Carving a Wooden Gnome From Salvaged Wood

How to make a wood figurine of a gnome. It really is a simple task, and for the most part, I just wanted to share my gnome.

Wood selection is key when starting out whittling. Many have given up after picking a piece of wood that was intractable, a malleable wood type key to a first time good experience. In the 9th grade, I did a DIY project on whittling for my honors English class, but I failed horribly, and ended up showing my class how to put together a skateboard. It was dreadful drivel.

So, this is a 15 year plan in motion. It was always on the back of my mind, so when I was jogging one weekend, I saw splintered wood dividers from multiple car accidents, and I wondered, is that a soft wood. I picked up a piece and took it home.

As I examined it, I found some termites, so I treated the wood with some termite spray that I luckily had. I let it treat for a day, and then I washed it with soap. It was ready.

(There are some good pieces I'm thinking of salvaging and turning into totem poles.)

You don't want to waste time callousing your hands with a block, so take out your jigsaw and put your wood in your vise-grip and cut it down. After the first cut, pencil in the crude shape. The picture below is actually a digital example because I started this project before considering sharing it.

So, the best blade to start out is actually the long blade, which is in my opinion, the perfect whittling device. It just makes sense with long strokes.

Continually draw your shapes and feature until eventually you get something like this.

I used acrylic base paints and mixed for desired colors. I actually did a couple different layers of paint and changed the shades until I liked the look.

Anyway, this is easy stuff, but maybe it will inspire someone.