I have a confession to make. Actually, it’s more of an over-admission. I love gnomes. When I am out on my morning walk, their little faces peering up from seemingly random places always make me smile. They are magical folk who bring delight and adventure wherever they go! Sometimes they hide in the oddest places. I thought it would be fun to get some ideas on how to hide your garden gnomes in creative ways.
Best of all? You don’t have to go out and buy a special doll house. If you happen to have one lying around the house, you can use that. Otherwise, keep reading for five creative ways to hide your garden gnomes!
1) Use Trunks or Hollow Logs as Gnome Houses
One of the most interesting ways to hide garden gnomes is to use hollow logs or old chests as their homes. It can’t be just any old trunk, though. Try to find one that is long and narrow for you gnome family. Otherwise, this DIY project is quite simple.
You’ll need:
- Log or trunk (the longer and narrower, the better)
- Hammer and nails (to hammer nails into the wood & to hang your house on a tree)
- Your garden gnomes!
Step 1: Find a log that will fit both your gnomes and their accessories comfortably. The inside should be hollowed out to make room for your little people and their things.
Step 2: Nail the log or trunk closed so that it forms a house shape. This, of course, will only work if both sides are open to begin with.
Step 3: Decorate! I used vines to tie the trunk closed and green burlap to line it. You can paint your gnomes or whatever accessories you wish too.
Step 4: Hang the gnome house on a tree! Just use some nails and rope to hang it, like so:
2) Garden Gnome Chairs & Umbrella Tables
Speaking of trees, this is one way to keep your garden gnomes close while still giving them their own space. Simply picture your yard like you’re drawing it, but instead of drawing in a bench, add a chair (or two!) for your gnomes. You can even get creative and use some old wheelbarrows or flowerpots as chairs too! Just make sure your little people don’t roll away.
The other way to do this is to use an umbrella table and chairs. The interesting thing about these tables is that the “chairs” can be chairs for your gnomes, or it could even be an actual bench! That’s because there are no backs on them. The possibilities are endless! You could also use a small plastic table and chairs like this for your gnomes, if you’re worried about something “sturdy” breaking.
3) Q-tip Gnomes
This is one of my favorite ways to hide a garden gnome. Just take a Q-tip and dip it in white glue. Then use it to paint your friend completely white. When the glue dries, give him some yellow flower petals for shoes and a red or green hat! You can also do this with toothpicks, if you don’t have Q-tips.
4) Flower Garden Gnome Homes
This is the perfect project for you if your yard is looking too colorful. This year, I decided to use red flowers in my flower beds (because they’re my favorite color). It was difficult to find a place for my garden gnomes to hide because of all the color. So, I decided to use them as part of the flowers themselves!
I used pvc pipe and cut it into smaller pieces so that each piece was about half a foot high. Then I filled each little “tomb” with potting soil and planted two petunias per tube. In no time, my little gnomes were living in the petunia garden!
You can also use this as a way to dress up your window box planters or even an old tire. Just make sure that if you put it inside your flower planter, you orientate it so that is looks like they’re standing up. You can even dress them up to look like they’re climbing the flowers, like so:
5) Jenga Gnomes
My final way to hide garden gnomes is with a little bit of patience. First, find out how tall your garden gnome actually is (normally between four and six inches). I used two inch foam balls for mine because they were cute and closer to the size of my gnomes. You’ll also need glue or hot glue and adhesive putty or a hot glue gun.
Start with your adhesive putty and roll it out so that it’s about as wide as your Jenga pieces are thick. Then, cut it into two inch long pieces (or longer). I made 55 pieces for each jenga tower, which was plenty! Next, use your hot glue or glue to attach the putty pieces one by one to a Jenga block until it’s completely covered. Now, you can paint your jenga tower whatever color you’d like and make sure that all of the putty seams are on the inside!
I painted these pink because I added a few extras, but you can paint them whatever color you want! I also sprayed mine with a clear sealant so that they would be outside-proof.
Once the towers are dry, just place your gnomes on top of them and stack away. Voila! Just don’t forget which one is hiding your friends so all the blocks don’t get mixed up!
You can’t hide your garden gnomes forever. Eventually, they will be discovered and you may have to come up with a new hiding spot. But before that happens, try one of these five creative ways!
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