Alternatively, you can use tracing paper to transfer my template onto your wood. To do this, download the template here and print directly onto tracing paper. Then trace the design onto your wood and paint over it.

Snowman face pattern.
That is all there is to making this cute DIY wooden snowman project. If you end up having extra wood after this craft project, you can made a matching Santa Claus wall hanging to keep your snowman company!

Wooden snowman made from pieces of scrap wood. Wood is painted in white and black.

This wooden Christmas decoration can be displayed in many ways. Hang him on your shutters, as I did, or as a DIY snowman door decoration.

You can also use the snowman indoors on a wall for a fun, rustic look to your holiday decor.

DIY snowman decor project on a blue shutter near a decorated front porch for the holidays.

Share this wooden Christmas decoration project on Twitter

If you enjoyed learning how to make this DIY wooden snowman, why not share this tutorial with a friend? Here is a tweet to get you started:

Don't throw that leftover wood away! Head to Always the Holidays to learn how to turn it into a cute wooden snowman Christmas decoration. This project is easy to make with just a few basic tools and some paint. 🎨❄️… Share on X

Pin this DIY wooden snowman

Would you like a reminder of this Christmas snowman decor project? Just pin this image to one of your Christmas boards on Pinterest so that you can easily find it later.

Cute Christmas decoration of a snowman with words DIY Wooden snowman wall decor.

Yield: 1 snowman decoration

DIY Snowman Decor - Easy Wooden DIY Christmas Wall Decor

Cute wooden snowman decor project with snowflakes surrounding it.

This DIY wooden snowman decoration is made from scrap wood, a few supplies, and basic tools.

It's an easy project to put together and will make a cute addition to your holiday display.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Active Time 15 minutes
Additional Time 15 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Difficulty easy
Estimated Cost $5

Materials

  • Five pieces of wood – four sized 1 1/2″ x 5/8″ x 18″ and one sized 1 1/2″ x 5/8″ x 9 1/2″ long
  • Two pieces of plywood – 5 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ x 1/4″
  • 1 metal picture hanger
  • Acrylic craft paints – orange, black and white
  • Snowman face pattern (see notes for link to this)

Tools

  • Paintbrush
  • Sandpaper
  • Saw
  • Hammer
  • Nails
  • Tracing paper (optional)

Instructions

  1. Measure and cut four pieces of wood to 1 1/2″ x 5/8″ x 18″, making sure they have a flat and square edge.
  2. Measure and cut one piece of wood to 1 1/2″ x 5/8″ x 9 1/2″, cutting both edges of the wood on 60 degree angle.
  3. Cut two small pieces of plywood (5 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ x 1/4″) to use as braces, on the back of the body, to keep the snowman slats in place.
  4. Rub the wood with sandpaper to smooth the finish.
  5. Lay out the four equally sized pieces of wood and use a nail to space them evenly.Four pieces of wood with a nail showing how to space them, and a brace on the back.
  6. To hold pieces in place, nail the first plywood brace 2" inches from the top.
  7. Nail the second plywood brace 2" front the bottom.
  8. Attach a metal picture hanger to the top brace.
  9. Paint the four wooden pieces white.
  10. Allow the paint to dry.
  11. Paint the angled piece of wood black.
  12. To make the top of the snowman hat, you're going to need to paint the tops of white pieces of wood black. Do this on a 20 degree angle.wooden pieces of wood painted white and black
  13. Allow the paint to dry.
  14. Place the piece of wood that was cut to a 60 degree angle across the area where your black and white paint meet and attach with nails. This makes the brim of the hat.
  15. Using a small paint brush, draw icicles coming down from the top of the hat, and the hat brim.
  16. Then use the tip of a paint brush, to stipple white paint on the brim and hat to resemble falling snow.
  17. To paint the scrap wood snowman face, you can either do it by hand, or use the template from the notes below. See the notes for instructions for each option.
  18. Display the Christmas wall hanging craft with pride.

Notes

The face pattern for the snowman craft project can be downloaded here.

If you're painting the snowman face by hand, start by outlining your design in pencil first. When you're happy with how it looks you can paint over it.

If you're going to use the template, print it onto tracing paper first. Then trace it on the wood with a pencil. Finish by painting over your pencil sketching with your craft paint.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small commission from the sale, but the price is the same for you. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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