Gnome Ornaments
These gnome ornaments are such a fun DIY Christmas decoration! Yarn and a clay pot become a whimsical ornament for the Christmas tree in just a few minutes. It’s such a quick and simple craft!
These Christmas gnomes look great on the tree, or as part of a wreath or garland! Gnomes are known as good luck symbols who protect the home, making these cute little Scandinavian inspired ornaments the perfect homemade gift for the gnome lover in your life.
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How to Make Gnome Ornaments
Materials:
- Small clay pot(s)(2-1/2 inch diameter)
- Ribbon
- Jingle bell(1/2 inch or larger)
- Chunky yarn(beard coloured!)
- Wooden ball(3/4 inch diameter)
Equipment:
Check Out The Video Tutorial:
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
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Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Attach the ornament hanger
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Slide a jingle bell onto a 10 inch piece of ribbon and tie the ends into a knot.If you don’t have a jingle bell you can also use a button or large bead to keep the ornament hanger from pulling through the hole in the pot.
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Push the knot down to the jingle bell and slide the end loop of the ribbon onto a large eyed needle (a yarn needle works well for this).
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From the inside of the pot, push the needle through the opening.
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Pull the ribbon all the way out, giving you an ornament hanger!
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The bell will stop the ribbon knot from slipping through the opening.
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Use hot glue to keep the bell in place inside the pot.
Step 3: Make the gnome’s beard
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Wrap yarn around four fingers 50 times, while they’re spread slightly, and cut off the yarn from the ball.
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Remove the yarn from your hand and knot another piece of yarn around the center of the bundle.
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Snip the end loops of the yarn, creating a rough pom pom.
Step 4: Attach beard and nose to the pot
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Add a line of hot glue along the inside rim of the clay pot.
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Arrange the yarn so it’s all facing down in one direction and push it up inside the pot.
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Trim the gnome’s beard! Snip the ends of the yarn so the bottoms are fairly even and the sides are shaped on a bit of an angle.
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Add a dot of hot glue to the yarn and bottom ridge of the clay pot.
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Press the wood ball into the glue.
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Your gnome ornaments are complete!
TIP:
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Be sure to use a ribbon thin and flexible enough to go through the hole in your pot. Our ribbon was about 1/8 inch wide. We first tried using twine but it wouldn’t fit through the holes in our clay pots.
What size clay pot should I use to make my gnome ornament?
We used a pot with a 2-1/2 inch diameter. But our gnome ornaments are fairly large.
If you can find an even smaller clay pot the gnomes would probably hang better on the Christmas tree.
What type of yarn is used for the clay pot gnome’s beard?
We used chunky yarn (around 5mm thick) to make the gnomes’ beards. You can use a thinner yarn, but you’ll need to wrap the yarn around your hand more times in order to get the same thickness of beard.
Where do I get wooden balls?
Wooden balls are a craft supply that you can find at any craft store or on Amazon. You might even be able to find them at the dollar store. Our wooden balls were 3/4 inch in diameter.
If you don’t have wooden balls or if you can’t find them you can also use a pom pom, cotton ball, or a large gumball bead instead.
How else can I decorate these gnome ornaments?
To make these gnome ornaments extra Christmassy paint a winter hat design on the clay pot before making the ornament! (Remember to make the bottom of the pot the top of the hat.) You could also cover the pot with a winter patterned sock for a traditional Christmas gnome look.
I love how much character these gnome ornaments have! They’re so cute, and they’re the perfect type of Christmas decoration that you can leave out year round.
Here’s even more DIY Christmas ornament ideas:
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books- A- Million | Indiebound | Indigo | Amazon Canada
