DIY: Fancy Nutcracker Army

I had great plans of repainting my rag tag collection of thrifted Nutcrackers in bright colors last Christmas-reminiscent of Alexander Girard's wooden dolls-but time got away from me. I set them out on my dining room table hoping to do something with them this year and enjoyed watching Ruby line them up and act out silly stories. A few lost their precious arms, one lost a nose, and two had their hair pieces rip off. I finally salvaged what I could one day from the sad lot of them and came up with something pretty.

1. Gather yourself a few nutcrackers. I always look for them at thrift stores around Christmas and I bet you can find some majorly discounted the day after at retail stores. You'll also need tacky glue, scissors, light grade sandpaper, and spray paint. I used Valspar Metallic because it's the best metallic on the market. 2. Remove the hair pieces and possibly clothing from your nutcrackers and lightly sand their faces or other large, round surfaces. Wipe clean and then apply two-three thin coats of spray paint. Let dry. 3. Reattach original hair and beard pieces with tacky glue. You may want to use felt instead if their hair is in bad shape. 4. Let dry and either leave as is or continue to paint and decorate your nutcrackers. 

I wanted mine to look a bit anonymous but these would also be fun to personalize according to your own characteristics or those of a friend. Let little ones decorate their own for their room. 

Smaller nutcrackers may be less expensive and easier to finish. Nutcracker ornaments are another way to customize this craft.

I was originally thinking about a high gloss white similar to the ones sold at Target but had this gold on hand so this project cost me nothing (at least this year). It's another way to add some charm to our long, dark mantle without breaking the bank.

I told you I couldn't stop with the gold, didn't I.

-Rachel

Comments

[Eva Scott]

Super super cute! I'd love to start collecting nutcrackers.

[Bekuh]

I love this project! They look wonderful, and will look great on your mantle. I think having a grouping of them will be so much more impactful. There are so many possibilities, and I love that.

[Yelle]

Totally love these! Not sure if I could do this to my old nutcrackers from my childhood (nostalgia!) but I could definitely rescue some from a thrift store and give them a new spirit!

[Loulou]

What a great transformation! They look so sleek and handsome. The gold worked well and you can't get much better than 'free'!

Loulou

[Coli]

Love this and your blog! I too, have been so into gold this year that I used gold paint when making my countdown calendar-instant pretty!

[katherine]

I really like them so much better this way - must more simplistic and less frightening (some of the ones with faces scare me off a bit)

of corgis and cocktails

[robbie]

omigosh, rach! i'm addicted to painting all things gold. what a good idea!

[Crystal]

Cute project + I love the new profile pic!!

[paula.strong]

best Nutcrackers I've seen Way to go Rachel

[ruthie]

They are so cute! They look so shiny and new and great grouped together :) Yay gold!

[Michelle - Little Paper Dog]

I've seen some small ones at the Dollar Tree. Looks like I'll be snatching some up quick. Thanks for the cute idea!

[Alana @ The Bliss Diaries]

Super cute! I told my husband that I wanted to start collecting nutcrackers to display for Christmas and he thought I was {am} nuts. I want so bad to email him a link to this post and say, "Seeeee! I'm not crazy!" LOL Anyways, regardless of how he feels about my mental stability, I may end up doing this anyway...

http://www.domesticblissdiaries.com

[Melanie's Randomness]

Oh my! I love it! So different & beautiful! =)