Make a trendy Flocked Nutcracker to add to your festive holiday decor!
Nutcrackers have become all the rage this holiday season - flocked nutcrackers even more so! I've seen them everywhere, from craft stores to home decor stores, and think they are so much fun. They have that vintage vibe, but look so chic. While I was shopping for other projects, I spotted an unfinished wooden nutcracker and decided to try making one of my own flocked nutcrackers to add to my holiday decor. This Flocked Nutcracker was easy to create, and the velvety finish is smooth and, most importantly, stays in place!
To make your own DIY Flocked Nutcracker, you will need these supplies:
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Because the nutcracker has so many nooks and crannies, I took some of the parts off to make the flocking process easier. The arms and drum have little pegs that attach to the body, so remove those carefully. The hat popped off with a little bit of pressure. I left the drumsticks in place.
Once the pieces are separated, use some sandpaper to smooth out any rough areas.
The Velvet Crush Flocking Kit comes with two bottles: a tinted adhesive and flocking fiber powder. Use a paint brush to cover all of the nutcracker parts with an even coat of the tinted adhesive. It has the consistency and coverage of acrylic paint, and wipes clean while wet the same way.
Allow the paint to dry for about an hour. I only needed one coat of paint for full coverage, but if you want to add another coat, just make sure this first coat is completely dry before adding another.
Next, move all of the pieces to a scrap piece of paper or even a newspaper to cover your workspace. Either way, you want your workspace completely covered for easy clean-up after this step! Any spilled flocking powder can be poured back into the container to be used again on your next project.
Start with one piece and apply a thicker coat of the tinted adhesive to one section of the wood. For example, I started with the hat piece and painted a layer of paint over the top section only. While the paint is freshly applied, open the bottle of flocking powder. Squeeze it gently to blow the powder over the wet paint. Apply a generous amount of powder, and make sure to cover all of the paint.
Don't tap off any excess powder yet. Set the piece aside to dry and start the process again on another nutcracker piece.
After about 30 minutes to one hour of drying time, you can pick the flock-covered piece up and gently tap off the excess powder. Be warned (again) that the powder will get messy, but cleans up easily.
Once the excess powder has been removed, you can run your finger over the area to feel the velvety finish without having any powder come off on your fingers - which I was really surprised about!
Since the body of the nutcracker is a larger piece, just work in sections adding paint and then covering in flocking powder until the entire piece is covered. Allow the nutcracker to dry for about an hour before tapping off the excess powder.
Once the paint has had plenty of time to dry, you can reassemble the nutcracker. Add a small drop of strong adhesive to the end of the pegs on the arms and drum, then put them back into place on the nutcracker's body. Last, but not least, add some adhesive to the top of the head and put the hat back on. Give the adhesive plenty of time to set.
Now you have your very own custom-flocked nutcracker to put on display this holiday season! Even though this project is a bit messy, it's such a fun Christmas craft to do with friends. I love how this nutcracker turned out, and would love to hear what you think! As always, if you make any of these projects for yourself, I'd love to see your creations! Tag me on Instagram and Facebook, or leave a comment/photo on the project pin on Pinterest!
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