Gnomes: Family Christmas Craft by Ellen and Sarah

…. and magical things that resulted thereafter. My daughter Sarah and her Mom-in-law Ellen made these adorable gnomes with yarn, bead and cardboard cylinder (yes, a paper towel roll) with the highest cuteness quotient. The magic of the crafty gnomes is exalted by Brian Campbell’s professional photography. If you live in or near Southern California and need professional photography services, contact Brian.

They were inspired by an Instagram video by Dollar Tree Crafts who shared and spread gnome magic into the world.

The photos are self explanatory, but I will caption them with instruction, courtesy of Sarah Mirza and Ellen Campbell.

Gather materials: yarn, beads, cotton balls or stuffing,, cardboard roll (from kitchen, or bath or elsewhere), scissors, xacto knife and glue gun. With Xacto, cut rings from cardboard roll an inch wide or to your specifications.

Cut 14” – 16” lengths from yarn (part of them will be trimmed later, so it’s okay to go longer).
Fold a piece of yarn, then pass the looped end to the other side of a cardboard ring, wrap the open ends of yarn over the ring and through the loop. Pull to make it a snug fit. Repeat with the yarn pieces until the cardboard ring is covered.
Gather the loose yarn ends and tie tightly together with another piece of yarn, approximately 1 1/2 – 2 inches above the knots — this is an approximation.
Fill the gnome hat with stuffing or cotton balls or whatever convenient filling you have. Holding the yarn ends together, cut away extra yarn above the tie, enough to leave a pom pom on the hat. Cut away less than you think you need; the pom pom can always be trimmed later.
Construct papa gnome’s white beard by making a pom pom as Ellen and Sarah show here: wrap around yarn around three fingers, remove the loops from fingers and tie tightly in the center. Cut open the loops and fluff out the pom pom.
Apply glue to the bottom rim of the hat and glue beard pom pom in place. Hold it there for a few minutes. Sarah and Ellen’s tip: before gluing, trim down the top of the pom pom just a bit (area which glues onto the hat).
Glue a bead to denote papa gnome’s cute little nose. We are done!
Sarah and Ellen used their gnomes as Christmas tree ornaments. They can also be strung together through the stuffed hat and turned into a tree garland, as the Instagram video from Dollar Tree Crafts has done.

What else can you do with this adorable group of gnomes? Have a great Holiday Season y’all! Utmost thanks to Ellen Campbell, Brian Campbell and Sarah Mirza for this post.

Samina

2 thoughts on “Gnomes: Family Christmas Craft by Ellen and Sarah”

  2. Your gnomes are fun and the how-to is beautifully photographed. Something funny: these Scandanavian gnomes weren’t a thing when I was a little girl, and when they first became popular I thought – why do people like these scruffy old men?, ha! I’ve come around though. Happy Holidays, Samina!

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