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