VBS Craft Set "Christmas Friends"

With these lovingly crafted figures made from slices of tree bark, you can create winter and Christmas decorations in no time at all. Whether it’s a snowman, a moose, or an elf—the natural materials, combined with felt, pompoms , and wooden balls , give these little figures a very special charm. These craft ideas are perfect for cozy, creative afternoons and also make for a lovely “ gift idea ” during the Advent season.

Using the bark slices, you can make two snowmen, two moose, and an elf.

In addition to the materials included in the set, you’ll also need: a hot glue gun, a paintbrush, and a pair of sharp scissors.

Templates for the figures made from tree bark slices:
For each figure, you’ll need:

1 = Elf. A = Coat (red), B = Nose (pink), C = Mustache (white), D = Beard (white)
2 = Moose. A = Scarf (red), B = Ear (brown), C = Nose (red)
3 = Snowman. A = Nose (orange)

Start with the snowmen first. To do this, paint one wooden ball and one tree bark slice with white handicraft paint. Once everything is dry, draw the snowman’s face on the wooden ball —including eyes, a mouth, and eyebrows if you’d like. On the bark disc, draw three dots for buttons. Cut a small carrot for the nose out of orange felt and glue it onto the wooden ball. Then glue the white bark disc upright onto a natural-colored wooden disc. Then attach the head to it. Glue the white pompoms to the tree bark disc as arms and legs. Glue the bow tie between the head and the wooden disc. Finally, put a small hat on the snowman.

For the moose, you’ll need two bark discs for each one. Glue one of them upright onto the other to form the body. Next, transfer the templates from felt and cut out all the necessary pieces. For the antlers, cut a chenille wire into three equal pieces. Cut one of these pieces in half. Wrap the smaller piece tightly around the top third of the longer wire to form a V. Repeat this for the second set of antlers. Glue the red nose in the center of the wooden ball and draw eyes and eyebrows over it with a black marker. Next, place the hat on top and secure it with a bit of hot glue. Glue the finished ornament to the center of the upright bark disc. Then attach the antlers and ears to the head. The pompoms are glued to the wooden disc as arms and legs. If you’d like, you can finish by gluing a small scarf made from felt around the moose’s neck.

For the elf, first trace the templates onto craft felt and cut out all the pieces. Now take two more bark discs and glue one of them upright onto the other. Next, assemble the head. First, glue the beard to the wooden ball , then attach the nose, paint on the eyes, and finally put the hat on. Now glue the finished ball onto the upright tree bark disc. Attach two brown pompoms as shoes to the front. Then drape the coat over the gnome and secure it with a little glue.

Once all the figures are finished, you can decorate them as you like, give them as gifts, or display them as winter-themed eye-catchers.

Have fun crafting and decorating!