Cut your cardboard into the shape of a gnome's hat. It should have a flat bottom that's fairly straight on one side, with the other side curving up to a crooked point.We made our hat about 8 inches across the bottom and 16 inches tall. The left side gradually narrows and curves up to be about 2 inches across at the top.
Cover the cardboard with burlap. Fold the burlap up twice to create the bottom edge of the hat.
Flip both the burlap and cardboard over and arrange the burlap so that there's about 2 inches extra on one side.Add hot glue to the first few inches of cardboard.
Fold the burlap over, pushing it down and holding it in place over the glue.
Add some hot glue under where the hat is folded to keep that in place as well.
Glue the rest of the first side into place. Arrange the burlap, making sure it's not pulled too tightly, and leave enough to fold and glue this side as well. Cut off the extra fabric.
Glue this side of the hat into place. You may need to fold over or cut down the burlap at the top so that it doesn't go over the other side of the hat.
Tie a piece of twine into a looped hanger. The exact length of twine will depend on where you hang your gnome, but we recommend cutting a piece at least 12 inches long.
Attach the hanger to the back of the wreath with a generous amount of hot glue.
Step 3: Stuff and decorate the hat
Once the glue is dry, turn the hat over and stuff it with a bit of bubble wrap to give it some dimension.You can add a bit of glue to keep the bubble wrap in place, if needed.
Add a bit of hot glue to the back of an artificial leaf.
Press the leaf into place on the hat. We added ours just above the folded brim.
Then add a faux flower to the hat, layering it on top of the leaf.
Add some faux berries to the hat, sticking out from behind the flower.We stuck the wires through the burlap and then added a generous amount of hot glue on top of the stems to keep them in place.
Step 4: Attach the gnome's beard
To make the gnome's beard, start with a whole sprig of fall leaves.
Stick the stem up inside the hat and then add a lot of hot glue over top of the stems, near the bottom of the cardboard.Hold the leaves in place for several minutes to keep them in place while the glue dries.
Add larger leaves into the gaps by twisting the wires around the other leaf stems.
Keep attaching extra leaves until you have a full looking beard. Fluff and adjust the leaves as you work.
Step 5: Make and attach the gnome's nose
Cut one of the toes off a pair of pantyhose and then make another cut about 4 to 5 inches down.
Set the styrofoam ball on top of the pantyhose and tie it around the ball, making sure all the white is covered on the front and sides of the ball.
Add hot glue to the back of the nose.
Attach the nose into place in the center of the beard, just below the hat.