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DIY Air Dry Clay Gnome - Honey Bee

Posted by Courtney Samlal on

Supplies available at Designaholic Studio:

DAS Clay

Styrafoam Cone

Demco White Gesso

Bumble Bees Napkin

Acrylic Paint: Americana Snow White, Bright Yellow and Slate Grey; Allegro Powder Blush.

Diamond Shimmer Dust

DecoArt Triple Thick Gloss Glaze

Bumble Bee Embellishements

Daisy Embellishment

Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue

 Who's getting tired of winter???  Hands up all around I bet!!  I created this adorable little Gnome becuase I love Gnomes of course and I was feeling the winter blues.  The thought of this bright, warm and cheerful gnome immediately lifted my spirits and brought back memories of the warmer days of spring and summer!  It looks complicated to make,but it's really quite easy peasy!  Check out the video tutorial too over on our YouTube channel HERE!

* Give your cone a few coats of Gesso. Let Dry.

* Take some of the air dry clay flatten it out and wrap it around the cone to completely cover it, keeping the cone shape.

* Use sculpting tools or the end of a paint brush (like I did) to draw a half moon line one the cone where you want the brim of the hat to be.  (see the photo for where I placed my brim).  

* Roll a piece of clay into a rope (just like you did with Play-Doh when you were a kid).  Lay it over the brim line carved.  

* Gently press the rope into place.  Mold the clay into the hat (not the beard) with your fingers.  Use water on your fingers to smooth it out.

* Take your sculpting too or the end of a paint brush and create beard texture.  Drag the point of the handle randomly through the beard.  See photos.

* Use a wet finger to smooth out any ridges on the beard.

* Create a divet in the clay beard where you want the nose to be positioned.  Take a small piece of clay, roll it into a ball and place it in the divet.  Use a wet finger to smooth out the nose.

* Let dry for 24-48 hours

*Once dry, paint the entire gnome with 2-3 coats of white paint. Let dry.

*Separate the layers of your napkin (this one had 3 layers, 2 white and 1 design).

* Use a wet paintbrush to trace around each of the images you want on the gnome and gently remove it from the rest of the napkin.

*Apply each image to the gnome (see photos for placement) by painting some Mod Podge on the gnome, placing the napkin over it and adding a layer of Mod Podge over top. Do half of each image at a time to minimize wrinkles and bubbles.

* Paint the entire hat yellow (I mixed some Bright Yellow with some White to make a nice soft yellow colour).  Carefully paint around the images.  Apply 2 coats or so for full coverage.  Be careful around the beard and nose.

* Mix some Powder Blush paint with some white to create your skin tone and paint the nose, 2 coats.

* Water down a small amount of Slate Grey.  Paint the grooves in the beard, wipe off the excess with a wet paper towel so that the grey stays in the grooves but not on the beard. Let dry.

* Paint a coat of Triple Thick over the beard only.  Quickly, before it dries generously sprinkle on some Diamond Shimmer Dust.  Tap off the excess and return to the bottle.

*Cover the entire gnome with 2-3 coats of Triple Thick.  Do not go over the beard though or you will loose the shimmer.  Don't forget to give the nose a coat or 2.

* Glue (Aleene's Quick Dry is the best!) some of the small wood bee embellishments over the bee images from the napkins.  You can add more or less if you want. 

 

* Lastly, add a cute little daisy to the brim of his hat.

Ta da!  It's done!  How adorable is he!?!  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.  Make sure to check out the YouTube tutorial for a closer look at the process or feel free to contact us is you have any questions! 

Happy Crafting!

Courtney

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