Hello creative friends! Today we’re sharing the how-to instructions for making a fun outdoor evergreen gnome planter using cut greenery, an inverted tomato cage and some other DIY gnome accessories.
DIY Outdoor Evergreen Gnome
Using whatever supplies we had at home, my mom and I created this fun outdoor evergreen gnome for my front porch. Although I typically arrange a traditional foraged evergreen planter, I love how my gnome planter joyfully greets me as I come home each day!
Are you wondering where to get or how to make the gnome hat? Well I have the tutorial for that as well down below! Although I used my sewing machine, you can get the same result by using a hot glue gun to sew the hat edges together.
More Gnome Crafts to Make at Home
Obsessed with gnomes? Well we sure are! Previously we shared how to make these DIY gnome ornaments, a wine bag with gnomes and this easy no sew gnome decor. We’ve even added these gnome wine bottle toppers to our Etsy shop.
Materials Needed
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- Planter Pot
- Tomato Cage
- Soil
- Rocks
- Fresh cut greenery (we used a mix of cedar and juniper greens)
- Crafting Wire
- Fabric (cut in a long cone shape)
- White Pom pom (or make your own like we did, learn how here)
- Christmas ornament (in a neutral color or in light gold)
How to Make an Outdoor Evergreen Gnome Decor
Fill the planter pot with soil.
Invert the tomato cage and place the cage in the planter pot. Line the planter pot with rocks to keep the cage in place and to give the pot some extra weight.
Tape or tie with wire the ends of the tomato cage together to form a point.
Start adding the greenery staring at the bottom of the cage. Use the wire to fasten the greenery to the tomato cage. Be sure to secure the branches securely to avoid them falling off or loosening.
Continue this working your way up to the top of the point until the cage is completely covered with the greenery. As you finish, the shape of the gnome will form with a wider base and narrower top.
Making the Gnome Hat
Now that the base of the evergreen gnome is ready, it’s time to create the hat. To be sure the hat would fit, I measured around the circumference of the evergreen gnome part way down from the top point. That measurement is what I made the width of the cone shape. As for the height, I just did that by eye, making the height longer than the width to create a long cone shape.
At the sewing machine, fold the cone with right sides together so that the long edges are aligned and sew them together from the top of the cone to the bottom of the cone. As I mentioned above, you can also glue these long edges together if you’re not keen on sewing.
Turn the prepared hat right side out and poke the point out fully. Sew (or glue) a pom-pom to the top of the hat. To make your own pom-pom, check out our pom-pom making tutorial here.
Now that the hat is finished, place it on top of the gnome evergreen base and fasten a round tree ornament just underneath the base of the hat for the gnome nose.
I had planned to paint the large sized rocks in a black paint to resemble a pair of gnome shoes but haven’t yet got around to it.
More Planter Ideas and Decor
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DIY Outdoor Evergreen Gnome Decor
Materials
- Planter Pot
- Tomato Cage
- Soil
- Rocks
- Fresh Cut Greenery cedar and juniper
- Crafting Wire
- Fabric Cut in a cone shape
- White Pom pom
- Hot glue gun or sewing machine for making the gnome hat
- Christmas ornament in a neutral color or gold
Instructions
- Fill the planter pot with soil.
- Invert the tomato cage and place the cage in the planter pot. Line the planter pot with rocks to keep the cage in place and to give the pot some extra weight.
- Tape or tie with wire the ends of the tomato cage together to form a point.
- Start adding the greenery staring at the bottom of the cage. Use the wire to fasten the greenery to the tomato cage.
- Continue this until the cage is completely filled in with the greenery.
Making the Gnome Hat
- Measure the circumference of the evergreen gnome part way down. This measurement will be the width of the cone. Make the length 1.5x the width of the cone. Mark the cone on the fabric and cut out.
- Fold the cone in half with right sides together aligning the long edges. Join the long edges with a sewing machine or hot glue gun.
- Turn the prepared hat right side out and attach a pom-pom to the top.
- Place the hat on top of the evergreen gnome.
- Secure an ornament just below the base of the hat to finish.