How to Build a Life-Sized Nutcracker

Make a giant nutcracker using household supplies.

When you are celebrating the winter season with children, you can make the holidays more exciting and memorable by making a seasonal craft. For example, make a giant, life-sized nutcracker using items that can be found around the house or purchased from an arts and crafts supply store. The life-sized nutcracker can be used as a greeter at your front door, or it can stand whimsically at attention at the Christmas tree in your living room.

Things You'll Need

• Hot glue stick
• Hot glue gun
• Cardboard boxes,3 ft. square
• Poster tubes
• Masking tape
• Paper mache pulp
• Flour
• Salt
• Bowl
• Newspaper
• Acrylic paint, colored
• Paintbrush
• Faux fur fabric, black
• Scissors
• Measuring tape
• Tacky glue

Instructions

1. Insert a hot-glue stick into a hot-glue gun, and then plug the hot-glue gun into a wall outlet to heat up for five minutes.

2. Squeeze a line of hot glue around the top edge of a cardboard box, then press a second cardboard box on top of it. Line up the edges, and allow the hot glue to cool for five minutes.

3. Repeat to glue together five boxes into a vertical stack. Allow the hot glue to cool for five minutes.

4. Squeeze a line of hot glue along a cardboard poster tube, and press the tube vertically along the side of the box stack. Repeat to glue a second poster tube opposite from the first. Allow the hot glue to cool for five minutes.

5. Paint the bottom two boxes black to represent the legs on a nutcracker's uniform. Allow the paint to dry for 20 minutes.

6. Paint the third box and tube arms white to represent the shirt on the nutcracker's uniform. Allow the paint to dry for 20 minutes.

7. Paint the fourth box pink or tan to represent the nutcracker's face. Allow the paint to dry for 20 minutes, and then paint a face onto the nutcracker using different colors of paint. Allow the face to dry for an additional 20 minutes.

8. Paint the top box black to represent the nutcracker's hat. Allow the paint to dry for 20 minutes.

9. Cut a rectangle from black faux-fur fabric using scissors to measure 3 ft. wide-by-12 ft. long. Apply tacky glue over the sides of the top black box, and wrap the faux fur around the box. Allow the glue to dry for 20 minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep hot glue out of the reach of children.

• Hot glue can cause serious burns on skin.

References

• Education: Shoe Box Robot