Christmas time is craft time! With onehomemade Christmas decorationsThe anticipation for the festival increases. In today's article we will explain to you how to make cute gnomes for children - the ideas are definitely exciting and easy to implement.
They are called “Tomte” and come from Sweden, where they move into houses and gardens at the end of November. The Swedish gnomes are said to bring luck to the residents. The cute little men are adorning more and more oftenalso the Christmas tree. Below we will explain how you can make them using only felt.
Materials:
- Disposable coffee cups 200 ml for large gnomes, for gnome pendants you can use espresso cup-to-go 40 ml.
- Felt fabric in gray, red and green
- Plush fabric for the beard
- Wooden beads for noses
- Hot glue
- Scissors
- Decorative ribbon, 1 cm wide, for hanging
Use gray felt fabric for the gnome's body. Cut it to size and wrap a piece of fabric around the cup. Fix the ends of the fabric. Then cut out the beard from the plush and attach it. Then make the pointed hat from a piece of felt material in green or red. To do this, form a cone out of the fabric and glue the ends together. Put the pointed hat on like this and then attach the wooden bead as a nose. Cut a 10 cm long piece of decorative ribbon and attach it to the gnome's back.
Make gnomes out of socks
Do you have socks?with Christmas motifs? Then you can use them for the next DIY idea andMake gnomes out of socks. You need the following materials:
- Socks with Christmas motifs (snowflakes, stars, Christmas trees, etc.)
- gray socks
- Plush fabric for the beard
- Styrofoam-Kegel, 11 cm
- Hot glue
- Wooden beads, 3 cm diameter
- Scissors
- Decorative ribbon, 1 cm wide (for hanging)
First make a pointed hat for the gnome. To do this, cut the sock with Christmas motifs and glue the ends together. Then you can make the dress out of a gray sock. Put the clothes on the cone and glue a wooden bead as a nose. Cut out the beard from the plush fabric and glue it in place.
Making gnomes out of cones: a quick and easy idea for children
The next idea is very simple. Even kindergarten-age children can make gnomes out of cones. Collect matching cones together on a trip to the forest or a walk in the park and clean them thoroughly at home. Line a windowsill in a heated room with newspaper and let the cones dry there. The next day you can start crafting.
Materials:
- Felt material for the pointed hat
- a small pompom for the pointed hat
- a small wooden bead for the nose
- a cone
- Wool for the beard
- white paint, glitter etc. (on request)
- Decorative ribbon for hanging
Directions:
- First, cut the felt material for the hat, make a cone and glue the ends together. Attach the pom-pom, place it on top and glue it to the peg.
- Attach the wooden bead.
- You can paint the cone any way you like or decorate it with glitter.
- Make a beard out of the wool and glue it in place.
You can hang the cute gnomes individually or make a garland. You can make the gnomes out of cones together with the children in one morning. First, practice safe handling of the hot glue and never leave them unsupervised while crafting. If you are afraid that the children will burn themselves, you can use a felt glue.
Make your own Christmas elves with the children: instructions without sewing
The next DIY idea can also be quickly recreated. You need a pom-pom, which you can make yourself from wool yarn, a small wooden bead and a medium-sized wooden bead and felt fabric. First make the pompom and glue the small wooden bead as a nose. Make a cone out of a piece of felt. You can decorate the felt fabric with embroidery as desired. Children aged 6 and over can embroider simple motifs. Or you can attach self-adhesive rhinestones or spray with glitter spray. You can also use stickers to spice up the hat.
Hang the Christmas decorations with other homemade ornaments. Together with origami birds, wooden Christmas balls and decorations made of cardboard, they form a beautiful arrangement in Scandinavian style.
In Sweden, children look forward to visiting the Christmas elves. They are called Tomten, they come into the house late in the evening and go unnoticed. They are believed to bring luck and success to the residents. That's why the elves are rewarded and welcomed with a cup of warm milk. You leave the milk in the living room in the evening and the next day the cup is empty.
The stories about the Tomten are so popular in their home country that they have become an inseparable part of the Christmas decorations there. Below we will explain to you how you can make the cute little men out of wood and felt. You need the following materials:
- Felt fabric in different colors
- a wooden spool or a wooden stick with a diameter of 3 cm
- a small wooden bead for the nose
- a heart made of wood
- Universal glue
- a pair of scissors
- Wool in different colors
- Sewing thread and needle (optional)
To make a Christmas elf, do the following:
- If you buy a round rod, have it cut to size at the hardware store. For a gnome you need a 6 cm long piece of wood. But you can make three or four gnomes of different heights and accordingly need 1 piece x 6 cm, 1 piece x 5 cm, 1 piece x 8 cm, 1 piece 7 cm. Alternatively, you can also use wooden spools.
- First glue the round stick or coil to the heart. Then attach the wooden bead. Allow the adhesive to dry.
- Cut a 3 cm wide strip from the felt material and make the Christmas elf's dress.
- Sew the hat (optionally you can make a cone out of felt fabric and glue the ends together. Put the hat on.
- Shape the beard out of wool and glue it in place.
Make Christmas decorations: elves made from mason jar lids and felt
If you have a screw cap left over, you can go for thatnext craft ideadecide. You still need a wooden bead, scraps of fabric with a checked pattern in red and beige and plush fabric or wool for the beard. Cut out the necessary details and assemble the gnome face.
