Stornæsede Nisser (Big Nosy Elves)

Here we are, back in action in the New Year with another ’15 minute craft’.

These big nosy elves have been in lots of Danish shops up to Christmas. I stopped to look at one (admittedly, a rather large fellow), thinking that it would look really nice in my new kitchen. Then just about fainted when I saw the price…kr. 250, roughly £28 or $50! Decided that I could easily make mini versions myself. Indeed, the After-School Club had the very same idea! 😉

You’ll need:

• thin felt or stiff material
• sewing machine or needle, thread
• large wooden bead or ball
• a bit of stuffing or the wool that you use for making felt (name escapes me)
• glue (I love my hot glue gun!)

Cut out a ‘hat’ for your elf from the felt (the Christmas versions were, need I point out, red in colour). Don’t worry too much, a rough triangle will do. Fold it over and sew it down one edge. Then turn it inside out, so the stitches don’t show, using a pencil to help you get right into the little pointy top.

Put a bit of the stuffing inside the hat (this will also help it to stand upright). Stick on a large wooden bead for his ‘nose’, just under the brim of the hat. The hot glue gun is great for this, no hanging around.

Then take more of the stuffing and pull it to bits, so you end up with a pile of smaller pieces. Use this to make his beard and stick that on underneath the hat/nose.

Et voilà, we’re done!

The ones in the shops had grey and brown stuffing/wool for the beard, so if you wanted, you could do the same. You could probably draw on some colour using markers or dab on a bit of paint. Personally, I quite like my own version with the pure white 😉

Needless to say, DD7 declared “Oh, it’s loooooovely!” when she saw it. So I’ll soon be posting pics of her own efforts. Watch this space… [Postscript: no sooner said than done!]

Happy Crafty Tuesday! 🙂