It’s time to reveal my gem-covered nutcrackers! I’m excited to share how they turned out. It took some time to get them completely covered in flatback gems, but the work was worth it.
To review, I bought these wooden nutcrackers on sale after Christmas at Michael’s Craft Store. I originally wanted to place them on either side of my front door, but since finishing them, I’ve decided to place them on either side of the French doors that lead to my family room. Even though I painted a protective coating over the paint, I don’t want to risk all my hard work being ruined by the weather. Massachusetts gets a variety of weather in December, including snow, rain, cold and even heat sometimes. So, the nutcrackers will stay safely inside with me.
The majority of the flatback gems I used for this project were a size 12, but I did use some smaller gems to fill in gaps. I used Beadland rhinestones and flatback pearls. I found buying the rhinestones and pearls on Amazon was cheaper than getting them at the craft store, plus there is more variety of color and sizes online. You will need several packs for a project this large. I suggest combining the bags of same-color rhinestones before you begin. You can notice a slight color difference in the green hat of Luigi. I attribute that to small differences in the color between each bag.
For the green, I used emerald and for the red I used Light Siam. The boots, hair, beard & mustache were covered in the color Jet Hematite.
I used tiny flat-back pearls to define the nutcracker’s arms and legs. The pearls made the nutcrackers look much more dapper. I used larger pearls for the coat trim.
The glue I used to adhere all the gems was LiquidFusion heavy duty. I find this glue really holds the gems and it also dries relatively quickly. I also like to use a Diamond Dotz applicator with some wax on the tip to add the gems. The applicator really helps to make applying so many gems easy.
Some might give me a sideways glance at the number of rhinestones and the amount of time it took to add them all. I won’t lie, it was tedious, but I actually enjoy repetitive crafts like this one. Life’s been busy with work and family, but I found adding all these gems was a great way to zonk out and let my mind rest. I set my craft table up in front of the TV and watched re-runs of Sister Wives and Dog the Bounty Hunter while I added gem after gem. I love my reality junk TV, and I found working on these nutcrackers made me feel a little less guilty over watching TV after work. There’s always time to craft.
It took about a month and a half to complete both nutcrackers. I find when I’m loving a craft, the work moves much quicker. The nutcrackers are identical except for the main colors, and I wanted to make the scepters they carry uniform, so the two pieces made a nice set. I left the ball on top of the scepter for last because I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I wanted to somehow include all the colors of the scepter into it but also break the colors up so they were not all jumbled together. Since the flatback pearls came in a variety of sizes, I decided to place a few of the different sizes around the gems. The varying sizes and color give the scepter dimension and texture, and I really like how it turned out.
I hope this craft inspires you to look at all the wooden pieces at the craft store in a different light. There are endless possibilities to create something unique and beautiful. Paint, gems, pearls are only a few options. Maybe even fabric could work. Thinking outside the box is what crafting is all about. Happy crafting!
The Quaint Crafter 