Make a Super Easy Nutcracker Prince

By Naturally Savvy

Nutcrackers are a holiday tradition for many. Whether you head to the ballet every December, watch one of the many nutcracker movies, or just display brightly colored nutcrackers in your home, it's a tradition that even the kids can get in on with a simple craft project.

Making a nutcracker is really simple and a great way to make use of leftover craft supplies to reduce waste. All you need are five small clay flower pots, and some basic craft supplies: felt remnants, a bit of gold ribbon and black ribbon, a few small gold buttons or rhinestones, and some craft paint.

The clay flower pots can be as big or small as you like, but the most kid-friendly are the pots with a 2.5-inch diameter at the top because they're big enough that smaller kids can paint with ease and small enough that kids don't get bored half-way through the project.

Start the day before by gluing the pots together. With smaller kids, you may want to assemble the pots on your own, but bigger kids can do it with a little guidance. Basically you just want to stack them end to end. Place one pot upside down and apply craft glue to the bottom. Place the second pot, right side up this time, on top of the first pot, lining up the bottoms. Apply glue to the top edge of the rim of the third pot and place it atop of the second pot so they are rim to rim. Apply glue to the bottom of the third pot and place the fourth pot on top, right side up. And finally, apply glue to the rim of the fifth pot and place it upside down on top of the fourth pot.

Once the five pots are glued together, you have the basic form: the bottom two pots are the legs, the middle pot is the torso, the fourth pot is the head and the top pot is the hat. While the glue will dry in a few hours, it's best to allow the glue to cure overnight.

The next day, get out your craft supplies. For small kids, you can pre-cut the material and ribbon so there are no accidents. You'll need:

two arms* -- about 3 inches by 5/8 of an inch two white mittened hands -- 1 inch from wrist to fingertips a white collar -- 7 inches by 5/8 of an inch a black belt -- 10 inches by 5/8 of an inch a small white square of fabric for a belt buckle -- 3/4 inch by 5/8 inch a black semi-circular flap for the brim of the hat -- about 2 inches across the straight edge

*The arms should be in a felt that's the same color as the coat, so you may need to cut the arms during a break after the painting is done.

You also need a 5-inch length of thin black ribbon for the chin strap, and a 10-inch length of gold ribbon for decoration on the hat. Gold rhinestones or small buttons can also be glued on the front as coat buttons.

Before you begin, show your child pictures or nutcrackers or your collection of nutcrackers for inspiration and guidance. Ultimately, however, let them be the final judge on color choices.

Start with paint. Work from the top down so any drips of paint don't ruin what's already done. Paint the top pot and the rim of the second pot in the color your child chooses for the hat, and paint a face on the rest of the second pot. Older kids may also want to paint hair on the sides and back of the second pot.

Paint the third pot and the top rim of the fourth pot in the color your child has chosen for the coat. Traditionally, the coat and hat are the same color, but let your child be creative.

The remainder of the fourth and fifth pots can be painted in the color your child chooses for the pants (traditionally white). The rim of the bottom pot should, however, be painted black for the feet.

Clean up the paints and take a break for an hour or two to let the paint dry thoroughly.

When applying the fabric elements, help your child by guiding placement and trimming felt ends.

Start by gluing the belt over the seam between the third and fourth pots (all references are from the top), starting and ending at the center of the front. Glue the belt buckle over the spot where the belt ends meet to hide the seam.

Next, glue the arms on the sides of the nutcracker, followed by the mittens.

Before you put glue on the backside of the collar, fold the strip in half and cut the bottom corner from the fold; when you open the collar up, this will create two collar points. Glue the collar over the bases of the second and third pots, covering up the joint. The points of the collar should be centered below the face, and the seam should be in the back.

Glue the hat brim to the top edge of the second pot, so that it hangs down slightly over the face (if the circle looks too deep, you can trim it back at the end).

Glue one end of the black chin strap ribbon to the left side of the top edge of the second pot, and loop it down around the front and glue the other end to the top edge of the second pot on the right side. Finish off the hat by gluing the gold ribbon around the seam between the first and second pot, also covering the top edges of the hit brim and the chin strap.

To give your nutcracker a little pizzaz, glue two or three gold rhinestones or shiny gold buttons down the center of the middle pot for jacket buttons. If you don't have buttons or rhinestones, you could also glue a length of gold ribbon down the center.

Let everything dry and then put it on display -- or wrap it as a gift for grandma and grandpa!