This Glam candle holder was made from Dollar Tree supplies. I made these as part of a glam decor challenge. If you want to check it out go and view this link. I made three projects for this challenge, but this one was my favourite! [Read more…]
Santa Sock Gnome
This is a quick, easy and fun project that’s great to do with your kids, or on your own. This adorable Santa sock gnome is made with mostly dollar store supplies and fabric scraps that I had on hand. You can do this in an afternoon.
Click here to watch the YouTube video
If you need any clarification on anything below, you can refer to the video above!
Santa Sock Gnome Supplies
Sock
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Stuffing (I used rags)
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Rocks
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Fabric (Red Velvet)
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Fur Trim
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Small styro ball x 2
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Hot glue gun
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Black felt
Body
To make the body, start first with a sock. I used white sock, but it doesn’t matter too much as you can’t really see the sock when the Santa gnome is finished. And a bag of dollar store vase filler stones to weight down the bottom. which I didn’t even take out of the bag, but just dropped the whole bag into the bottom of the sock. Pretty easy so far, huh?
Fillers
Next you will need something to fill up the body of the Santa gnome. I actually just pulled some pieces out of my rag bin, which I use for crafting and painting, and very occasionally dusting! The pieces that I used were an old tea towel, and one of Greg’s old T-shirts.Both of these were rolled up together, which gave me the desired shape. Then they were stuffed into the sock on top of the rocks. After pulling all of the wrinkles out of the sock the excess was tied of with an elastic. Cut the excess off about an inch away from the elastic.
Santa Suit
For Santa’s suit and hat, I used a piece of scrap fabric that I had on hand. It’s a really beautiful deep red stretch velvet. I bought this last year at Fabricland on sale. They had a big section of velvet scraps and I bought a couple of meters. It has gotten used in a few projects, including this Santa wreath You can use whatever fabric you like. Red felt would work well too. For the body just lay the sock on the fabric, and mark out enough fabric to go around the body and fold under the bottom of the sock. Fold over and glue one edge. Wrap the suit fabric around the sock and glue in place folding the finished edge over the unfinished one. Glue under bottom edges. The suit should only cover about 1/2 – 2/3 of the sox, since the remaining half of the sock will fill out the hat.
Nose
For the nose you could use anything with right size circumference. I used a small styrofoam ball, but you could also use a bead or bauble, as well. I gave it a coat of flesh toned paint. A bamboo skewer works well to hold the styrofoam ball while you are painting it. Once painted put the nose aside. You may need two coats, depending on your paint consistency.
Hat
To make the hat use the same fabric as the body. Cut a triangle approx. 9.5″ x 16″. Fold right sides together and glue or sew the seam. I sewed mine, but you can always glue yours, if you don’t sew, or just don’t like to sew! Then turn the hat inside out. And turn under a small hem on the bottom of the hat. It will probably be a bit big but that’s okay because it needs to cover the gnome face and pull down over his back.
Beard
Time to give this Santa gnome a beard. Just a small piece of faux fur is required for his beard. Cut a triangle shape for the beard. Mine was 7″ wide by 3″ and I cut out a triangle shape minus the point. The beard works better if you choose fur with a fairly long nap to it. Ensure that you just cut the backing of the fur and not the fur itself. Apply hot glue to the upper long edge of the beard and attach it to the top edge of the suit.
Attach Nose
Now attach the nose just above the beard using hot glue, Make sure you centre it on the beard.
Attach Hat
The hat will be large, pull the front down so that it covers just the top of the nose. Pull the back down enough to cover the top of the suit and glue down the back edges of the hat. In the front lightly tack down the hat to the sides of the nose, so that you don’t see the sock.
Belt (optional)
Cut a couple of strips of black felt and attach around Santa Gnome’s midriff tucking underneath the beard. Attach with hot glue.
Hat Trim
Cut another strip of fur for the hat. I had a small piece of leftover fur from another project, so used a piece with a slightly different finish. This was an edge piece which had a scallop to it. You can use the same fur that you used for the beard.
Shoes
To make the shoes, just cut a couple of ovals out of the black felt. I just used the larger side of the handles on a pair of scissors. Cut four of them. Glue two of the pieces together on the round end, leaving the square end open. Use a small amount of stuffing to fill the toe of the shoe. If you don’t have any stuffing on hand, cotton balls will do the trick. Remember to only stuff the toe of the shoes, and keep the back half of the shoes flat. Glue them under the Santa gnome body
Pom pom
To finish this Santa gnome off, we just need to add a pom pom to his hat. I didn’t have one on hand. Which is kind of unbelievable if you know me at all. And by that I mean I have a ridiculous amount of stuff in my craft stash. You have to be able to adapt. So, I used one of the small styrofoam balls from the package that I used for the nose. Just add a drop of glue onto the end of the hat, and attach the pom pom.
And we are done! How easy was that? Easy. Here is my Santa gnome all ready to do his Christmas job and add some Santa pizzaz to my holiday decor.
Note that these links may contain affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, if you make a purchase through one of my links, AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU. Click here for my full disclosure. Thank you for helping to support my blog!
My Favourite Mirrors
I love mirrors. Not the kind you use to do your make-up. I mean decorative mirrors. I think they are so much better than artwork in so many applications. And what do I love more than Decor mirrors? [Read more…]
DIY Glam Clock
It’s time for a change. And by TIME I mean a glam clock challenge! This project was done as part of a DIY clock challenge, and of course I chose to make mine glamorous and glittery. Not going to find any buffalo check here. This is a very easy project and all of the supplies were from the dollar store. [Read more…]
DIY Mirror from Paper!
Yep, Another mirror 🙂 I like mirrors. And I especially like a DIY mirror. They are such great decor pieces. Great for filling a small or odd shaped spaces. This one was done as part of the Look for Less Challenge, which I participate in every month.
Inspiration
The inspiration piece for this project is this mirror from Bed Bath and Beyond. It retails for $199
Youtube
As always if you would prefer to watch this on video – click here!
DIY Mirror Supplies
Here are the supplies you will need to complete this project
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Foam Core – 1 piece
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Poster Board – 3 pieces (black)
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Rust-Oleum metallic Gold spray paint
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Rust-Oleum Dark Bronze Hammered Spray Paint
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Dollar Tree round mirror
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Rope Cord
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Hot glue
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Optional
Backing
To make the backing for this diy mirror cut a circle out of the foam core. I used a 19″ hoop that I had on hand to trace around, this used up the width of the foam core. If you don’t happen to have a metal hoop kicking around your house, just use a piece of string and a pencil or sharpie to draw your circle.
Squares
Next we will need to make cones. But before we make cones, we’ll need to make squares! You can make these by just measuring them out on the poster board. I used a paper trimmer to cut mine. I bought the trimmer when I did this project, and I am loving it. These inexpensive cutters make this a much easier task. Or, if you are still able to go to your office, you can always borrow their paper cutter. Or just use a pen, ruler and scissors.
There are 3 different sizes of cones and you will need to cut the following sizes
3″x 3″
4″x 4″
5 x 5″
You’ll need 24 of each. Although this number may vary a bit depending on how tightly you roll them, and how closely you glue them.
Cones
Now we get to roll up some cones. These are rolled from corner to corner. Just overlap them a bit and apply a small amount of hot glue to the seam. Don’t worry too much about keeping the bottom of the cone perfect, since this part will be covered by the following layers and you won’t see them. Roll up all of your cones prior to gluing them to the backing board. You will end up with 24 each of 3″,4″ & 5″ cones.
Attaching Cones
Starting at the outer edge of your foam core circle, glue the cones. Having the wides part of the opening aligned with the edge of the backing, keeping the cones all at the same level, using hot glue. Just continue to work your way around the circle until it is completed. Here is what each level looks like:
Paint
Once all of the cones are in place, first remove any glue strings, since these will show up once painted. Next give everything a coat of Rust-Oleum metallic Gold spray paint. Coat everything including the inside of the cones. Also remove the frame from the mirror and spray that as well. I actually really liked the finish with just the gold.
Second Colour
As I mentioned I actually preferred the solid gold colour of the first coat of paint. However, I decided to add a second colour in order to give the piece more of a metal look. How I did this is by using rustoleum dark bronze hammered finish and using gentle pressure on the spray nozzle to give a speckled effect on top of the gold paint. Here is a close-up of what this finish looks like. If you don’t like the finish, don’t worry. it’s just paint, you can always paint over it!
Rope Accent
The final thing I did was to add a rope accent around the mirror. I used a twisted gold rope from the dollar store. To attach it to the mirror frame, first glue one end of the rope to the frame, and then pull it tight around the outside edge, stretching it slightly as you go. Gluing a section at a time. Glue down the cut end wrapping it toward the underside of the frame, so it won’t be visible from the top. Spray with the same finish as the rest of the mirror.
Assembling
After the additional paint finish has been added to the mirror frame, and has dried. Clean and reattach mirror to frame. Then glue the mirror in place inside the centre of the cones.
Hanger
Attach a picture hanger to the back of your diy mirror with hot glue. Then you just need to find the right place to hang your new mirror. And since this cone mirror is made from paper and foam core, it is very light, so you can hang it pretty much anywhere.
Here is the cost comparison for this project, since it was done as part of the look for less challenge.This is a simple project that can be done with minimal supplies, most of which can be purchased at the dollar store.
Here’s an update for you. I decided that it really did look better in straight gold, before I added the accent colour. So, I went back and painted over in gold. And then to add a bit more bling, I added in rhinestones on all of the cones. I like the way it looks so much better now.
I hope you enjoyed this project. Here is another mirror project that you might like
Note that these links may contain affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, if you make a purchase through one of my links, AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU. Click here for my full disclosure. Thank you for helping to support my blog!
Dollar Tree DIY Paper Mirror

DIY Paper Mirror
If you’ve bee here before, you’ll already know that I like mirrors, and I love to make them myself. And the cool part is, that the more I make… the more ideas I get for new ones! This mirror is made from Dollar Tree paper plates. Can you believe it? And it is soooooo easy to make, well you’ll see! [Read more…]
Dollar Tree Pumpkin Wreath
Dollar Tree Pumpkin Wreath Form
Here is something a little different for your front door for Fall, Thanksgiving or even Halloween! A pumpkin wreath made from a dollar tree pumpkin wreath form, well technically thats TWO pumpkin wreath forms!! [Read more…]
Halloween Skull Wreath
Another version of the Look for Less challenge, and this one is just in time for Halloween! The perfect Halloween skull wreath. It’s easy, spooky, pretty and cheap, since the whole thing is made with Dollar Tree supplies. And you still have time to make one! And you can make one in under an hour! [Read more…]