Nutcracker Ornament
Difficulty: Average
Parental supervision is recommended
Add some festive cheer to your home with this nutcracker ornament. Young crafters will have fun fashioning empty potato chip containers into a Christmas keepsake.
What you'll need:
- Empty Pringles Potato Chip Can or Pillsbury Sugar Cookie 'Can'
- Felt
- Craft fur or cotton for hair, optional
- Tacky craft glue or low temp hot glue
- Rubber bands to help hold things in place
- Yarn, ribbons, braids, trims, feathers, buttons, fabric paint, etc., optional
- Thin cardboard to extend the hat beyond the top of the can, cereal boxes do well, optional
How to make it:
Project Research
Collect pictures of nutcrackers. You will find them in books, magazines and so on. Look at all the different styles and if possible, hang pictures of different options around the room while working on the project. You can also read the story of Clara and her nutcracker, and play the music from the ballet while making them.
Go here to read the Nutcracker Story online, complete with music, and try Drosselmeiers.com to see pictures of nutcrackers. (The latter is a commercial site that sells nutcrackers.)
Step 1 - Cover the Can
Cover the can with bands of felt for the shoes/boots, pants, jacket, face and hat. If necessary, glue an extra tube of cardboard to the top of the can (overlap it an inch) if you want to make your nutcracker taller. If necessary, use rubber bands to hold the felt on while the glue is drying.
Step 2 - Add Details
If you're planning on using fabric paint for some of the details, add it last so that it won't get smudged.
Make a line down the center of the legs with yarn or a thin strip of felt.
Arms and hands can be made of rolled tubes of felt. If you are adding trim on the jacket, put the trim on before adding the arms.
Felt, craft fur, fiberfill or cotton can be used for the hair.
Cut a rectangle out of skin tone felt for the nutcracker's mouth.
Braid, ribbons or strips of felt can be used to decorate the nutcracker, along with buttons, feathers, beads, etc. Look at the pictures of nutcrackers for ideas as to where you can put trim. Though our illustration is a very simple one, your imagination is the limit. How about a 'nutcracker' boy, girl, king, queen, or even a Santa?
Tips:
This project can also be done with paper towel rolls and construction paper, if necessary. Design the nutcracker from the feet up, and then cut off the excess paper towel roll from the top.
Children ages 8 and up should be able to do this project with minimum help. This is a project where each child's creativity can shine.
