Valentine’s Day isn’t far off so it’s time to get a head start on some crafts to love! Today I am sharing how to make some “easy to love” DIY Valentine Gnomes. Scandinavian gnomes and Nordic gnomes were all the rage once again this Christmas and will continue to be popular in 2022. I had so much fun making Christmas gnomes year before last that I decided to make more for Valentine’s Day. These little valentine gnomes can be made in just a few minutes for around $10. Let’s get started!
As you can see there are two different sizes of gnomes shown here. The tall one in the center was made using a styrofoam cone, and the two smaller ones on the side are made using thread spools and styrofoam balls for heads.
Most of the materials came from Dollar Tree. The spools, wooden balls for the noses and faux fur came from Jo Ann’s or Hobby Lobby. If you use coupons you can get these items for 40% off or more. I was able to get all the items for around $10.00 and I have made several gnomes.
Styrofoam Cone DIY Valentine Gnome
A styrofoam cone gnome is so easy to make! One piece of felt will work to make the clothing and hat. To begin, simply wrap a piece of felt around the cone and use a rubber band about 1/2 to 2/3’s of the way up the cone to mark the cut for the clothing (use chalk). If you can’t cut a straight line (like me!) no worries. The beard will cover up the seam.
Pull the felt tightly around the cone at the seam. Trim the excess off the bottom making sure there is enough felt to fully cover the bottom of the cone around the edges.
Felt is very easy to work with so you can stretch it a bit and trim it up to make it look neater. Since the beard covers must of this part I don’t worry too much about it.
To make the hat, cut a triangular shape of felt similar to the template I have shown here.
PNext, cut a piece of floral wire to glue down the length of one side of the hat. Caution! This is a finger burner (I learned the hard way)! You may want to use a toothpick to press the wire down into the glue.
Roll the felt into a cone hat shape. Begin by securing the tip with hot glue.
Continuing forming the felt into a hat shape and glue at the seam. You will notice it is a little longer in the back. I actually prefer mine this way but you can trim up the hat to your liking after placing it on the styrofoam. The seam will be in the back.
Fit the hat onto the cone so that it just meets the top of the other piece of felt. The floral wire allows the hat to be bent into a whimsical shape.
Take off the hat and glue on the beard just around around the top of the bottom piece of felt. Then put the hat back on and pull it down so it is just over the top of the beard.
I purchased my pink craft fur (Fab Lab brand) at Jo Ann Fabric. The only other kind I have found is Darice Long Pile Fur on Amazon (affilite link). It appears to be nearly identical to Fab Lab fur.
Cut a triangular shape out of the fur for the beard, 4 1/4″ wide x 2 1/2 ” long. As you can see once again, my cutting skills are less than perfect but once the beard was glued on it wasn’t noticeable. If possible, try to cut under the top layer of fur close to the backing.
Glue a 1/2 inch round ball right under the hat in the center for a nose.
You can cut out some tiny felt hearts in a different color and hot glue them on the hat or use Valentine’s Day heart stickers to embellish the hats. I found some cute conversation heart stickers at Dollar Tree for mine. I also made a simple little garland to dress up my tobacco basket with the heart stickers and jute twine. Ooops! I just noticed the orange one is upside down in this picture. No biggie! The hearts are fairly sticky and can be repositioned easily.
Just peel the back off the stickers and stick the hearts to the twine. I spaced mine about an inch apart. So easy!
Thread Spool and Styrofoam Ball Gnomes
You may remember my Easy as Magic DIY Nordic Christmas Gnomes that I shared during the holidays. As it turns out, it was my most popular post of 2022! For my Christmas gnomes I used wooden knobs for the heads, wooden spools for the body and wooden hearts painted black for the feet. I have modified this craft to make it easier and cheaper for my Valentine gnomes.
While the feet are super cute, they aren’t necessary since they don’t really show much. I have since found that styrofoam balls are much cheaper and work just as well for the heads. Other than that the process is the same one I shared for my Christmas gnomes except I used pink beards and valentine colored felt and stickers for embellishment for the valentine gnomes.
Cut a strip of felt just long enough to wrap around the spool. *This photo is from my Christmas gnomes tutorial, so for the Valentine gnomes, use the pink, red, blush or hot pink felt of your choice.
Hot glue the seam at the front of the spool. Then hot glue the styrofoam ball on top for a head.
The hat for the thread spool gnomes is slightly smaller than the styrofoam cone gnomes. Gut a 6 1/2 ” x 6 1/2 ” triangle and follow the same process as outlined above for the styrofoam cone gnome hats.
The top of the beards should be hot glued to the heads so that the beards cover the face leaving only about 1/8 of the top of the styrofoam ball exposed. Then place on the hat and pull down to the top of the beard and back of the head.
Hot glue a wooden ball for a nose. Then embellish the hat with felt hearts or valentine stickers. Voila! You have made an easy as magic Valentine gnome!
I styled a trio of 2 wooden spool gnomes and a styrofoam cone gnome on ironstone platter. I wanted the display to look a little woodsy so I added some Dollar Tree tulips in a white washed Dollar Tree terra cotta pot behind them and added a layer of moss around the bottom. I also added some conversation hearts in the moss for an extra Valentine’s Day touch and to tie in with the stickers on their hats.
I am using the Valentine gnomes as a centerpiece on the table in our breakfast nook. I hung the tobacco basket with conversation heart sticker garland on the wall behind the nook seats.
If you love holiday gnomes as much as I do, you might want to check out my Lucky DIY St. Patrick’s Day Gnomes post too. Along with the spool gnome I made a taller gnome I using a styrofoam cone. All the details are in the post.
These valentine gnomes (or Christmas/St. Patrick’s Day) are so fun to make and you can whip up several in no time! If you are looking for a quick and easy Valentine craft or gift, give these adorable DIY Valentine Gnomes a try!
I hope you have enjoyed this DIY Valentine Gnomes tutorial today. If you end up making some valentine gnomes of your own or for a gift, let me know how they turn out. If you have any more questions about this tutorial, feel free to leave a comment or email me anytime. I love hearing from you dear readers!
Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!
Comments