Christmas Décor: How to Make a DIY Giant Nutcracker
Are you looking for a fun and creative way to spend some time this holiday season? If so, you'll love this DIY giant nutcracker! This nutcracker project is simple and easy to complete, and it can be done in just a few hours.
Read on to learn how you can make your own DIY oversized Christmas decorations.
This post was transcribed by a member of the Hometalk editorial team from the original HometalkTV episode.
All you'll need for this project is scrap wood, paint, and rose gold wax. Once you have all of your supplies, you can begin.
1. Find a suitable board
To begin my decorative toy soldier, I used an old shelving piece, but a reclaimed wood piece would also work.
2. Mark the board
I marked my board in thirds using a ruler and a pencil. It doesn't have to be exact, but you want it roughly in thirds.
Additionally, I want to make another line in the top third of the board that will be the hat for my DIY nutcracker decoration. I made this line several inches from the top of the board.
I also marked off a ruler width at the bottom of the middle third, for his belt and two rectangles on either side of it for his arms.
3. Paint
With the sections marked off, I was ready to start painting my board. It is important to paint all the way to the board's side for each section.
I used Annie Sloan chalk paint for my little nutcracker because I knew it would stick to the surface, but you can use any craft paint that you would like.
Using a paintbrush, I painted the bottom third of the board in black.
I also used black on the little section of the top third that I had marked off. This will be the DIY life sized nutcrackers hat.
My next step was to paint his vest. You are welcome to tape off sections if you so desire. I chose blue because I have blues all over my house, but you can choose any color you prefer.
With the blue paint dry, I went ahead and peeled up the painters tape.
For his arms, I made a slightly darker blue by mixing a little of the blue I used for his vest with some black.
Next, I moved onto the block at the top. To make his face, I painted this section with peach-colored paint.
Then came the gold! I used gold paint to make all kinds of embellishments on my DIY painted nutcracker.
I started by outlining his boots.
Then I painted his belt.
I added some buttons to his vest and hat.
I also used the gold paint to add laces to his boots
Don't forget those chains that attach to the buttons.
The final thing I did before moving on to his face, was to add little hands. I used the same peach color that I used to paint his face to add small semicircles below the arm rectangles to make his hands.
For my wooden nutcracker's facial features, I sketched it out in pencil first, then played around with it until it looked good.
Once I had the face drawn out, I painted it in with the same black paint I had used on the rest of him.
To finish off the face of my DIY giant nutcracker soldier, I used some rose gold wax for his cheeks.
How to make a giant nutcracker
DIY giant nutcrackers are a fun project that the entire family will love! You can use them to decorate your home during the holidays, or you can give them as gifts to friends and family. I have decided to display my DIY giant nutcracker on my porch to bring luck to my family and protect our home.
More DIY Giant nutcrackers
The next time you have an old piece of shelving or wood at home, I hope you'll make this super cute and easy DIY giant nutcracker. Let me know how your project went and share your soldiers in the comments below.
Wishing everyone a healthy and happy festive season!
Comments
Join the conversation
-
I like and collect nutcracker; this is a fantastic DIY! Thank you for sharing with us
-
Where do people keep getting all these 'spares'? Spare room, spare closet, spare shelf? Seriously though, I love it. I'm going to make one just as soon as I can get to Home Depot and buy a shelf (no spares here). Problem, half of the directions didn't show up, but your explanations are clear enough to wing it I think. Thanks for sharing, and a very Merry Christmas to you all.
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Who would have guessed? Very clever indeed!