Easy DIY Christmas Peg Doll Gnome Tutorial

 Do you know what is better than making little wood peg doll gnomes?

Making GIANT wood peg doll gnomes!

I made and donated a giant (well, according to the store. I was looking for the biggest I could get) peg doll gnome that looks like the character I play at renaissance fairs and Christmas festivals and donated it to a charity silent auction.

My giant peg doll gnome makes a cute decoration (whether for Christmas or for everyday home decor,) a quick DIY gift idea, or toy depending upon how you decorate the peg doll base. Let’s make!

In Denmark, they call gnomes nisse and that’s where I took the name for my gnome character Nissa.

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How to Make DIY Christmas Gnomes

 

Yuletide Village Christmas Light Tour

Last summer I created and performed a new character at the Ohio Renaissance Festival- Nissa Tomtesdottir the gnome! I had so much fun sharing my Danish heritage and Scandinavian gnome/nisse/tomte lore through Nissa (with a giant helping of playing with patrons who came dressed as Wirt and Greg from Over the Garden Wall this season) that I had to celebrate Nissa's and my favorite time of the year - Christmas - at Yuletide Village Season of Lights!

 

My favorite light display are the blanket of blue twinkle lights in the dry creek bed around the Y bridge.  Photo credit: Steve Kohus

How to Make Peg Doll Gnomes

One of my fellow renaissance festival performer friends, painted a set of wood peg dolls for her daughter to look like some of the characters from our show so she has a period toy to keep her busy/quiet/not fussy if she is visiting with her family –  dressed as a fairy.

Her peg doll toys gave me the idea to make wood peg doll gnome pin favors for my fellow fae performers. Our little Honorary Fairy wanted a mini me too (and my heart exploded into a million pieces of joy.) I asked if she wanted a pin to wear or a gnome peg doll to play with. She asked for a gnome peg doll so Nissa can play with all of her peg dolls of our village.

 

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My homemade gnome peg dolls are quick and easy to make. You can make them for children or with children. You make them as detailed or simple as you like

As of this writing, I’m calling my DIY peg doll gnomes, Nissa Tomtesdottir Elizabethan Action Figures because who hasn’t wanted to have their own action figure?!

 

Quick and Easy DIY Gnome Peg Dolls

 

How to Make a Fairy Walking Stick

I will be walking untold miles throughout the day while I’m performing at a 35 acre renaissance festival. I’m thrilled to “people” (with safety precautions) again! 

 

Until the day after a first rehearsal when my legs reminded me how much time I sat around the house in 2020  instead of being active and out and about. Let’s hear it for Epsom salt baths!

 

A walking (or more like hiking towards the end of the day) stick should help. Let’s make one!

 

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Easy DIY Elf, Fairy, Gnome, or Wizard Staff

How to Make a Fairy Ivy Leaf Parasol

I’m performing a fae (a fairy. Well, actually, I’m a gnome) character at an outdoor renaissance festival. True to a gnome’s (and my own) Scandinavian roots, I’m fair skinned and burn easily in the sun. I’m also not fond of standing out in the rain without an umbrella either. 

In the past, I carried a waterproof bamboo parasol but that is not really going to work for the over the top Shakespearean fairy esthetic I need to create. Can we talk about how difficult it is to design a mythical creature described as looking like a human the size of an 8 year old boy and  looks like she belongs with a group of fairies who look like natural elements like this this acorn green man wall decoration (you can buy it here.) (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links for your convenience.) Elizabethan fairies look less human and more like trees, flowers, animals with a humanish face. The more human-looking Tinkerbell type of fairy we are more used to came about during the Victorian era.

 

I figure the best way to do that is make a waterproof canvas bamboo parasol in the shape an ivy leaf.

 

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How to Make a Waterproof Bamboo Parasol

How to Make an Easy Indoor Fairy Door

Columbus has many visit this type of business, stamp a passport, and collect a prize trails. We have a local coffee trail, craft brewery trail, a local small business trail, and a delicious donut trail among others. I recently learned about a cool one in Dublin, Ohio – The Fairy Door Trail. Dublin goes completely nuts for all things Irish,  Celtic, and St. Patrick’s Day. So it makes sense that they start a new trail by putting new fairy doors in their local small businesses in March for St Patrick’s Day just in case a leprechaun would like to use it. Which is mighty thoughtful.

I fell into an Internet fairy door rabbit hole after that and wanted to add another fairy door to my house just in case a fairy, gnome, leprechaun, or hopefully - a Borrower - would use it. I loved the Borrower books and movies as a kid and I often think a Borrow probably borrowed that thing I can’t find (which is way more fun than acknowledging I misplaced it.) If you don’t know what I’m talking about  you can read The Complete Adventures of the Borrowers series here. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links for your convenience)

 

It’s National Craft Month so why not make an indoor fairy door (or the mythical sprite of your choice) to celebrate?

 

Let’s make stuff!

How to Make an Indoor Fairy, Leprechaun, Gnome, Elf, or Borrowers Door

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DIY No Sew Thread Cone Gnomes

I buy sewing machine thread in the colors I use most often in bulk by the serger cone. I  use stand alone bobbin winder like this one to wind the cone thread onto an empty regular size thread spool to use on my sewing machine. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links for your convenience.) This is supposed to keep me from running out of thread but when my historical costuming projects usually take up to 10 yards of fabric I still go through a ton of sewing thread.

Which means I have a nice little stack of empty thread cones on my To Upcycle shelf waiting for a craft project that never comes.

Until today!

I recycled empty thread cones into cute little gnomes. If you don’t have empty thread or serger cones cluttering up your house  waiting to be upcycled you can use paper craft cones like these. 

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You will need for each gnome you want to make:

How to Make Bottle Gnome Christmas Decorations

Many folks in the Scandinavian countries like to decorate their homes with gnomes for Christmas. There is a tradition where they enjoy an appetizer of rice porridge for Christmas Eve dinner and put a small bowl of it outside for the gnomes to thank them for protecting the family and helping them prosper during the year. 

The gnomes get very upset  and will play tricks on you if they are not rewarded with their Christmas porridge!

So personally, I think it is best to decorate with the not so fickle recycled variety and make quick and easy bottle Christmas gnome decorations. Although, just like the Irish leprechaun,  gnomes don’t go away after the holiday and you can decorate with gnomes all year round if you like.

 

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This is a very forgiving Christmas craft project because the way you make your gnome is only limited to your imagination and what craft supplies you have on hand or want to use for this project.

How to Make Tomato Cage Christmas Gnome Decorations

I saw a big Christmas gnome decorations on line at IKEA and knew two of them would look perfect decorating both sides of my front door this Christmas. Unfortunately they were already sold out of them by the first few days of November!

I was severely bummed.

It was all the encouragement I needed to shop IKEA for the materials and go with my original plan of making a set of outdoor Christmas gnomes built around tomato cages.  Since storage space is at a premium in my condo, I made my Christmas gnomes (which we Scandinavians call Tomte or Nisser) as a temporary slipcover. That way I can use the cages in my summer garden, clean them, and use them again during the Christmas decorating season.  If you have the storage space you can permanently hot glue the fabric to your tomato cage instead of holding it in place with clothes pins like I did.

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How to Make Scandinavian Christmas Gnomes

How to Make Wine Cork Gnomes

 Danish nisse are gnomes who secretly live in your attic, or barn if you live on a farm, and help take care of the animals at night when you are asleep. They also protect your family from harm.

All these helpful creatures ask for is respect and a bowl of porridge with a pat of butter on top on Christmas Eve, otherwise they will get even by playing tricks on you. Can’t find your car keys the next day? A group of insulted nisser probably hid them!

Many Danish home decorate for Christmas with nisse (also called tomte) or as we call them in the United States, gnomes.The plural of nisse is nisser and they are pretty darn cute as well as helpful!

Let’s make some Christmas gnome decorations from recycled wine corks! Tomte like it when we recycle.

Reycled Wine Cork Craft Idea: Christmas Gnomes!