A Year of Gnomes: Day Eight

Day Eight: Turn an old book into something new

I am always on the lookout for old books that I can mess around with, so I had lots of choices for this one. I thought it would be fun to make the gnome visit a Mayan pyramid, so I got out my Exacto knife again and cut up an image to make it a pop up picture.

 

I believe this is a Reader's Digest book about World Mysteries (or something of that nature). I bought it at Goodwill for a dollar.

 

I cut around different parts of the image and folded them up to make it pop up - there are four different levels to this picture.

 

You may also notice the tiny gnome I made on the right hand side of the picture, approaching the pyramid. Not correctly proportioned, but if I made it the "right" size he'd be practically invisible.

An additional view.

Materials: Book, Exacto knife, paper, pen, and markers (to make the tiny gnome), tape

This took very little time and turned out way better than I anticipated. Fun times!

A Year of Gnomes: Day Seven

Day Seven: Make something with your breakfast

My normal breakfast consists of a Nutrigrain bar and some yogurt, not terribly exciting or inspiring, so I waited until the weekend for this one. My wonderful boyfriend made the pancakes and I decorated. The first one turned out to be the perfect shape for a gnome's head.

 

My workstation (the kitchen counter)

 

I added some powdered sugar to create some sideburns of some sort. It may have made him more Santa Claus-esque.

 

Ready to eat!

It was one of the tastiest pancakes I have ever eaten. It took me about two minutes to scarf down. Then I had some non-gnome pancakes that were also very delicious.

Materials: Pancakes, Reddi-Whip, strawberry topping, chocolate chips, powdered sugar

Tomorrow: fun with books!

A Year of Gnomes: Day Six

Day Six: Make something using a stencil.

My initial thought was to make something sort of like a chalk outline of a body, like what you might find at a crime scene, but I went with something a bit lighter. Gnome crossing sign!

 

First I had to use my Exacto knife skills on a piece of Bristol board.

 

Here's the finished product! Stencil, cut out, and sign.

 

Another view.

Make way for gnomes!!

Materials used: Bristol board, acrylic paint, artists tape (to create lines around edge and underneath gnome), cardboard (for backing)

I kind of want to make a bunch of these and hang them up in parks at a kid's eye level. Make a little mischief and spread some fun.

However, due to the Portland weather it's going to be a few months before the sun comes back out. For now I'll just hang it up in my room.

Tomorrow: gnome + food (again!)

A Year of Gnomes: Day Five

Day Five: Make something using fruits or vegetables.

This worked out well because I had some fruit that was about to spoil. I turned it into a little gnome sculpture before putting it in the compost bin.

 

 

 

Materials: apple (for body), orange (for head, beard, and eyebrows), raisins (for eyes), scrapbook paper (for hat and shoes), Sharpie marker (to draw on a little smile), hot glue gun (to put it all together)

It was fun setting up a photo shoot for him on my desk. Very happy I didn't injure myself with the hot glue gun (I have burnt myself badly in the past, glad that didn't happen this time!)

Tomorrow: another gnome, in a different form

A Year of Gnomes: Day Four

Day Four: Work with a collection (I skipped over the challenge for Day Four, but I will come back to it! This is technically the challenge from Day Five. Forgive me)

Since I am a gnome aficionado, I obviously have amassed a few:

 

The gnome in the Hawaiian shirt has come with me on a number of trips and vacations.

 

 

$3 gnome from Goodwill. I had to buy it. I keep meaning to give him a Portland makeover, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe I'll be able to do that in a future challenge.

A page of gnome doodles. Some of these are super weird. 

Materials: Nikon SLR camera, pen

Tune in next week for some more gnome-y goodness.

A Year of Gnomes: Day Three

Day three: Make something with paper, but don't draw, cut, or paste anything. 

I am not an origami expert at all, because I have a really hard time figuring out the folds based on written instructions. I first tried following the instructions here, but I had a tough time and gave up on that.

Thankfully I found this video on YouTube, and did a pretty good job of following the instructions:

 

The resulting origami gnome bookmark. It sorta looks gnomish.

Once it's placed in a book, it does look sort of like you're smooshing a gnome within the pages.

Here is a way cooler gnome, designed by Eric Joisel:

Materials used: scrapbook paper

One more gnome post tomorrow to round out the week!

A Year of Gnomes: Day Two

Day two of the 365 challenge: Use your favorite animal as inspiration for today.

My favorite animals are elephants, so somehow that inspired jousting gnomes on bitty baby elephants.

 

The linework!

 

All colored in!

A slightly nicer version of the final art.

Materials used: pen, Prismacolor markers, recycled paper, white acrylic ink & brush

More gnome action tomorrow!

A Year of Gnomes: Day One

I've decided to begin a year of creative challenges! The theme will be gnomes, because I love gnomes.

We'll see how long I can keep this up - I'm going to do my best to stay on top of the challenges.

Day One: Make something that fits in the palm of your hand

 

 

Now I have another gnome to add to my collection! He looks pretty good on my shelf.

Materials: cardboard, Prismacolor markers, ink pen, white acrylic ink & brush

Come back tomorrow for more gnome-y goodness.