Friday, April 5, 2013

Garden Gnome by Rachel Whetzel


Hello! It's Rachel here! Today, I'm going to show you how I made this little garden gnome using Creative Paperclay® modeling material. I'm seriously excited about SPRING!! So when I got to thinking about something Springish to make, I figured gnomes fit the bill!!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
I started by creating the same core technique that I used in last month's post. The reason I'm sharing this technique again, is because I want you to see how truly EASY
Once I had my core, I covered my core in Creative Paperclay. I wet it all a little bit, to help the clay stick, and spread it as evenly as I could around the outside. Not too thin! I want to sand it later.
Once everything was dry, I knew I wanted to make a hat for my guy, so I screwed a screw into the whole deal, to anchor my second layer of newspaper. Now, If I had planned a little better, I could have skipped the nail, and just made my core in the right shape. This way turned out fine, though.
 Now, I wrap my newspaper around the screw and tape it in the general shape I'm trying to achieve. (in this case, a pointy hat)
You can see that there was some cracking in my clay when it dried, so I'll fill that with a little wet clay.
 Once again, I tried to get my clay as smooth as I could, but I also don't worry about EVERY little lump. We can sand those out later.
before sandpaper
Once everything is dry again, I sand the whole thing until it's smooth. I also made sure to keep the bottom flat, so my little guy doesn't turn into a weeble wobble!
after sandpaper
Next. I painted the little guy!
Once I was done with that, I added some shading and his little face. I finished him with some matte sealant. I don't think he'd be fit to sit outside, but he's definitely ready to cheer me up on the shelf inside with my house plants! 
I think he needs a name... any ideas? If you create something inspired by my project, please leave a comment with a link here, so I can come and visit to see! I would love for you to visit me at my "house" too!! Thank you so much for reading!!  ~rachel

2 comments:

dawnmercedes said...

I was a nut for gnomes as a littke girl. You creations are amazing and sweet. I am in awe.

Mrs Pretzel said...

Wow! Thank you Dawn! Such a nice thing to say! I did have fun with him. My kiddos are asking for their own personalized versions. :)