The Craftiest Workshop

Earlier his year I made a couple different napkin holders.

In the spring I made a bunny napkin holder.

For the summer I designed a rainbow butterfly napkin holder.

I have been watching my brother produce new gnome paintings this past month.
Here is a link where you can see all the ones from this year.

Ihttps://www.birdsongstudios.ca/russellthomasartoriginalpaintings

I wanted a new napkin holder for Christmas. With some inspiration from my brother’s art choices, I decided to create a gnome napkin holder. Much of my other holiday decorations are various gnomes that I have made so I thought I would add to my collection.

I used a wide pallet board, 5 1/2” wide. First I measured a piece of paper 5 1/2” wide and sketched out a gnome. I cut it out then traced it onto the pallet board twice. Using the bandsaw, I carefully cut out the shapes.

After a bit of sanding, I used carbon paper to transfer the details of the gnome onto the wood.

You can tell I haven’t been overly crafty lately. I got absorbed in the project and didn’t take any more step by step photos.

I used my wood burner to outline all the lines then painted it all in. I painted the front and sides of both in colour but left the backs white. The middle base piece was just another piece of a 3 1/2”pallet board we had in the scrap bin, also painted white. A few nails on each side with the brad nailer to hold it together and then I painted over the nails with black paint.

I tried to match the paint to our cupboards. It was only after I added the red that I realized that this gnome has a “The Cat in the Hat” vibe. This thought made me think of the colourful Whos in “The Grinch” and that made me smile so I am happy with it.

The gnome sits 11″ high and would work for even larger fancy napkins. Here is a side view and the other side. The one part of the board had a prominent knot which stood out even more when painted. It was easy to decide which would be the back.

I felt like the hat was missing a pom pom so I decided to glue on an embroidered white flower that I have a bunch of from who knows where. Just a final flourish to make it feel complete.

Now I have another cheery gnome in my kitchen to make me feel festive.