DIY Holiday Nutcracker at Almost No Cost
Who does not love a nutcracker to decorate the house for Christmas? I myself really do adore them as one of the most iconic christmas symbols!
Having seen the insane price tags for the big nutcrackers, I decided to make my own one.
So, here is my easy DIY nutcracker tutorial that will look great at your home with recycled materials.
Firstly decide on a design concept for your little one, searching for different nutcracker designs for some inspiration.
Next, gather the supplies necessary to create your nutcracker. Grab Pringles containers, any tubes, towel and toilet paper rolls… what you can find at home.
Once you choose the tubes for the body, arms, legs and the hat you are now ready to build the soldier of your dreams ☺️
Assemble all the parts together for a quick trial.
Make the feet. Cut the toilet roll in half. For the toes of the boot, use a piece of cardboard, glue them to form the feet and attach the feet to the legs.
Once you are happy with the design of the nutcracker, it is now time to paint. I disassembled the figure and started painting. You may use acrylics or multisurface paint.
You will need painter’s tape at this stage for a nice paint.
I suggest dividing your nutcracker into 3 main sections: the body, face, and hat.
You can paint and decorate these sections as you like with any color you want to match your holiday decor. I’ll share with you what I did, but you are welcome to change it up to your taste.
For the face and the hands (the ping pong tops) : rosy beige color
For the body and the arms: red
Glue skin tone colored ping pong balls to the arms to costitute the hands.
For the hat and the boots: black
Divide the legs in half and paint the bottom black to signal boots, and the top green for the pants.
Golden metal pins would do great for decorating the boots, 6 for each boot.
You may want to use golden foam paper like I did to add glam to the uniform, the neck and shoulders.
Now is the most fun part: drawing th face and attaching the embellishments.
You may use any triangle shaped object for the nose. I did my nutcrackers nose out of air dry clay.
Using the clay I also made 4 little balls to serve as military buttons.
Once they are dry, paint the nose in the same skin tone you painted the face and attach it to the face using glue gun.
You may want to use golden chains for decorating the hat and the jacket. I painted the buttons and the chains gold.
Next step is painting his face : the eyes, eyebrows, and mustache onto the face.
I decided not to give him the bared teeth you often see on Nutcrackers.
If you feel that you aren’t a great drawer, you can always use decals in place of paint.
Glue all the remaining embellishments and make the nutcracker sparkle!
Last but not least, you may glue some fluffy yarn, part of an old sweater or sock as hair.
I hope that you like this DIY nutcracker tutorial and this lovely decor fills your home with joy and the holiday spirit!
Comments
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So very clever! What a delightful creation.
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Absolutely brilliant!! So cute! Thanks for sharing!!
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