Make these cute gnomes that add mystical features to your garden or home decor.
Gnomes are said to be good luck emblems. Gnomes were originally supposed to provide protection, particularly for buried riches and minerals in the ground. They are commonly tucked into the rafters of a barn or positioned in the garden to keep an eye on crops and cattle.
In this post, I’ll show you how you can easily make gnomes using air-dry clay.
By the way, I made my own clay. There are two versions which are no-cooked and cooked air-dry clay. I used the latter in this project.
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Making Gnomes using Air-Dry Clay
Watch this video on how to make adorable gnomes.
Materials:
Styrofoam cone
Cooked air-dry clay (check the recipe here) or ready-made air-dry clay (Check DAS brand)
Sharp edges (ex. plastic knife, needle, toothpick)
Acrylic Paint
White marker
Make It:
We will be using a styrofoam cone as a structure for the gnomes.
You can also try using a foil. Crumpled it and form into a cone. But I’d rather use the styrofoam cone – less work!!!
1. First, get a good chunk of your clay, enough to cover the cone. Be sure and put the remainder of your clay in a ziplock bag or an airtight container. It will dry out quickly.
2. Use a rolling pin or a glass jar and roll out your clay about 1/8 inch think.
3. Start covering the styrofoam cone with the clay, including the base. Use your hands to smoothen the seams together.
4. Lightly mark where you want the boundary of the beard and the brim of the hat. And plan where you want to put the nose.
5. Make small and short ropes or snakes; this will be the beard of the gnome. Use them to cover the area of the face except for the nose part.
6. Use a sharp edge (you can use a needle or toothpick) to draw fine lines for the beard.
7. Make a small roll of clay, a little bit elongated for the gnomes’ noses. Press it gently on the area where you want to place the nose.
8. For the brim of the toque, make a long strip of rectangle out of your air-dry clay. Then place where you draw the boundary between the beard and the brim of the hat. Smoothen the seams together using your finger.
9. (Optional) Make another roll of clay and place it on the top of the cone. Add texture by poking it using a needle.
10. You can also add texture to the brim of the toque by using the same technique or indent some lines.
11. Let it dry. It took two days for my project to dry completely.
12. Finally, paint gnomes and design them using acrylic paints.
