last year I saw these cute geometric nutcrackers on Emily Henderson’s instagram post.
and it stayed with me…a whole year in fact! So when Elmer’s asked if I wanted to try out their new glue sticks (less mess!!) I knew this project would be perfect!
Here’s what you need:
ruler
pen
sharp knife
So since it’s geometric…it was all pretty straight lines! (the X was the hardest part!) I grabbed my metal ruler and a sharp knife to help be slice through the foam board. Drew out what I wanted sizewise and pretty much just looked at the picture for a guide!
I used a sharpie to mark my design–so I knew the opposite non sharpie side would be the top! Just sliced along the ruler with knife! (a nice sharp blade will cut through it like butter!)Â 
Then It was time to make the frame…(You could easily just use a painted piece a wood or a store bought frame with fun patterned paper or fabric behind it! I did a stain on one side and black on the other (because I’m indecisive…and I cut two of everything for the nutcracker in case I messed up!)
After the frame is assembled…(oh! have a big fat tutorial for you about how to make these frames!)
Grab all your nutcracker pieces and lay out exactly where you want it..
and….time to hot glue!
Now…let’s talk about these glue sticks…less mess (IE no strings!) those “glue gun hairs” are the bane of my existence. I get super excited about Halloween because I just leave all those stupid strings and pretend they are cobwebs and part of the craft! I knew with this black board and white foam–any strings would be totally noticeable! and guess what–it was awesome. Seriously there wasn’t one string  I had to pick off!
I just took off each piece of the nutcracker (starting from the top) and gluing each piece in place! 
I loved how he turned out! (this is the wood stain side…I like them both! can’t decide!)
I love how the foam pops out of the wood–looks like I spent pain staking hours cutting him out of wood! I want to make another one and covered it in gold washi tape! 
Make sure to check out my other fun Christmas crafts:
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