Clothespin People Holiday Ornaments

by JOANN |

Item # 392115075P360

Intermediate Varies

Prep components that need to be painted first.
Wood Arms: Cut arms from 1/8" wood rods. Use craft blade to cut 3/4"-1" segments by scoring rod with blade and rolling rod under the blade several times. Snap off segment when deeply scored. Sand ends. Arms can be painted or wrapped in yarn, fabric, or felt. If wrapping arms, cover generously with glue. Roll tightly into a strip of fabric cut to same dimensions as arm or wrap tightly with yarn. Allow glue to cure before attaching to body.

Paint head, hair, arm segments and clothes onto pin as desired. Use painter’s tape to mask off areas where a sharp edge is needed. Allow paint to dry thoroughly. Attach poms to end of arm segments with glue.

Assemble accessories and attach with glue.
Paper arms and scarf: Use pattern to cut out components from scrapbooking paper. Fold arms as marked and attach with glue. For scarf fringe, use embroidery floss. Cut off approx 2" lengths of several threads. Gather and fold in half. Glue folded end between ends of scarf. Hold ends of scarf together for at least one minute until glue is sealed or allow to dry underneath a weighted object. Trim fringe as desired.

Fabric/felt Caps: Cut 2 pieces using cap pattern from felt or fabric. Sew around short edge and diagonal edges. Flip fabric. Trim open edge to desired length. Add small strip of felt trim to bottom and pom to top with glue. Attach floss/wire used for hanging ornament before gluing hat to head. Thread one end of floss/wire through eyelet hook, then thread both ends of floss/wire through needle, pull floss/wire through peak of hat. Position hat as desired and glue in place. Tie off floss or twist wire loop closed to hang ornament.

Knit caps: Cut off finger from knit gloves at base. Roll or fold end up to top of finger to create cap. Attach with glue to head, add pom or other trim to top. Neck wraps can also be created by cutting off finger tip and rolling finger segment.

Ear muffs: Use large gauge wire. Unwind small segment. Allow natural curve to create arch of ear muff head band. Press ends together gently or pull apart to adjust width of head band. Cut ends to desired length with wire snippers. Pierce poms with ends of wire to create fuzzy part of ear muffs. Position on painted head as desired and attach with glue.

Eyeglasses: Use large gauge wire. Create a 360 degree loop on round jewelry pliers. Create second loop in opposite direction next to first loop. Trim wire ends. Attach with glue.

Necktie: Cut necktie pattern piece from fabric or paper. Fold top over, back to back. Fold top over again, in opposite direction to create top of tie. Glue folds closed and attach tie to body with glue.

Fabric/felt sweaters/shirts: cut length of fabric or felt to desired height of shirt. Cover area on clothespin where shirt will be attached with glue. Place body in center of fabric strip on the wrong side. Pull both ends of fabric strip together, holding tightly where fabric meets around circumference of body. Hold for at least one minute while glue cures. Allow to dry throughly and then trim excess ends. Add buttons, rhinestones etc as desired. Use small strips of fabric or felt to create trim around neck or base of sweater/shirt.

Braid: Gather several inches of embroidery floss. Fold in half. Using another strand of floss, tie off top loop about 3/4" down. Glue loop to top of head. Spread out strands while glue is still wet for full coverage. When glue dries, divide loose strands into 3 segments and braid. Tie off end of braid with extra floss. Trim tail as desired.

Pine trees: Cut desired length of 1/8" wood rod for tree trunk. Insert into wood, turning knob. Starting from top, wrap chenille stem around trunk. Continue to wrap stem around trunk, increasing number of loops as you approach the bottom to create pine tree shape. Add bows, rhinestones, poms etc. as desired for decoration. Create paper/fabric/felt bows from long, thin strips of paper/fabric/felt. Attach with glue. When arms are attached to body and fully cured, attach tree to hands with glue.

Wreath: Wrap chenille stem around small cylinder such as a glitter tube or paint bottle to create initial ring. Wrap chenille stem around ring until wreath is desired fullness. Add embellishments with glue as desired. Create paper/fabric/felt bows from long, thin strips of paper/fabric/felt. When arms are attached to body and fully cured, attach wreath to hands with glue.

Gift box: Cut and score box pattern from scrapbooking paper. Fold into box shape and glue down all flaps. Add embroidery thread bow, bells etc. to embellish gift. Glue gift to hands after box is cured and decorated.

Wire holiday lights: Use flexible wire to create light strand. Wrap and twist wire tightly around base of one leg. Trim excess. Shape wire in loops around body and arms. Glue top end to back of body. Hold wire for several minutes to fully cure. Put dots of glue where lights are desired. Allow glue dots to get tacky, then apply rhinestones. After glue is fully dried, add an additional dot of glue to back of rhinestones for extra security.

Aleene’s craft glue is recommended. Allow glue to become tacky up to several minutes before attaching items. Be sure glue is fully cured before adding additional elements. For example, allow hands to fully dry to arms before gluing arms to body. Glue can be cured more quickly with hair dryer on cool setting.

Plan out which elements will be painted first, then mix and apply paint in one session, so colors do not need to be remixed. Two coats of paint is recommended for full opacity.

Eyelet hooks can be screwed in without drilling a hole first, but it is highly recommended to insert eyelet hook as the first step after painting. When paint is fully dry, brace clothespin against hard surface, and turn beneath eyelet hook. When the screw threads catch, you can turn eyelet screw in by hand or use jewelry pliers.