After a few years of almost nonexistent snow, it is safe to say we have a surplus for the rest of the winter. I’m personally okay with having snow if we’re going to have cold, because there are a lot of activities that we can enjoy in and around the snow. I would just prefer all snow to stay off all roadways so we could enjoy safe driving conditions all year round.
Something that we definitely couldn’t have even considered doing in the past years is building snow sculptures. I’m guessing most of us have likely already built the standard snowman but it’s time to take it to the next level. The first thing you need to do is decide on your shape. Take into consideration the amount of snow you have and the complexity of the project.
Once you have a shape decided on, you’ll need to prep your material. Snow sculptures will work best on a mound of well packed snow. If the snow is too dry or crumbly use a watering can or large spray bottle to wet the snow so it packs easier.
With the well packed mound you’ll then be able to start “roughing” out your shape. Use your hands, small shovels and even gardening trowels to get your basic shape. At this point it’s probably a good idea to wet the snow again.
Once your rough shape is formed you’ll want to start working on the details. Smaller tools like ice cream scoops, flatware, BBQ tools, etc., will be helpful for creating these finer cuts. If something breaks off don’t despair, just wet both pieces and stick it back on.
When you have all of your sculpting done, you can amp up the flair by adding foraged items to your snow thing as well as some colour. To get colour, fill small spray bottles with water and a few drops of food colouring.
Then using cardboard, shield any areas you don’t want covered and spray the areas you do want coloured. To finish off the sculpture lightly spray it with clear water to ice it over.
