I originally posted about my clay gnomes over on my craft blog but soon discovered multiple blogs isn’t good for my sanity and also figured it could be something you could try with children.
After making the giant fairy castle in air dry clay I did have some clay left over. I stored it in an air dry container till I figured out what I would make with it.
I contemplated cones with stars cut out but on a quick attempt they looked rather wobbly and didn’t fill me with Christmas cheer. I wanted something Christmassy and started thinking Father Christmas type things as I don’t have any Father Christmas type things. A bit of googling and I came up with Scandinavian gnomes as their shape would work really well in clay.
I started off making 1 which then turned into 7. The last one I remembered to take pictures as I went, so here goes….how to make a clay Scandinavian gnome.
I start with a lump of clay, making sure the rest is in the airtight container. The aim was to work towards a cone shape so I started squishing so its thicker one end more than the other.
As it starts to form I make sure I am rolling it on a flat surface hence my work board is upside down so the grainy side it down away from the clay.
It’s up to how tall and how pointy you want to make the hat and the overall shape. Some gnomes are skinny tall ones, I went with short plump ones.
When I was happy with the shape I formed the nose which is generally a squished round nose. I formed it out of the clay instead of creating a nose and sticking it on because I can never get attached clay to stay put no matter how I try.
After the nose, I made the under indentation of the hat. This then makes the hat look like its been plonked on top. I went around a few times till happy with the shape. I made sure the hat part was staying smooth and didn’t worry about below the hat as that gets furred up in the next step.
Now to make fur or hair effect I used a knife edge and sliced downwards in a rough motion. I didn’t worry about being neat as the effect I was going for was rustic.
As I sliced through the clay it did pull some away. The big bits I took off but the rest I left to give a rough beard look. You can see in the picture at the top of the hat there were a few cracks, I smoothed these with water and gave the last smooth-over all around the hat and set aside to dry. I had started out to make one but got carried away and made various sizes. I did know though that being a solid piece of clay they would take a while to dry.
I left them a day or two so that the outside was dry to touch which makes handling them a bit easier. I then scooped out the inners and left them to dry on their sides.
When they were dry I gave them a quick sand down with fine sandpaper to smooth off any bumps or cracks. In the picture below the fellas in the back-row have been sanded. The rest are patiently waiting.
As a rough guide to how much clay I used, you can see I made 7. This was from about half a slab of the clay slabs that you can buy in places like The Works. You can just see the DAS packaging in the container in this last pic (right-hand side). Its £4 so these little chaps cost about £3.
Last came painting. The clay dries white-ish so I didn’t paint the beards a colour but did paint in glue and dip them in white fine glitter. Doesn’t quiet show up with the camera though. The hats are painted with red paint I had left over from my bedroom. But you can use acrylic paint and go wild with the colours.
These are darling, Karien do you sell these?
Aw thank you, no sorry I don’t sell them as only made them for my own Christmas decorations as I couldn’t find anything that was just right.
What kind of clay did you use for these little gnomes. They are adorable
We have Joann’s and Walmart here.
Do these need to be cooked ?
I used the Das Modeling Clay which is just air dry so no cooking needed . Took about 2 days to dry.
I don’t see a recipe for the clay and the links aren’t working. I would love the recipe though! 🙂
As mentioned above they are made from a shop-bought clay so no there is no recipe and I haven’t added any links so not sure what isn’t working
It appears that you did not build an armature for these cute little guys. I would think this would be a great way of saving on clay and if using cardboard cone for example shaping would be a snap. Just wondering if you have ever tried this.
No armature like a cardboard cone? It would save on clay used and make shaping easier. Just wondering.
These are awesome! Live gnomes and have some clay, will have to try making one to add to my collection 🙂
Just found your website. I tried to sew some of these gnomes for Christmas but was not happy with the results, SO, THESE LOOK JUST PERFECT and I plan to have a go when I get some clay. Thanks for the inspiration.
jean b
These are absolutely adorable! Going to try my hand at making them, never worked with clay before.
Hi,
These are so cute and you did an awesome job explaining the process! After you paint them do you deal them with anything?
I really fancy having a crack at these,they look so sweet!
So good. Did you stick on the whiskers/hair or just carve out of existing clay Body?
I carved it out of existing clay with a knife with lots of random downward strokes
Will thes be okay out in the garden or would they eventually fall apart? Love them
I’ve got fairy houses in the garden which now 2 years on are looking a bit worse for wear so I’d they not ideal for outdoor life
I love these guys!! Did you put any type of modgepodge over they final product to seal it all together?
These are so cute and I had so much fun making one! Thank you for the easy and detailed instructions!
I was thinking. Could you make some sort of form from some mesh wire, cover it with plastic wrap, mold around that. Then set the gnome on a cooling rack. After a couple days remove the form, return to cooling rack?
You can use aluminum foil for armature and if you seal them with varnish or polyurethane you can put them outside. To make one piece or air dry clay stick to another just dip smaller piece in water.
Thank you for ur great tutorial. I learned so much. I am making my first gnomes in the air dry clay!
Hi, these are great. Thanks for the idea. Why do you scoop out the innards? Is it just to get them to dry faster?
Definitely got to have a go at these, brilliant
I made some Spring gnomes for Mother’s Day! I’m trying to attach a picture as they turned out awesome! Colorado, USA
SWEEEEET! I love these! ive been making inch or two high christmas gnomes for a couple years but i make my own air dry clay then paint them with nail polish and if im using them outside ill dip them in resin. the clay is called porcelain clay and the recipe can be found on you tube, very inexpensive and can be stored sealed for a couple weeks no problem just corn starch white glue and baby oil. if im making a house or a fairy castle or light house i use a card board form and tear up a cardboard egg carton mix with water and blend it up squeeze out excess water and add it to my clay mixture for better sturdier forms last great outside too!