I get absolutely delighted when I see various figures, crafts someone in the garden. For a long time I wanted to buy a gnome for a garden, but since I am on maternity leave, I admit honestly that I have no money to buy garden figures. But then I have free time, imagination and hands that have no peace, there is also a little helper. Therefore, I decided to make a gnome with my own hands from improvised materials.
To make a gnome, I needed:
- Plastic bottle.
- Scissors, a knife.
- Scotch.
- Plastic bag (T-shirt).
- Newspapers.
- Egg trays (paper).
- Kleister (water + flour).
- Cement + sand + water.
- Glue the moment.
- Tablet.
- Sandpaper.
- Primer.
- Enamel paints of different colors.
- Tassels.
- Decorative eyes.
I repeat, I have long wanted to make a gnome, but I did not know how to make it. And so I began to fantasize, look for ways to translate into reality my little dreams. I will have a gnome from a plastic bottle. At first I cut off the bottom from it.
From the bottom-up from opposite sides in the middle of the bottle I made cuts of the same length, then at the top I made small cuts to the right and left side. It will be the legs. In order to fix them, I wrapped them with tape.
Next, I needed a plastic bag. I rolled it into a ball and stuck it to the top of the bottle so that the neck was inside the ball, fixed all this with tape. The head turned out.
I made hands out of the newspaper. I simply folded the newspaper into a tube and attached it with tape to the right place, I also made my second hand.
I also needed a newspaper for gluing the frame. Having plucked small pieces of the newspaper, I dipped them in a paste and glued the gnome to the body. Yes, I almost forgot, the hole that turned out between my legs, I first glued strips of adhesive tape, and then pasted it with paper.
The next step was the cap. It was also made of paper. Having folded the newspaper into a bag, bent over the uneven edges, I fixed it with adhesive tape and stuck it to my head. I also pasted it with a newspaper.
Then I took paper egg trays, tore them into small pieces and poured boiling water. Left to soak for a day.
When the paper was swollen, I proceeded to further work. She cooked the paste again, and dipping pieces of paper into it, she began to form the feet. This is best done on a smooth board.
I installed a gnome on my feet and also with the help of this paper I shaped my legs. I left the craft to dry for a while.
Then, using the same technology, I again pasted the whole figure. Also, the hands of the figure turned out to be long, so I shortened them a bit.
In general, I wanted to make the gnome only with the help of such paper, but it turned out to be knobby and I didn’t like it, and by weight it turned out to be light. So, that stage, probably, could be skipped, but everything is learned in the work. (Although, if the soaked pieces of paper were crushed, for example, using a blender, then this material could bring the gnome to mind.) As a result, I decided to apply cement mortar on it to give the necessary shapes on the face and body, as well as weighting the gnome. Along uneven lines, for smoothness, I walked with a wet brush. After a satisfactory result, I left the craft to dry for three days. Here is what happened.
First, I sanded the whole figure, covered it with a primer and, only then, painted it with oil paints. Since I am not an artist, and I had difficulty drawing eyes, I decided to stick decorative eyes (from an old soft toy). Voila, my garden gnome is ready.
In general, there is where to show your imagination. For example, insert some object into your hand - a flower, a flashlight, a bucket or put a gnome on a bench. But, since this is my first job, I decided to make the craft simpler. I hope you enjoyed my garden gnome. I would be glad if someone was inspired to work creatively. Goodbye, see you soon.
