CCC 2024 Day 18: Movable Nutcracker
Welcome to day eighteen of the 2024 Christmas Craft Countdown, where I’m sharing 20 festive themed Cricut papercraft projects in 20 days.
Today’s project was inspired by one of the projects from my Halloween Craft Countdown earlier in the year.
For one of those projects, we made a giant movable skeleton and that was the most downloaded project of the whole Countdown and it’s also the one I received the most emails, comments and photographs of.
So I thought… what can we do for Christmas that has a similar theme? And then it hit me: a nutcracker would be PERFECT for this type of craft!
We’ll cut out all the pieces from cardstock and then use split pins (or brads) to assemble them, creating a massive, movable nutcracker decoration.
With a hanging circle at the top, this nutcracker is perfect for displaying in a window or as a playful, festive toy for kids.
Whether you’re decorating for Christmas or just looking for a fun project, this giant nutcracker is sure to be a hit. Let’s get started!
This project is part of 2024's Christmas Craft Countdown.
Materials supply list
Here is a list of the materials that I used to make this project.
Please note that some of the links included in this article are affiliate links, which means that if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.
- Cricut machine
- Light blue Cricut cutting mat
- Coloured Card
- Glue (I like Bearly Art Glue and Collall)
- Brads/split pins (black ones work best)
This project is suitable for the following types of Cricut machine: Explore Air 2, Explore Air 3, Maker, Maker 3, Venture, Joy Xtra and Joy. You will need to make the design smaller to cut on the original Joy.
Foundation learning
If you're new to crafting with your Cricut, you may find the below links helpful.
They teach some of the skills mentioned throughout this tutorial.
- How to upload SVG files into Design Space
- How to make 3D layered Cricut projects
- The BEST way to frame papercraft projects
- How to mount multiple designs in the same frame with magic guides
- Hooks & stands to display papercrafts (or get extra fancy with easel stands!)
- How to score with a Cricut (even without scoring tools)
- Print then cut tutorial
- Design Space tools (Combine, Attach, Slice, Weld, Flatten, etc.)
- Pattern fill tutorial (for making backgrounds & cutting images to a specific shape/size)
- Free envelope SVGs that can be sized to fit any card, plus how to write the addresses with the Cricut
- Free presentation boxes for thicker greetings cards
- How to write inside cards with Cricut pens
- How to cut layered designs at a small size
- Design Space tips & tricks
- Cricut pens tutorial
Video tutorial
Watch the video below to see how to make this project. Keep scrolling for a written tutorial.
Written tutorial (with photos!)
Here’s how to make a Christmas nutcracker using a Cricut machine.
Step 1) Download the cutting file & upload to Design Space
Download the files using the box below.
Purchase the File(s)
This cut file is available as part of the
Instant Access Bundle.
Or, purchase this design individually from my SVG shop
Before you upload the SVG to Design Space, you need to unzip the download folder that it comes in.
- How to unzip a folder on Windows computer
- How to unzip a folder on a Mac
- How to unzip a folder on an iPad/iPhone
- How to unzip a folder on an Android device
After unzipping, upload the SVG file into Cricut Design Space. This is the file which starts svg- in the filename.
Not sure how to do this? Here’s how to upload SVGs to Cricut Design Space. Make sure you upload the file which starts svg- in the filename!
Step 2) Size the design
At the point of making my nutcracker (Oct 2024) there’s a bug in Design Space that you’ll need to be aware of in case it’s not fixed by the time you come to make yours.
Despite the nutcracker SVG being designed at 28 inches tall, Design Space is automatically loading it in at a maximum of 24 inches.
Click the design on your canvas and use the width/height boxes near the top of the screen to make it the size that you want to cut. I put mine back to 28 inches tall and 11.5 inches wide.
TIP: Make sure the padlock icon above the width/height boxes is CLOSED before you resize. If it appears “open”, click it with your mouse to close it.
This size works well and means that your brads or split pins will sit in the holes nicely however, you can make your nutcracker considerably smaller and force the pins through.
Be careful if you make it too much larger than 28 inches tall though as that means the whole will get larger and they might end up bigger than your split pins.
Step 3) Cut out all the pieces
When you’re happy with how the project is looking in Design Space, click “Make” and follow the instructions on-screen to cut out all the pieces.
I used a gold mirror card for the yellow pieces to give the nutcracker a bit of shine and sparkle.
To change the paper size, go into the dropdowns over on the left side of the screen and choose the paper size that you want to use. You need to change it for every single colour.
To save space on your cardstock, you can move things around by clicking and dragging. Make sure when you’re moving things about that nothing overlaps because otherwise, it won’t cut out properly.
TIP: New to cutting cardstock with a Cricut? Check out this in-depth tutorial which goes through every step of the process, including tips for getting the best quality cuts from your Cricut.
Step 4) Glue the pieces together
Match up the coloured pieces with their corresponding black backing.
Some pieces have one colour to go on top of the black shapes and some have two or more. The face has the most pieces to build up the character in his features.
Use this guide to see the order to stick the layers together in.
A printable version of this assembly guide is included in the folder when you download the cut files.
My favourite glues to use on papercraft projects are Bearly Art Glue and Collall All Purpose Glue.
These are great because they don’t “warp” or bend the cardstock like some glues do. You can use as much of it as you want and the card stays perfect – and it dries perfectly clear too!
Bearly Art Glue comes with a tiny nozzle to make it easy to apply glue to small areas of card. The Collall glue doesn’t come with this, so it’s easiest to decant it into needle tip applicator bottles so that you have more control.
Step 5) Attach the pieces together
Use split pins (also known as brads) to join the body parts of the nutcracker together.
These are metal pins that come with two “legs” on them. Slot them through the holes in the nutcracker and then bend out the “legs” to hold the card in place.
Black split pins blend in best. If you don’t have black split pins then you can colour them with a Sharpie or similar, or even paint them, to make them black. Or, just use different coloured pins – it will still work exactly the same.
It’s easiest to start with the head and body.
Then you can put together the arms and legs.
Try to keep it consistent on each side of the body when deciding which joining circle to have on top when you come to secure the split pins.
Here’s how it looks with all the pieces connected. You can now move or bend him into any shape that you want!
Handmade nutcracker craft project
Once you’ve joined all the pieces together, your DIY nutcracker is finished and ready to start moving around!
I’m going to hang mine in the window to welcome my guests at Christmas time.
If you’re hanging your nutcracker in the window, you may wish to cut a mirrored version of the coloured pieces so that you can glue them to the back to make a “double-sided” nutcracker.
Happy crafting,
Sarah x