During these cold and dark days of Christmas break, we've needed a variety of activities to keep us busy and happy and amicable. So along with playing multiple games of Trivial Pursuit and dancing to "The Michael Jackson Experience" on the Wii, we decided to sculpt some little treasures out of Baker's Clay.
Inspired by the creations of Humblebea on Etsy, I decided to make little gnomes, birds and houses.
First you start by making three little balls of clay.
Baker's Clay can be a little bit crumbly. You may want to keep the extra clay covered in bowl while you are working so it doesn't dry out.
Making sure you have removed all of the cracks and air bubbles in your clump of clay, gently form it into your desired shape.
Next stack the two bigger balls like a snowman.
Then take the third ball and gently form a little cone on your thumb. You want to make a little hollow under the hat with your thumb to fit around the head.
Place the hat on the back of your gnome's head, forming it around his noggin and then finish by giving him a tiny nose. To seal all of these pieces together, you can dip your finger in water and gently apply a tiny bit between the pieces, but use the water sparingly, you don't want to over-saturate the clay.
Now your gnome is ready for baking...of course, you will probably want to make a whole village of gnomes before you pop them into the oven.
Here they are, all baked and ready for painting. We also made birds...
...and houses.
Unfortunately the dough kind of expands, puffs out and cracks in unpredictable ways and the houses, though cute have proven very difficult to paint as a result. It might be wise by sculpting more organic looking pieces. I think I will try the houses again in a different medium.
Most of the pieces, as I mentioned, acquired cracks during the baking process, so I filled them with Carpenters Wood filler...the orangey-yellow stuff...let them dry and sanded them. In some cases, I need to make several passes with the filler over the cracks.
After the cracks were filled and sanded, I started by painting the faces of the gnomes.
Then I added a little blush on the nose and cheeks. I like to use a rose colored paint and gel stain medium to blush lips and cheeks, but you might be able to use your powder blush.
When the paint is dry on the face you can start to work on the hat and body. (A word of caution...Baker's Clay is very porous and absorbs a lot of moisture. I found that it was essential to allow the paint to dry thoroughly between coats. When I didn't, the paint ended up sticking to my fingers and ripping off of the figurine. I think this is because of the moisture absorbed by the baked clay.)
I was lucky to have a painting companion during this project. Companionship during these types of projects is always recommended.
Please note...you might not want to use this much paint all at once. It is better to do several thin coats of paint rather than trying to get total coverage with too much paint. Clumpy paint will leave streaks.
When your gnome is dry, paint eyes by dipping a nail head or toothpick into dark paint and gently dabbing it on the face. When you are finished, you can add embellishments. I added polka-dots and paper names. I think the next time, I might get a little bit more fancy with the details.
Then, using gel stain medium and a tiny bit of dark brown paint, I painted a thin coat of antiquing over the entire gnome to give it a bit of patina and soften the edges of the paint. It really gave the little guys more depth and character.
If you would like to try your hand at making little wee creatures, you can find a recipe for Baker's Clay here. If you do...please snap a picture and share it with me. I would love to see what you create!
I must admit...my favorite little guy is Flicker. How about you?