If you follow Stacey Solomon on social media, you’ll already know that Stacey is crazy about crafting. From seasonal front door displays to viral home hacks, Stacey loves sharing creative ideas with her army of DIY-obsessed followers.

On Thursday 15 December from 8pm, Stacey will take to our screens in Stacey Solomon’s Crafty Christmas, looking for clever ways to cut costs, upcycle, and spread some homemade cheer at Christmas time. For those who can’t wait to try Stacey’s crafty ideas at home, we’ve put together a handy step-by-step guide.

In true Stacey style there are ideas for all ages, with son Leighton helping Stacey to create personalised Christmas crackers, and three-year-old Rex getting messy with marbleised baubles for the tree. So, rope in your little helpers, and let’s get crafting…

Stacey Solomon’s Crafty Christmas airs on BBC One and iPlayer from 8pm on Thursday 15 December 2022.

Naughty Elves
Stacey says: "Around our house, when the elf comes out, you know it’s the beginning of Christmas. This year, Joe and I made elves that look like us! I can guess which one the kids will like best…"

Essential Equipment [Makes One Elf]
• 50mm polystyrene ball
• Skewer
• Paint for face
• Blue, black and red fine nib marker pens
• Scissors
• Glue
• Red, black and white felt, and some felt for the hair
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Toilet roll tube
• Four red pipe cleaners
• Stapler

Instructions
1. Place the polystyrene ball on a skewer, and paint with a coat of paint for the skin. Leave it to dry. Next, paint two white eyes on the ball and leave to dry.
2. Draw in the middle of the eyes with black pen, and add some eyelashes and eyebrows, plus a red nose and mouth.
3. Cut out some felt ‘hair' and stick to the top of the head with glue.
4. For the hat, draw and cut a semi-circle of red felt. Add glue to the felt then roll into a cone and stick to top of head. Draw and cut a band of white felt and stick around the base of the hat.
5. Measure and cut the red pipe cleaners into two 10cm long arms and two 20cm long legs. Cut out some white felt ‘mittens' and stick to the ends of each arm, and black felt boots for the ends of each leg.
6. Take the cardboard tube and staple the arms to the top, and legs to the bottom. Measure and cut a piece of red felt to stick around the tube, covering the staples.
7. Draw and cut a zig-zag strip of white felt and stick around the collar.
8. Glue the elf's head to its body, and leave to dry.