DIY Repurposed Outdoor Yard Decor
by alanhatch in Outside > Backyard
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DIY Repurposed Outdoor Yard Decor
These whimsical little elf like creatures were made from some left over wooden fence posts I had on hand. I recently rebuilt a part of my back yard fence and had a leftover wood post. I knew I wanted to do something with it but was not quite sure what I wanted. The end result I think turned out awesome and was a perfect addition to that little part of the yard that had nothing in it.
I repurpose everything somehow whether it's making something old new again or using my creativity for some new art, or decorations. I am always on the look out for new and exciting things to create, something that really get me going. This project used materials that were already on hand and some felt sheets that I bought for less than .28 cents each. In all this little décor project cost less than 5.00 to make.
You can see more of my creations on my website
Materials Needed
- Old Wood Post Different Lengths
- Old Shirts Or Fabric Different Colors
- Acrylic Paint Red, Black, White
- 3- 1/2 Wooden Plug
Hardware Needed
Glue Gun
Saw to cut wood lengths
hammer
4-finish nails for each character
Paint Brushes Assorted Sizes
Marker or Pencil
Scissors
Make the Eyes
With a pencil or marker make some eyes on your log Fig1.
Draw a small almost oval through the middle of the eye about half way down
Using some white acrylic paint fill in the upper part of the eye on each eye and let dry
refer to fig 2. to see how
using some of the black acrylic paint, fill in the lower half of the eye and trace around the white using a thin brush
mark the eyebrows with black paint
Make the Mouth
About 1 1/4" inch below the bottom of the eye draw the mouth with a pencil fill in the mouth area with black paint fig. 1 let dry
Make the Hands
Take a felt sheet that you can purchase at craft stores or wherever they sell crafts and with some scissors make a right hand and a left hand for your character
place the right hand about half way down on the right side and the left hand on the left side using hot glue to stick to the wood post once your hand is on tack it on using a finish nail and hammer on the end toward the back of each hand
Add Clothing
I made hats for these guys by taking a piece of square cloth and meeting the two ends together
Take your hot glue gun and run a beed along each edge
For the top of the hat bring all the extra cloth together and tie it shut with a rubber band
turn inside out and fold up the bottom to make a collar
put on your character
using some hot glue tack it on the back of the wood
use a finish nail to tack on the back.
I use finish nails because these will be going outside and I don't want high winds to remove the clothing or the arms
Take an extra long piece of 2" wide fabric and make a scarf or a tie or whatever else you'd like to make
I think a bowtie would look really good on these charcters
tack on with hot glue gun and a finish nail in the back
Add the Nose
Paint your wood plug with red acrylic paint and let dry
put your nose for your character between the center of the eyes and mouth using hot glue
Your project is finished display in that location that needs a little extra something