How to Build a Life-Size Nutcracker

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Things You'll Need

  • 5 large flower pots (at least 4 inches deep)

  • Spray paint in black, red, beige and blue

  • Craft paints in black, red, gold and blue

  • Artists' paintbrushes

  • Clean hand towel

  • Water

Make a life-size nutcracker decoration out of flower pots.

One of the most popular kinds of Christmas decorations is the nutcracker figurine, the kind that looks like a crude wooden soldier or brightly colored head of state. Real nutcrackers are relatively small in size; if you want to decorate with one that's large enough to be recognized from a distance, you can make a life-size nutcracker figurine out of large flower pots. Put it on your porch for everyone to see and enjoy.

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Step 1

Lay newspaper out on a large, flat area such as a floor or driveway. Place all four flower pots on the newspaper.

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Step 2

Using a damp cloth, wipe the flower pots down to remove any dirt. They should be clean and dry before you begin to paint them.

Step 3

Spray-paint one of the flower pots completely black on the outside. Hold the can of spray paint about 6 inches from the pot. Allow the pot to dry for at least 30 minutes.

Step 4

Spray-paint one of the flower pots completely beige on the outside. Allow this pot to dry for at least 30 minutes.

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Step 5

Spray-paint the third flower pot red and the fourth and fifth flower pots blue. Allow each to dry for at least 30 minutes.

Step 6

Using the craft paints and clean artists' paintbrushes, paint the nutcracker's face on the beige flower pot. Look up pictures of nutcrackers online to get an idea of what the face should look like. Usually, nutcrackers are painted with mustachios, visible teeth (for cracking nuts) and red dots on their cheeks. Above the face, paint a semicircle in black that will represent the bill of the nutcracker's hat.

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Step 7

Paint gold buttons on the red flower pot using gold craft paint and an artist's paintbrush. There should be three or four large buttons running down one side of the pot.

Step 8

Stack the flower pots to form your life-size nutcracker. The two blue flower pots should go on bottom to form the legs. The flower pot on the very bottom should be upside down while the flower pot on top of it should be right-side-up. The red flower pot should goes on next, place it upside down over the right-side-up blue flower pot. This will make the nutcracker's shirt. The beige flower pot will come next, right-side-up. The flower pot on top will be the black one, and it will make the nutcracker's hat.

Tip

To make your nutcracker more secure, use hot glue to glue the flower pots together.

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