Feeling crafty but low on time or on a budget? These three holiday-themed DIYs have you covered.
Wine-Cork Christmas Tree (A Magical Mess)
Materials
- Natural corks
- Styrofoam Cone – mine measured 7″ tall, and the bottom diameter is 3″
- Brown Paper Shopping Bag
- Wax Paper
- Pom Poms
- Wood Star
- Metallic Gold Acrylic Paint
- Hot Glue and Hot Glue Gun
Instructions
- Unwrap/open the brown paper grocery bag. Set onto a flat surface.
- Lay your foam cone onto the paper bag and wrap it around the cone. Trim the bag to cover just the foam. Use hot glue to affix the bag to the cone. Fold the ends in for the top and bottom and secure with hot glue.
- Place wax paper onto a flat surface. Place your cone onto the wax paper. Begin to apply the corks to the cone. Apply a strip of hot glue to the side of a cork and place it onto the cone at the bottom. Repeat all the way around the cone. Keep the cone on a flat surface, so the base remains flat and solid.
- Continue to add corks, angling them as you move from the bottom to the top of the cone and affix with hot glue. When finished, fill some of the larger gaps with pom poms. Attach with hot glue.
- Paint a wood star with gold metallic paint. Let dry completely and attach to the top of the tree with hot glue.
- Display in your home or give as a homemade Christmas gift.
Sock Gnomes (It’s Always Autumn)
Materials
- 1 Patterned Crew Sock adult size
- 1 Solid Color Crew Sock adult size
- 1 9 inch Foam Cone
- 1 4 x 4 inch Piece of Faux Fur
- 1 1.25 inch Wood Bead
- Hot Glue Gun
- Holiday Decorations (buttons, felt piece, etc.)– optional
Instructions
- Cut off the bottom (toe part) of a solid colored sock, just past the heel. Pull the sock over the bottom of the cone and pull it up so it covers the lower 5 inches of the cone. Use hot glue to secure the top of the sock to the cone.
- How to make a sock gnome: cut plain sock and place over bottom of foam cone
- Cut out a beard from fur. Cut the beard about 3.25 inches tall and 2.75 inches wide. Use a razor blade or exacto knife and cut from the back of the fur, cutting through the backing only; alternatively, sharp scissors can be used, but cut with the back of the fur facing you, and slide the bottom of your scissor through the fur very close to the backing. Place the beard on the sock at the 4.5 inch mark, or halfway up the cone. Hot glue the beard to the sock.
- How to make a sock gnome: cut the beard from faux fur
- Hot glue a bead onto the beard.
- How to make a sock gnome: Glue on beard and wood bead for nose
- Make the hat. Turn the patterned sock inside out. If sewing, pin a diagonal line as you see below, then sew along it and trim about 1/2 an inch away from the line you sewed. To complete without sewing, you can mark a diagonal line. Cut about 1/2 an inch to the right of it. Glue the right sides of the sock together along the cut line.
- How to make a sock gnome: use a patterned sock to make the hat
- Turn the sock right side out, then place it over top of the cone as a hat. Decorate hat as desired.
Glitter Globe (Camille Styles)
Materials
- Small glass jar
- Animal figurine
- Fir tree figurine
- Gold glitter
- Silver glitter
- Spray adhesive
- Gorilla Super Glue
- Mod Podge
- Water
- Glycerin or vegetable glycerin
Instructions
- Using multi-purpose spray adhesive, cover your small woodland animal in glitter. In a small bowl, combine 1 part Mod Podge with 1 part water, and dip your glittered animal in the mixture to seal.
- Squeeze a drop of Gorilla Super Glue onto bottom of tree, and press firmly for 30 seconds onto bottom of small glass jar.
- Once animal has completely dried, squeeze drop of Gorilla Super Glue onto bottom, and press firmly for 30 seconds onto bottom of glass jar.
- Once Gorilla Super Glue has dried, fill jar almost to the top with water. Add a few drops of glycerin and a teaspoon of glitter. Squeeze a ring of Gorilla Super Glue to mouth of jar and screw on tightly.
