DIY Gnome Denim Christmas Ornament

Since Scandinavian gnomes are still very popular to use for Christmas home decor, I’ve created a DIY gnome denim Christmas ornament that you can easily make to adorn your tree or give as a gift to a friend or neighbor. Ornaments also make great toppers on a wrapped gift!

It’s once again time for another “$10 on the 10th” challenge, where I’ve joined with a few of my fellow bloggers where we share a craft project that costs under $10.00 to make. This month our challenge theme is “Christmas ornaments.” Be sure to visit their links at the end of my post to see what festive ornaments they are sharing with you!

DIY GNOME DENIM CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

• denim fabric
• gnome
• ribbon
• stuffing
• embroidery thread
• needle
• small safety pin
• straight pins ~ optional
• pencil
• hot glue gun or Tacky Glue
• scissors
• household object with circle

Since my challenge budget was under $10.00 to make an ornament, I’ve listed the cheapest stores where you can purchase supplies, and also alternative supplies you can use to make the gnome ornament. I’ve also taken in consideration the basic supplies you more than likely already have on hand.

If you already have an old pair of adult size jeans that you can use, you’ll be able to make more ornaments since the gnomes were a 4-pack.

HOW MUCH ARE THE SUPPLIES?

• FREE to $3.00 ~ DENIM FABRIC ~ thrift store children’s jeans OR your old jeans for free
• $1.00 ~ GNOME ~ Dollar Tree for 4 gnome pack
• $1.00 ~ RIBBON ~ Dollar Tree
• $1.00 ~ STUFFING ~ Dollar Tree chenille yarn (Walmart sells small bag of stuffing for $3.50)
• $ .60 ~ EMBROIDERY THREAD ~ JoAnn Fabrics or Hobby Lobby

YOU PROBABLY ALREADY HAVE THE FOLLOWING SUPPLIES ON HAND:

• $1.67 ~ NEEDLE ~ Walmart embroidery needle pack
• $ .88 ~ SMALL SAFTEY PIN ~ Walmart variety pack
• $1.00 ~ TACKY GLUE ~ Dollar Tree -OR- $2.00 ~ HOT GLUE GUN W/ STICKS ~ Dollar Tree

HOW TO MAKE A GNOME CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT

STEP 1:

• find a household object that you can use to trace a circle
• trace a circle on the back of the denim fabric
• use sharp scissors to cut the circle out
• repeat a second time to end up with 2 circles

STEP 2:

• use either a hot glue gun or Tacky Glue to attach the gnome onto the center of one circle

STEP 3:

• use either straight pins or safety pins to join the 2 circles, backsides together

STEP 4:

• use sharp scissors to snip a hole into the the center top, front side of the circle, see photo below
• make the snipped hole large enough so your small safety pin will fit through
• snip the back circle the same as the front, use a pencil to stick through the top hole to mark where the next hole needs to be snipped if you can’t just ‘eyeball’ the spot.

STEP 5:

• cut a piece of ribbon a little bit longer than your desired hanging drop
• attach the small safety pin into a ribbon end and thread it through both layers of fabric
• you will tie the ribbon later

STEP 6: BLANKET STITCHING

It’s been years ago since I’ve blanket stitched, so I googled “how to blanket stitch YouTube” so I could teach myself again.

You’ll need to know:

• how to blanket stitch
• how to end a blanket stitch
• how to begin stitching again when the thread runs

TIP: You’ll need to let your threaded needle suspend from the fabric so it can “untwist” itself. The thread tends to get twisted along the way, so do this ever so often.

I’m not the greatest at blanket stitching as you can tell from my photo! What makes it a little more challenging for this craft is the denim fabric makes it harder to insert the needle. Being left-handed might have contributed to my problem trying to follow along with the videos, also!

• cut a very long strip of embroidery thread, leaving all strands together
• plan for leaving an opening at the bottom so you can insert your stuffing, see photo below
• blanket stitch following YouTube videos as discussed above

STEP 7:

• add the stuffing using your finger and a pencil
• blanket stitch the opening closed

STEP 8:

• determine your desired length of your ribbon hanger, tie ribbon ends together, and trim the ends if needed

I hope you’ll enjoy making your gnome denim Christmas ornament! Will you be creating this cute ornament for yourself or giving it as a gift?

YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO SEE MY FREE PRINTABLE GNOME CHRISTMAS CARDS!

CLICK THE LINKS BELOW TO SEE MORE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT CRAFTS!

Tammy @ Patina and Paint ~ How to Make a Snowflake Ornament

Ann @ The Apple Street Cottage ~ Jute Twine Ornament

Patti @ Pandora’s Box ~ Easy Gift Wrapping Idea using Ornaments

Terri @ Decorate and More with Tip DIY Sock Ornaments

Cindy @ Cloches and Lavender ~ Easy Christmas Ornaments

Niki @ Life as a Leo Wife ~ DIY Dollar Tree Ornaments