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For Friendly Winter Get-togethers
Now's the time to throw an extra log on the fire and invite friends over to watch the big game or a favorite movie. Our papier-mâché Snow Fellow will help you create a fun setting, and the cheese dip recipe we're sharing here has a nickname that's sure to get the conversation rolling.

Any time Leisure Arts staff members get together, there's gonna be food around. One of our favorite snacks for many years has been Bacon-Cheese Ring. But we never call it that here. To us, it will always be Catch-A-Man Dip.

The recipe goes back to the late 1980s when we were developing The Spirit of Christmas, which became our annual idea book of decorations, gifts, and recipes. To get the food section off to a good start, we all brought our favorite family recipes. And we insisted that Pam Warren, one of our craft instruction writers then, share a recipe we had been devouring at company potlucks. She called it Catch-A-Man Dip. It was a blend of shredded Cheddar, crumbled bacon, toasted almonds, and chopped green onions. We gave it a fancy ring shape and a more traditional title when we published it in Book Two.

The catchy original name came when Pam, who was single at the time, noticed that at parties you could always find the men hanging around that particular cheese dip. "I think they liked the bacon," she recalled during a recent visit. (And we have to smile when we tell you this: whether or not the dip had anything to do with it, Pam later married one of the men at that snack table, artist Andy Warren. They have their own business now in Hot Springs.)

Whatever you decide to call it, let us know how you like it!

The recipe is included with more of our favorites in the 20th Anniversary Edition of The Spirit of Christmas. You'll also find more wintry decorations to coordinate with our Snow Fellow. Look for the white-washed Paper Tree Arrangement and lots of pretty paper snowflake creations beginning on page 30.

Bacon-Cheese Ring
(Catch-A-Man Dip)

• 1 package (12 ounces) bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 pound extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup toasted, slivered almonds
• Strawberry preserves
• Crackers or French bread to serve

Combine bacon, cheese, green onions, mayonnaise, and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl. Place almonds in the bottom of an oiled 7-cup ring mold; press cheese mixture into mold. Refrigerate overnight.
Unmold cheese ring into serving dish. Place a small custard cup filled with strawberry preserves in center of ring. Serve with crackers or French bread slices.
Yield: 20 to 25 servings

Snow Fellow

You will need 6" and 9" party balloons for the head and body; newspaper; foam brush; matte decoupage glue; craft knife; masking tape; size 5 child’s boots; two 3" dia. foam balls for legs; hot glue gun; tracing paper; white cardstock; craft glue; heavy-gauge wire; wire cutters; light ivory, orange, red, brown, and black acrylic paints; paintbrushes; two No-Melt Snowballs (instructions follow); cream bulky weight yarn; and a size H (5 mm) crochet hook.

Notes:
Use decoupage glue for all gluing unless otherwise noted. Use one part paint to three parts water for all washes. Allow paint to dry after each application. If you prefer, you may substitute a readymade scarf for the crocheted scarf.

1. Inflate the small balloon to 5" dia. and the large balloon to 8" dia.; knot the ends.

2. To papier-mâché the head and body, tear small pieces of newspaper. Brush glue on both sides of each piece. Overlapping the edges of the pieces and leaving a 2" circle around each knot uncovered, cover the balloons. Apply three layers and allow to dry overnight.

3. Make a small hole in each balloon near the knot. Carefully remove the balloons.

4. Use the craft knife to trim the hole in the top of the body to 4" or 4 1/2" dia. so the head rests in the opening. Tape the head to the body. Apply papier-mâché to the head and body where they join.

5. Stuff the boots with crumpled newspaper. Place the foam balls in the boots and set the body on top, adjusting the boot placement as needed for a sturdy base. Hot glue the foam legs to the body. Set the boots aside. Apply papier-mâché to the legs and to the body where they join.

6. Use the Nose pattern and cut the nose from cardstock; clip the tabs on the curved end. Use craft glue to overlap and glue the straight edges together to form a cone; fold and glue the tabs to the head. Apply papier-mâché to the nose and head where they join.

7. For the arms, cut two 26" wire lengths and twist them together. Use the craft knife to cut two holes in the body. Thread the wire through the holes; bend the arms into the desired position. Wrap the arms with papier-mâché strips.

8. Use the Mitten pattern and cut two mittens from folded cardstock, placing the “blue line” of the pattern along the fold in the cardstock. Fold and use craft glue to glue a mitten over the ends of each arm. Wrap the mittens and “wrists” with papier-mâché strips, bending the mittens in a rounded shape to hold snowballs.

9. Paint the snowman with a light ivory wash, the nose with an orange wash, the stripes on the mittens with a red wash, and the arms with a brown wash. Mix one part red paint to two parts light ivory; use a dry brush to paint the cheeks. Paint the mouth black. Use the handle end of a paintbrush to dot the eyes and buttons with black.

10. Hot glue a snowball to each mitten. Place the legs in the boots.

11. To crochet the scarf, chain 8. For Row 1, double crochet in the fourth chain from the hook and in each chain across: 6 double crochets. For Row 2, chain 3, turn; double crochet in the Back Loop Only (see illustration) of the next double crochet and each double crochet across. Repeat Row 2 until the scarf measures 56" long; finish off. Refer to Fringe to add 3"-long fringe to each end.

Back Loop Only
Work only in the loop(s) indicated by the arrow.

Fringe
Cut twenty 10" lengths of yarn. Holding two strands together, fold in half. With wrong side of scarf facing and using a crochet hook, draw the folded end up through a space and pull the loose ends through the folded end (left figure); draw the knot up tightly (right figure). Repeat to fringe both ends of scarf. Trim the yarn ends.

No-Melt Snowballs
For each snowball, glue one end of cotton cord or bulky weight yarn to a 2" or 4" foam ball. Wrap the ball until it is covered. Dab glue on the remaining end and tuck it under.

Patterns

(Patterns above not shown at actual size)

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