If you are looking for fun craft ideas for autumn and Christmas, then gnomes are probably a great idea. They can be made with natural materials such as cones, acorns or walnuts that you collect with your children in the fall. A few other things like felt fabric or faux fur for beards and you can make unique gnomes that will put you in a particularly good mood in the form of decorations. Your little ones are also welcome to implement ideas out of paper. Here are some instructions and inspiration for you to follow.
You can make a gnome wonderfully with pine cones and pretty Christmas tree decorations. You will also need felt, yarn, a wooden ball and a hot glue gun. Simply cut out a scarf from the felt and a piece for a cone shape, which you then glue together to form an elf.
Make gnomes – ideas with pine cones
Such a pine cone decoration is quick to make. TheFelt gnomemake them from individual elements that they prepare in advance. You can additionally design the felt material with a needle and yarn, but you don't have to. The cone-shaped hat also likes to have a little bell. Then everything is glued to the tenon as in the previous example.
Made of felt
Here's an example of using plush wire to create arms and legs. Shish kebab skewers, ice cream sticks or toothpicks are also suitable, as you will see in the next idea for making elves.
Toothpicks can be used in combination with beads for arms and legs. But even without a toothpick, the little elf is very friendly. Paint the cork with Christmas colors and decorate his clothes. You can also come up with your own ideas for the hat.
Made of paper for Christmas
If you want to do something simple, then paper may be the best option as it is the easiest to work with. Simple squares, circles, rectangles and triangles are enough to create a Christmas elf. Pom-poms and googly eyes are also great helpers. Buttons can also be used instead of pompoms and you can draw the eyes yourself.
If you're making a Secret Santa hat, no matter the material, choose a cone shape. This is typical of Santa's little helpers and gives the elves a special charm. You can easily make cones for gnomes. Just imagine a cake made of four quarters. Glue such a quarter together on both sides and you have a cone.
You can also combine paper with candy canes. These were used here very practically for arms and legs. When making this gnome, place the candy canes crosswise. The curved ends automatically form hanging arms. You then dress this “framework” with clothing that you cut out of paper.
Toilet paper roll idea
You can make a gnome out of a toilet roll just as quickly and easily. This is first painted with a skin color and gets a face as soon as the paint has dried. Cut elements out of felt and ears out of cardboard. You paint the latter again. Then line the roll with the fabric by simply gluing it in place.
This cute elf has a Santa hat and is made entirely of felt. First draw the individual elements on the respective felt material before cutting them out. After that everything is just glued together. This project represents a bag. The exact instructions can be found at the end of this article. You can then use it as a wall, window or door decoration.
These fabric versions are particularly extravagant. You can use leftover fabric for this project. For the eyes you need any buttons, which can be different to make the dwarf look even crazier. It does involve sewing, but even beginners can do it without any problems.
From the selected fabric, cut out six elements for the head and four elements for the ears, as shown above. Then sew all the head pieces together. But leave an opening for stuffing. Turn the head inside out, fill it with cotton or other filling material and sew the head closed. Now use this as a template to design the right size for the hat, which you can sew or glue onto your head. Also glue the eyes and finished ears in place.
Now it's the body's turn. Cut this out of fabric. You need the body with legs and two arms, each made from two pieces of fabric. Always sew two elements together on the left, leaving an opening. Turn the fabric over and insert lentils through the opening. This makes the figure malleable and moisture is absorbed through the lenses. Sew the openings closed and attach the head and arms to the body. Don't forget a collar too.
Large figures with beards
We find these Scandinavian-style models particularly cute and although they look very complicated, you will see that they are not at all difficult to imitate. Gather any size foam cones, any Christmas colored fabric, gray fleece, black felt, faux fur, wooden balls, wire, and a hot glue gun.
Cut out these two shapes from the fur by placing it face down on a surface. Do not press too hard with the knife to avoid cutting the hair underneath. After that, take the cone and place it on the fabric to find the height of the fabric. Then wrap the cone to get the diameter as well and mark everything with a felt-tip pen. It's better to leave the fabric a little larger than to accidentally cut it too small. Cut out the shape and hot glue it to the foam cone.
Then glue the beard in place and insert a longer piece of wire into the tip of the cone. This is intended to keep the hat upright. Use the gray fabric to form the hat, which you then glue to the top of the cone. Then all you have to do is design the face. Then glue the wooden ball in place as a nose and cut two circles out of the black felt, which you either glue or pin in place. You can decorate the hat with a Christmas flower.
If you liked the idea above, you are welcome to consider this option too. Instead of a cone, a self-sewn bag is used, which you can fill with lentils or cotton wool like crazy goblins. The noses were made in the same way. Instead of white, these gnomes have gray beards. A really great gift idea, don't you think?
Also interesting:Making autumn gnomes: 2 instructions for young and old
For the wine bottles
If you have wine on your table at Christmas or want to give someone wine as a gift, forget about the boring bottle and decorate it with an original gnome. First make the hat out of felt, the diameter of which should be slightly smaller than that of the bottle. Glue a wooden ball to the front as a nose, while the beard is attached to the inside. This idea is extremely simple.
hair accessories
You can also decorate your hairstyles for Christmas. And if you make gnomes for this purpose, lots of smiling faces are guaranteed because the idea is cute and original. This elf is made of felt and can be glued to a hair clip or headband. Choose the size of the gnome accordingly if you make it yourself. You can do the followingSecret Santa template to print outuse.
Here you can see the model a little closer. It's best to prepare the individual elements again first. You can then glue these elements together. But the elf becomes more likeable if you use such a pretty seam to put the face together. But you decide for yourself. This gnome is also suitable as a Christmas tree decoration.
Are you looking for a creative decoration idea or simply want to pass the time on rainy weekends with crafts? We offer you a quick craft idea for cute wooden gnomes. You need the following materials from the craft shop:
- Triangles made of MDF
- Color: Gold, Green, Red and Brown
- Paper tape
- Skin color modeling clay for the noses
- Langhaarplüsch
- adhesive
- Sandpaper (optional)
How to make the cute Christmas elves: Separate the triangles into three using the paper tape. Then paint the MDF triangles in three colors. Combine the colors as you like and let them dry. Then (optionally) lightly sand the paint off with sandpaper. Make balls out of the modeling clay that you can stick to the gnomes as noses. Then decorate them with faux fur and turn them into Christmas elves.
If you want, you can add additional cord and turn them into cute Christmas ornaments. Optionally, they are good for placing on the mantel or on the coffee table. They take up little space and are therefore suitable table decorations. The cute pendants can also decorate presents or simply be given as a souvenir to colleagues. Even children in elementary school can participate in the craft project as this project is quite simple.
The next cute gnomes are ready in just a few steps. The craft instructions are pretty simple, but since the individual parts are glued together with hot glue, caution is advised. Children of kindergarten age in particular should not take part. Even with older children, you must first practice using the hot glue. For the craft project you will need the following materials:
- Black paint and brush
- Wooden thread spools with a height of at least 6 cm and a diameter of 3 cm
- Wooden ball with a diameter of 3 cm
- Wooden hearts, 3 cm wide and 3 cm long
- Felt fabric in green, red and beige
- Long-haired plush in white and gray
- Modeling clay in skin color or small wooden balls for the noses
- Scissors
- Hot glue
First paint the hearts black and let them dry. Wrap the thread spools with beige felt fabric. Glue a black wooden heart to one side of a spool of thread and a wooden ball to the other side. Make a small ball out of the modeling clay and glue it to the center of the larger ball. Make the beard out of the gray long-haired plush and make a dwarf hat out of the green felt. The cute gnomes are ready!
With branches
Simply shorten the tree trunks or branches, cut one side diagonally and paint a face on it. Cut a beard out of cardboard and attach it with wood glue. Complete! The cute gnomes can decorate the entrance to the house, the windowsill or the garden table. They can easily withstand frost and snow, making them ideal for outdoor use.
Instructions for dwarven hair accessories here.
Elf bag instructions here.
