Materials:
- 1 clothespin
- green felt
- green paint
- paint brush
- 1 pair small wiggly eyes
- red permanent marker
- glue (or hot glue gun with glue stick)
- 1 silver pipe cleaner
- scissors
- Elf Hat, Coat, and Shoe Patterns, printed out
Instructions:
Step 1: Paint the “legs” or pegs of the clothespin green, then set it aside to dry. Make sure you get the brush in between the pegs, so the crevice is painted too. Paint clothespin to about 1/2 inch below the ball on top.
Step 2: While the paint is drying, cut out the Elf Hat, Coat, and Shoe Patterns. Trace 1 hat, 1 coat, and 4 shoes onto the green felt. Cut out the green felt along your traced lines. Set pieces aside.
Step 3: Cut the silver pipe cleaner to about 5 inches with wire cutters or heavy duty scissors.
Step 4: When the paint on the clothespin is completely dry, use craft glue (or a hot glue gun) to glue the pipe cleaner to the clothespin. Hold the clothespin so the pins are side by side like legs, and slide the pipe cleaner behind to glue it in place. The pipe should be horizontal to the pin and be sure to adhere the middle of the pipe cleaner to the painted clothespin about 1/2 inch down from the top ball.The pipe cleaner will be the arms of the elf, as shown below:
Step 5: Add the wiggly eyes to the front of the ball (head) of the clothespin elf.
Step 6: Use a permanent red marker to make a small mouth below the eyes.
Step 7: Once the glue on the pipe cleaner has completely dried, finish the elf coat: grab the piece of green felt you cut out in the shape of the elf coat. Use the Elf Coat Pattern to mark where the slits go on the coat. Cut the slits into the green felt with the scissors. Slide the pipe cleaner arms through the slits, putting the seam at the back of the elf. Squeeze a line of glue on the seam and close the coat along the seam. Use a straight pin to hold the shape as the glue dries.
Step 8: Make your elf hat: grab the piece of felt you cut for the elf hat. Squeeze a line of glue onto the seam, and close the hat at the seam, overlapping one edge over another, so the makes a cone shape. Secure the hat shape with a straight pin as the glue dries.
Step 9: Once the glue is dry, remove the straight pins from the elf’s coat and hat. Glue the hat to the top of the elf’s head.
Step 10: Use the remaining piece of the silver pipe cleaner to wrap around the base of the hat, and glue it in place.
Step 11: Grab the 4 elf shoe pieces you cut earlier (see Step 2). To make the first shoe, glue 2 shoe pieces to the bottom of a peg (leg), one on each side of the peg, then glue the toes together to form point of the shoe. Repeat the process for the other shoe on the other peg.
Step 12: Glue the elf’s shoes to the bottom of the clothespin, one on each side of each peg.
Step 13: Hang your elf ornament on the tree, you can even use his wire arms to hold small gifts or candy.
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