DIY Christmas Gnomes

Hi everybody! I know We aren’t even passed Halloween, but I whipped these fun little guys up last weekend and I just couldn’t wait to share! I am busy getting ready for the Thorndale Christmas Open House, so that means from now until December 4th, I am in full on Christmas mode!!!
Take a look at how I made these cute little Christmas gnomes!
To make my gnomes I used:


Styrofoam Cones (mine are 7″)


Fabric


Faux Fur


Wooden beads


E6000 Spray glue


Wire


Scissors


Flannel


Black beads


Hot glue gun


The first step is to cover your Styrofoam cone with your fabric.
This where I have to be brutally honest with you guys… I am not a measurements type of gal. I was at my grandmothers doing this project and my grandma wanted to watch. She was sitting beside me while I was doing this, and I swear that I almost gave her a nervous breakdown. My grandma is a very regimented, organized lady and the fact that I wasn’t really measuring any thing was really doing a number on her.


I laid my cone down on my fabric and pretty much just cut around it. If it doesn’t completely cover the top of the cone, that is ok! The hat is going to go there anyways.


This is my grandma’s kitty…
Puss likes to be completely under foot… or should I say under fabric… at all times LOL


To glue on the fabric to my Styrofoam cone, I used this spray E6000. So a couple things about this stuff. First, let me say that I LOVE E6000 — the squeezable kind. This spray stuff? Not really a fan. For starters, it was expensive and I didn’t find the hold all that great. I don’t know, maybe it is just not the greatest with Styrofoam.
So once I had my fabric glued onto the Styrofoam cone, I cut a piece of wire for the hat. The wire I used is just wire that I picked up at the dollar store. It is a little bit flimsy, so I think that the next time I make these, I will go with a heavier wire.
If you decide to make these, the length of the wire is completely up to you. Cut the wire to suit how tall you want your gnome to be. Make sure you secure the wire in the top of the cone with a bead of hot glue.


Next, I cut out the beard from the faux fur. When you are cutting fur it is very important to just go through the back layer of the fabric so you don’t cut the fur. Once you have cut through the back layer, you just gently pull the hairs apart. An exacto knife or razor blade is a better tool than scissors for cutting fur.
I wanted the beard to be really fluffy so I also cut out a mustache. I didn’t have a template or anything I just cut shapes that resembled a beard and mustache. I wanted my gnomes to look really rough and rustic, not perfect. I also wanted each one to look a little different, so I definitely did not want to use a template.


Next, I attached the beard and mustache to what would be the front of my cone. I used the spray, but again it wasn’t sticking too well, so I peeled if off and used hot glue.
You know, it is really hard to make beards when Puss insists on using your crafting materials as a bed!!!
Now, time to make the hats!!


My mother and I found this really nice grey fleece material, and soon as we both saw it we knew it you be perfect for the hats.


We cut a triangle like shape and then all we did was attach it to the cone, just covering the top portion of the beard a little bit.
We like that the fleece had a natural roll to the edge. This made a cute little brim on the hat. You need to make sure that when you are gluing the hat on you roll it nice and tight so that you have a skinny hat.
I attached the wood beads that I got from Micheal’s with a bead of hot glue. The black beads for the eyes are from a bracelet that I picked up at the dollar store. The eyes are secured with hot glue as well.


I always have little Christmas picks kickin’ around so attached some to their hats for a little extra pzazz.
I just love these lil’ gnomes and I can’t wait to get them on display at the Christmas Home Tour!
Make sure you check out the full tutorial over on my blog!
Holly Grace
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 4 questions
  • Dow14026520 Dow14026520 on Nov 14, 2016
    where did you find the faux fur?
  • Zoe Zoe on Aug 28, 2017

    Hi how did you make the nose please?

  • Betty Sutton Smith Betty Sutton Smith on Dec 09, 2018

    Can't you use paper towel rolls as well??? I like to call myself crafty as well, you can use tissue rolls to help with the bulk inside the paper towel rolls hot glue sticks to them a lot better and they are free !!!!!! I like to use fraid yarn for hair also and may it would look well as a bead ??? I think I will give it a try !!! Thanks for the iDEA yours looks great !!!!!!

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2 of 94 comments
  • Keekee Keekee on Nov 14, 2019

    Thank you so much for this, I love the look of these knomes but every other “how to” required sewing and measuring and 🤮🤮🤮.

    ill be doing this one on the weekend 😘

  • Love these! However, I do not have time to do this but I did make 2 winter Gnomes this year for my front yard!

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