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Merry Christmas everyone! I wanted to share a fun little craft that you would be able to do Christmas Eve or after festivities Christmas Day! We celebrated Christmas with my parents last weekend and my mother and I actually made some adorable Christmas gnomes. I’m super happy with how they came out, despite burning my fingers a million times with the hot glue gun! You’d think that I’d learn after the first few times, but I didn’t so…oh well!
I also don’t have a full tutorial as I didn’t take pictures of the process as I was having too much fun, however it should be easy enough to use the instructions to create your Christmas gnome! Below is a list of supplies we used, however in a pinch you could pretty much use any material you might have extra in your craft box.
Supplies
1-2 socks (base, mandatory; hat, optional)
Mancala gems
Fiberfill
hair ties
1.25″ styrofoam balls
Faux fur
pom poms
cloth for hat
Felt
scissors
glue gun
The first thing you are going to do is fill a sock of your choosing with mancala gems. If you buy them in a small mesh bag from the Dollar Tree, you are going to use the whole mesh bag. You need to have enough gems to add weight to the bottom and prevent the gnome from tipping over after it’s all constructed.
You are then going to add fiberfill to the sock until it’s about 5-6″ tall. Tie off the sock tightly with a hair tie. Use the scissors and cut off the top of the sock above the hair tie.
Next you are going to take a styrofoam ball and cover it with felt of your choosing. Try to smooth out as many wrinkles as you can. Use another hair tie to tightly secure the felt to the styrofoam ball. Use the scissors and cut off the extra felt. Use your hot glue gun to attach the felt nose near the hair tie around the sock.
Take your faux fur and cut out a square that is the same size as your sock. Cut out a notch in the middle of the fur. This will help the fur fit better around the nose. You can also choose to shape the beard if you choose, but I left mine rugged. The fur might also shed, so I would run your hands through it and pull off any extra “fur” before assembling the beard. Next, attach the beard to the sock base using your hot glue gun, aligning the notch around the nose.
The only thing that is left is to create the hat and then our gnome is done! Take some cloth, felt, or a sock of your choosing. If using cloth or felt you will need to create a template for the hat (a large triangle). You are going to put some fiberfill in the hat so it maintains some shape, so it’s better to make the hat larger and cut it down as necessary. You will then create a cone shape for the hat, gluing the seams together. If using a sock, you’ll just need to use fiberfill to create the shape you would like.
I then used additional faux fur to create a border for the hat. You can also attach a pom pom to the tip of the hat as well. Use the glue gun to dress up your gnome!
Lastly, attach the hat to your gnome. Use the glue gun and apply glue to the top of the nose and the sides of the gnome where your hat will sit. Apply hat and let glue dry. Touch up as necessary! That’s it! Pretty simple and adorable at the same time!
You can certainly create more embellished gnomes as well – adding feet, hands, accessories, and mix up the colors, etc., but there’s something I love about how simple this one is!
Want to make a gnome, but really don’t have time to make a Christmas gnome this season!?!? That’s fine! Save this for next year, or make gnomes for other seasons, holidays, or themes! Pinterest has some amazing ideas!
Lastly, I have a announcement! For a few years now I’ve wanted to host a purge and organizing challenge, but just haven’t as it felt like a lot of work. Well this year I’ve finally put together a comprehensive purge challenge…and we start January 1st!
If you went a little overboard this year with online ordering and are looking for a fresh start, this is for you! Each week we will edit, clean, and organize one room or area. We will also create routines and implement systems to stay on top of our clutter and create the sanctuary we we deserve! This is the ultimate purge challenge that will take 18 weeks! That means the challenge will end at the end of April and you may not recognize your home when we are done (in a good way)!
