Christmas · Fall & Winter · Feature · MainelyDIY Full Disclosure · Paper Crafts

Christmas Crafts inspired by Nature

Bring in some nature to add warmth and charm to your holiday. Many of the designs are not only for Christmas extending your decor from fall through the new year and then some.

This post will be updated every few days throughout December so keep checking back every couple of days for new Christmas au Naturel inspiration!

Pine Cone Gnome

Long pine cones lend themselves for this simple craft. Got pitch on your cone? Perfect to highlight your gnome’s beard. Hats are sewn from felt. Hot glue is another option. His nose is a pom-pom.

Pine Cone Wreath

I chose this idea to be the first in this series as it is probably the most timing consuming. I used a dollar store wire frame for the base and just hot glued the pine cones on. The curved surface of the wire frame adds a nice dimension to the wreath. Some of the pine cones were trimmed into flower shapes adding to the beauty of this wreath.

Nature Candle

Here’s a blast from the past. Check out the link below for detailed howtos.

Nature Candle

MainelyDIY Full Disclosure · Christmas · Feature · Gnomes · Other Crafts

Elfin’ Candles – a new kind of Elf on the Shelf

Looking for a super simple and inexpensive craft for this Christmas season? These cute fun elf candles are just what you need to spark your crafting creativity! Step by step pictorial instructions include pro tips I learned along the way to make your results look professional.

Start with tall slim candles in the color of your choice. I got mine at Dollar Tree

Pro tip: Look at top of candle and select one that has wax that is fairly level

Make a collar template by cut a 1″ wide piece of paper. Wrap this strip around candle and mark leaving extra for an overlap. Fold in half and cut a triangle as pictured. Test to make sure you like it and if not make another.

Cut 1″ strip of glitter foam for each of the following:

  • Collar
  • Belt
  • Buckle
  • Feet

Cut a 3/4″ piece from the gold strip for the buckle.

Hot glue gold buckle to center of belt strip

Use paper template to mark collar center on reverse side and then cut it of collar material. Don’t worry about the length as long as overlap won’t be huge.

Starting at center of candle hot glue collar to candle glass hiding wax level. Add glue as you go. Overlap ends and secure with glue.

Next glue belt onto candle a bit below the center so there will be room for the buttons. Make sure to center buckle

Pro tip: Overlap belt and foot to align with collar overlap for more professional results

Glue foot onto the bottom of glass

Audition button ideas. Various sized buttons, poms-poms or other embellish can change the look to match your style and personality. Choose your favorite and glue them on.

Pro tip: use an embossing tool or hair dryer to blow away those pesky glue strings.

Enjoy your elf candle and make him some buddies.

Nature Candle

Beautiful Beaded Candle with Recycled CD

Gnomes · Christmas · Feature · Fiber - Yarn & Needle Crafts · Holiday · MainelyDIY Full Disclosure

Legendary Tale of Jingles the Gnome

Come read all about the story of Jingles the Gnome, soon to become a Christmas legend or at least folklore.

You have heard of the Island of misfit toys, right? Well, Jingles the Gnome has been hiding deep in the darkest forest. You see just like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was ashamed of his shiny nose, Jingles the Gnome was ashamed of his shiny nose too! Not because it glowed but because it makes a lot of jingly jangly noise. Gnomes are supposed to be stealthy so they can sneaky up on you especially when you are being naughty.

Just like Rudolph, Jingles discovers that his special shiny nose can do something no other gnome can do. He can turn the naughty to nice. But how? He starts jingling and jangling and pretty soon everyone is enticed to sing along. And who a can be naughty when rocking along to Jingle’s hit version of Jingle Bells!

So simple Jingles the Gnome takes only minutes to make. No sewing, not even glue is required to make him. He does have a secret ingredient to make him stand up but you will need to watch the video to reveal Jingle’s secret.

More Gnomes



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MainelyDIY Full Disclosure · Christmas · Cricut · Fall & Winter · Greeting Cards · Holiday · Paper Crafts

Quick Gift Tag Christmas Cards

Want to make quick Christmas Cards? Use some large gift tags and you will have a stack of cards in a flash! Select tags with a sentiment, add some embellishments and you are ready to mail holiday greetings to friends and loved ones.

More advance design tutorials

Merry M Fold Card Tutorial

Christmas Card Ideas

Double Z Fold Card Tutorial and Reveal

From Our Gnome to Yours- Dollar Tree Inspired

MainelyDIY Full Disclosure · Christmas · Fall & Winter · Greeting Cards · Paper Crafts

Merry M Fold Card Tutorial

Whether you call a W fold or a M fold card, whom receives your homemade greeting card will be merry upon opening it. These action cards have a pop-up motion thanks to the…you guessed it the M-fold.

See the M-fold in Action

Best suited to display small designs stamps, stickers, and the like or just pretty paper. These are simple to make with spectacular results.

Cutting and Scoring Chart

DescriptionQuantityCut SizeScore at
Base/Back14-1/4″ by 11″5-1/2″
M-fold12-1/4 by 11″2-3/4, 5-1/2, & 8-1/4
Front Artwork (Landscape)13-3/4 by 5″
Pieced for Stamping42″ by 3″
Border for Stamped Pieces42-1/2″ by 3-1/2″


      Prices subject to change. As participants in affiliate programs, we may earn small commissions on products and services linked in our blog/website. There is NO additional cost to you however it gives us a boost and allows us to continue to provide you with easy link access to items we use. We are participants in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the Cricut affiliate program. An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to products and service of affiliated sites.

You may also like these ideas:

MainelyDIY Full Disclosure · Christmas · Greeting Cards · Paper Crafts

Double Z Fold Card Tutorial and Reveal

Wonder what is in Echo Park’s Christmas Salutations 6×6 card stock package? Check out this quick reveal.

MainelyDiY earns a small fee for purchase

Next check out how ideas on utilizing this pack with the fun and quick double z fold card tutorial.

What is a z fold card anyway? It’s an action card that seems to move as you open it. These fun folds are extremely addictive. Watch the video until the end to learn from some of my boo-boos plus all my tips for making them.

Let the size of your art work for the front of your card dictate how to make your card. Typically you have 4 1/2″ in length by 3 to 4 inches high to work with. In our samples, we used greetings from a card stock package. Into stamping? This is a great place to feature your designs. Cut-outs, stickers, drawings – the sky in the limit. So let your talents shine!

If your split an letter sized piece of card stock in half lengthwise at 4 1/4 inches, you will have 2 card bases. This is the recommend size and shown in red in the cutting chart. The front should be 1/2″ narrower than the back and 1 inch shorter than the back.

Rectangles have two size options. Option A will have a eighth inch border whereas option B will have a quarter inch border. One rectangle should be a light color as it is a place to write your personal note. The second rectangle is purely decorative and depending on the front card stock you may decide not to use a second rectangle.

Cutting Chart

Back/BaseFrontRectangles ARectangles B
4 x 113-1/2 x 102-1/2 x 3-1/4 2-1/4 x 3
4-1/4 x 113-3/4 x 10 2-1/2 x 3-1/2 2-1/4 x 3-1/4
4-1/2 x 11 4 x 10 2-1/2 x 3-3/4 2-1/4 x 3-1/2
4-3/4 x 11 4-1/4 x 10 2-1/2 x 4 2-1/4 x 3-3/4
5 x 11 4-1/2 x 10 2-1/2 x 4-1/4 2-1/4 x 4

Score or fold the 10 and 11 inch pieces in half lengthwise. Next score or fold one half in half again.

Score Guide

ItemScore 1Score 2
Front (10″ Long)2-1/25
Back/Base (12″ Long)2-3/45-1/2

Watch the video for assembly tips, tips to make the most of your materials and learn from my mistakes.

Tools and Materials



      Prices subject to change. As participants in affiliate programs, we may earn small commissions on products and services linked in our blog/website. There is NO additional cost to you however it gives us a boost and allows us to continue to provide you with easy link access to items we use. We are participants in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the Cricut affiliate program. An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to products and service of affiliated sites.

You may also like these ideas:

Gnomes · Christmas · Feature · Holiday · MainelyDIY Full Disclosure · Other Crafts · Sew-Quilt

Gnomes Really Do Grow on Trees

Gnomes are good luck. Some live underground and protect the ground, especially minerals and buried treasures. Others protect gardens and livestock. And the special woodland gnomes protect the forest. They have become so integral to tree live that they literally grow from the trees and are attired with buffalo plaid hats.

Don’t believe me? Check it out for yourself!

Print pattern full sized on 8 1/2″ by 11″ paper. Can’t sew? Use glue from hat as an alternative.



      Prices subject to change. As participants in affiliate programs, we may earn small commissions on products and services linked in our blog/website. There is NO additional cost to you however it gives us a boost and allows us to continue to provide you with easy link access to items we use. We are participants in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the Cricut affiliate program. An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to products and service of affiliated sites.

Gnomes · Christmas · Feature · MainelyDIY Full Disclosure · Paper Crafts

Get over 25 Bonus Images

plus Gnome for the Holidays Reveal

You found the perfect card stock or paper package. Using this cool tip I was able to get nearly 30 extra images from my package. And if you would like to see just what comes in the featured pack, then look no further.

Did you see the ceramic blade I used of cutting? I absolutely love these. They last almost forever. You can go from paper to quilting cloth with ever changing the blade. And it is really hard to cut yourself but accident.



      Prices subject to change. As participants in affiliate programs, we may earn small commissions on products and services linked in our blog/website. There is NO additional cost to you however it gives us a boost and allows us to continue to provide you with easy link access to items we use. We are participants in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the Cricut affiliate program. An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to products and service of affiliated sites.

Gnomes · Christmas · Greeting Cards · MainelyDIY Full Disclosure · Paper Crafts

From Our Gnome to Yours- Dollar Tree Inspired

If you are in love with ever popular gnomes, join the club. These mystical woodland creatures and they love to be shared. What better way than through handmade greeting cards. But where can you find a ton of gnome images to work with AND at a cheap price? Look no further than your local Dollar Tree. While this video is not on card making, we’ve shared some of ours.

Love to see and share yours projects using these gnomes



      Prices subject to change. As participants in affiliate programs, we may earn small commissions on products and services linked in our blog/website. There is NO additional cost to you however it gives us a boost and allows us to continue to provide you with easy link access to items we use. We are participants in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the Cricut affiliate program. An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to products and service of affiliated sites.

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MainelyDIY Full Disclosure · Christmas

Beautiful Homemade Porcelain Ornaments

You can create some simple yet stunning porcelain like ornaments made form homemade clay. You likely already have everything you need on hand. Plus I will share some extra tips for success. Come along and join me.

To make your clay you will need 16 oz bottle of white glue – I used Elmer’s glue, 1 cup of cornstarch, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 tablespoon of mineral oil. Mineral oil works well to keep the clay nice and bright white.

      Prices subject to change. As participants in affiliate programs, we may earn small commissions on products and services linked in our blog/website. There is NO additional cost to you however it gives us a boost and allows us to continue to provide you with easy link access to items we use. We are participanta in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the Cricut affiliate program. An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to products and service of affiliated sites.

Stir the ingredients to mix them in a cooking pan. Cook on stove top on low while constantly stirring until it forms dough similar to mashed bread.

Remove it from heat. Once dough is cool enough to handle, knead the dough until smooth. Split off working size piece of dough and put remaining piece in container, cover with plastic wrap and add lid. You don’t want to let dough dry out.

Roll dough out to between 1/8 and 1/4 inches thickness. Cut out shape with cookie cutter. Then press dough onto decorative textures surface such as cut glass. If you like you can reverse the order of these last two steps.

Tip: Larger ornaments are more subject to warping. Keep reading to see how to correct warping.

Use a straw to cut hanging hole for your ornament. Be careful not to cut hole too close to the edge of the ornament.

Knead and roll-out scrap dough. Then create more ornaments.

Tip: Cracks will NOT heal so make sure dough is smooth.

Get creative with your shapes and cookie cutters. A biscuit cutter can work well. Cans are often too large and lead toward warping. Narrow glass jars are on option.

Tip: Look for creative ways to use what you have.

Looking at things from a different prospective can have some unexpected yet innovative results. For instance, I wanted to make a dove but did not have a cookie cutter to make one. However, I did have a ghost cookie cutter. I cut out my dough, turned in over so the ghost face was on the back, turn the design 90 degrees and VIOLA! I have a beautiful dove.

Lay out your ornaments on a flat surface on their backs to dry for a few days. There will be some shrinkage. If you see some warping during drying, flip them over. Just make sure any textures you have created is hard enough to withstand the flipping. Do not use any weigh on the ornaments as it will impair them from drying and can ruin the details of a design.

Tip: Use your microwave to correct warping.

Put a glass of water in microwave and heat until the water is steamy. Add one ornament to the microwave with the steamy water and heat checking every few seconds until the ornament is pliable enough to reshape it. Once flattened, place on heavy object on top until it dries again. Use a piece of waxed paper or parchment paper between object and ornament to prevent them from sticking. This trick is not a 100% but certainly worth a try.

Tip: Use an emery board to sand any rough edges.

Only thing left to do is add a hanger, hang them up and Enjoy!