DIY Adorable Christmas Gnome

10 Materials
$30
2 Hours
Easy

Christmas is almost here and that means decorations! I absolutely adore the festive fun this holiday brings and I couldn’t wait to DIY some amazing decorations to add to my home this year. In my tutorial, I show you all of the tips and tricks to making the most adorable DIY Christmas gnome. This gnome is the perfect little guy to perch on your porch this winter. If you want to learn the ins and outs of this cute gnome DIY, follow my simple, step-by-step guide and get started on your own frosty winter gnome.

Tools and materials:

  • 3 prong tomato cage
  • Pipe cleaner
  • Floral wire
  • Magnolia leaf picks
  • Nylons
  • Cotton
  • Fabric
  • Glue
  • Decorations
  • Scissors
Gnome Christmas decor

Prepare the tomato cage 

For this DIY, I used a 3 prong tomato cage. To get started, I tipped the cage over on its side and wrapped the ends of the prongs together using a pipe cleaner. I made sure to twist the pipe cleaner nice and tight so that it wouldn’t slip. 

Fluff out leaves

Cover with leaves 

I had the most gorgeous magnolia leaf Christmas picks and I made sure the leaves were fluffed out because I wanted to get the most coverage possible. 

DIY Christmas home


Next, it was time to add the leaves to my base. I place the pick along one of the vertical wires of the tomato cage and then using floral wire, I twisted around the cage, and the pick attaching them. I continued covering the cage, pick after pick, and overlapped the leaves to ensure there wouldn’t be any gaps. I used about 18 of the magnolia leaf picks to cover the bottom of the cage. 

Trim the picks


Once I had covered the bottom, it was time to move on to the top. The picks were a little long so I just trimmed them so they wouldn’t go past the top of the tomato cage. 

How to make Christmas gnomes


I then used my floral wire to attach the picks to the top of the cage. I made sure to overlap the leaves, over the bottom picks because I didn’t want to see any gaps in this adorable gnome. I left just about a quarter of the tomato cage open at the top. 

Stuff the nylon

Make the nose 

Next, I took a pair of nylons and cut off one of the legs. Using cotton, I stuffed the nylon about halfway from the bottom. 

Tie around the cotton


Once I had my stuffing in the middle of the nylon, I pulled the two sides over and tied a knot. This little cotton ball will be the nose for your cute gnome. The tighter you tie, the smaller the nose will be. 

Attach the nose


My nose was looking so adorable and round, so I took the two ends of the nylon and used them to tie the nose onto the cage.

Use hot glue

Make the hat 

With my nose safely attached, it was time to make the hat. I had a nice wintery 20 by 20 piece of fabric that I folded into a triangle. Then using hot glue, I glued together one side of the triangle. 

Cut a curve

I then used fabric scissors to cut a nice swoop on the open end of the triangle. 

Push out the tip


I turned the hat right side out and used a pencil to push out the tip of the hat so that I would have the perfect pointy gnome hat.  

Put on the hat


I placed the hat on my gnome and fiddled a little to make sure that it looked perfect. 

Add a garland

Add finishing touches

To add a little detail to the hat, I wrapped this awesome, icy garland around the gnome’s hat and it really gave it the winter feel. 

Add decor


I added a few more embellishments for some extra decor for the gnome hat. Feel free to add as much or as little detail as you want to this adorable gnome. 

Christmas gnome decor



I am obsessed with this adorable Christmas gnome! Where would you place this cute little gnome in your home? Let me know in the comments below! 

Resources for this project:
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Holly Grace
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 8 questions
  • Tak21972653 Tak21972653 on Dec 03, 2021

    Love this but want to know where to get those beautiful magnolia picks

  • Chrystal Petit-Pas Chrystal Petit-Pas on Dec 04, 2021

    Could you try using white poinsettia flowers? The petals look a lot like magnolia leaves


  • Peggydeaux Peggydeaux on Dec 07, 2023

    Where would I place him? He would have a wife if he came to my house. They would flank my fireplace and have the most adorable young family tagging along. They really would enjoy the Christmas festivities and playing with my 5yo Autistic great-grandson. Thank you for sharing.

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2 of 29 comments
  • Frances Anderson Frances Anderson on Dec 07, 2023

    i turned an old fake christmas tree upside down added a santa hat from pound shop and made this nose ... inspiring ideas thank you

  • Sharon Jorgensen Sharon Jorgensen on Dec 08, 2023

    I have a perfect spot right beside my Christmas tree. Because my tree is covered with white sparkly snowflakes, with his colors, he’d fit in perfectly.

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