Browsing Tag

gnomes

A donsy of winter gnomes

I was sure the collective noun for gnomes would be gaggle, but turns out I was wrong! So, I’ve been busy creating my own – donsy – of winter gnomes for the wonderful Winter Waldorf Swap hosted by Nicole at One Hook Wonder (thank you again Nicole!!).

My donsy of winter gnomes!

I’m super excited to be part of this swap. The idea of sharing crafts from all over the world is fantastic! A nature table in itself is beautiful and special, but to have one where all the items will have a special story is something extra special 🙂

In making my gnomes I was inspired by the constant winter rains where I grew up in country Victoria and the very occasional snow fall (as in once every few years). I got the wood burner going (probably my favourite step) before using the jigsaw and then the dremmel (I think I’ve now used these tools more than husband of mine… *shhh*).

Rain gnomes

After that I hand sanded them, before my next favourite part – helping them ‘come to life’ with milk paint (and because it’s spring here I think a little of it might have snuck in… oops). Before finally coating them in an olive oil and beeswax finish, mmm love that scent!

The gnomes then sat to dry on the table and the next thing I knew they were all ‘chatting’ to each other courtesy of Master D 🙂

And now my gaggle donsy of gnomes is ready to ‘fly the nest’ to distant lands. Be free my little gnomes 😉

 Thanks for reading, Kelly

November 13, 2011 by

Gnomes and fairy doors

Browsing through Etsy (as I often find myself doing) I came across some gorgeous fairy doors and gnomes. After buying a couple (who could resist) I thought I would have a go at making some myself. Luckily I came across some great tutorials and patterns on Wee Folk Art.

This is one I bought from Beneath the Rowan Tree on Etsy

After rummaging through the garage to find some wood scraps and buying a wood burner (new tool yay!) I gave it a go. I did some test burning first and then tried out the gnome patterns and some fairy doors. My husband then gave me a quick tutorial in using the jigsaw and off I went (with a new found love of power tools)!

After I had them all cut out, I got to try out another power tool – a dremel (what fun!), before doing some hand sanding. After they were nice and smooth I painted them with milk paint which is non toxic. Awhile later I made up a beeswax and olive oil treatment to go over the top. Here they are – I love them and have a whole new lot ready to go!!

Using the gnome pattern

The next lot

Thanks for reading, Kelly

October 26, 2011 by