Transform simple dollar store plastic nutcrackers with a bit of paint and creativity to make your own high-end DIY antique gold nutcrackers.

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Dollar Store Plastic Nutcrackers

Have you seen these plastic nutcrackers at Dollar Tree this holiday season? They come in 5 different styles and bright colors that are most definitely NOT my style.

So I decided to give them a bit of a facelift with paint!

In this tutorial, I’ll guide you through the process, step by step, to create these beautiful and unique decor pieces. And I don’t think anyone would guess they started with dollar store items.

Video Tutorial

Watch this quick video to see how this craft came together:

DIY Antique Gold Nutcrackers

Yield: 5 nutcrackers

Active Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Difficulty: easy

Transform simple dollar store plastic nutcrackers with a bit of paint and creativity to make your own high-end DIY antique gold nutcrackers.

Materials

5 plastic nutcrackers, from Dollar Tree
black spray primer
rub-n-buff, antique gold color

Tools

tweezers and sandpaper block, for removing the faux hair from the statues
small paint brush

Instructions

Watch the video tutorial before you begin, and let that be your visual guide for this project.
Remove the faux hair. Rip off the faux hair fibers. You may need to sue tweezers to pull some of the smaller fibers. Sand away any remaining fibers.
Spray paint black. In a well-ventilated area, spray all surfaces with black spray primer. You will need to do multiple coats at different angles for complete coverage.
Paint gold. Apply a very small amount of rub-n-buff to a paint brush. Begin in a pouncing motion, until most of the paint is gone from the brush, and then work in back-and-forth brush strokes. Apply as much gold as you like, until you achieve the desired finish.
Display your DIY antique gold nutcrackers with your favorite Chirstmas decor.