Gnome Christmas Diorama Memory Frame Kit by Amanda Phillips

Gnome Christmas Diorama Memory Frame Kit

Designed by Amanda Phillips 

Hello Amanda here, today I get to share my project created by the Makin's Clay® Memory Frame Kit™ - “Gnome Christmas”!

Supplies:

·       #35304 Makin's® Memory Frame Kit™

          Makin's Clay®: you will need 120g pkg. of Brown, Black, Green, Red, White 

·       Makin's® Texture Sheet sets A&D

·       Makin's® Push Mold - Christmas Nature

·       Makin's® Professional™ Tool Kit (double ended assembly handles) Dot end Mushroom dots/Round flow to tuck mushroom stems to mushroom tops

·       Makin's® Ultimate Clay Machine™

·       Accent paper and Ephemeral paper of choice

·       Edge punch again your choice

·       4 feet, I used 1 ½” wooden balls painted with acrylic paint

·       Blue Moon metallic bead hammered out flat

·       Drawer handle

·       Dremel tool to make holes for handle

·       Any small wee miniature item you mind find premade (wagon) radio flyer for me and the Merry Christmas sign.

·       1 yard of matching seambinding for outer ribbon

·       1’ twine for presents

·       Die cutting machine

·       Pine Tree die

·       Handful of moss from the floral department

·       1 Jar Flower soft (snowy white)

·       Acrylic paint White,Red,Black

·       Adhesive, I use super glue and 3M all purpose or Aleenes clear here.   You will be working very close to your project and a strong smelling glue is not recommended.

·       Glossy Accents

Instructions:

First open your Frame kit box and remove all the little handy dandy mats and extra plexi from frame.  Be sure to follow instructions here so as to not damage your kit.

Drill holes to match your handle on top of your project. I used my kit horizontally but it would just as sweet vertically.

Cut all papers to fit both inside and out being sure to watch for space to slide the main Plexi glass back. Glue to your frame kit.

Paint your feet and glue to frame kit.

Add handle.

Now as seen in step out photos, shape several little stems for your mushrooms in white clay…I had so much fun with this because the challenge was to see how eeny weeny I could make them!

Taking your red clay, make tops to match, I used the tool kit tools to help with this, making a good pointy indent to fit together as I glued them.  Let these parts dry them adhere with super glue.

I took a small piece of packing tape and set the assembled mushrooms on it. This allowed me to paint the tops with our dot point (tool kit) little white dots. Paint dots.

For a shiny mushroom I used a wee bit of glossy accents.

Mix a nickel size ball of white and black together to form gray.

Now take gray and add a quarter size ball off black and white and mix to a marble.

Press into texture mold set A cobblestone using setting 3 on your Ultimate Clay Machine™.  Now you have a Cobblestone sheet.

Take same amounts of brown and black clay mix to a marble and press into texture plate Set D woodgrain with Ultimate Clay Machine™on setting 3. Now you have a Timber sheet.

I allowed the textured clay to partly dry on the texture sheet itself for easy removal.

Take Red, and Green clays using  Christmas Nature push mold and make 12 holly leaves and 4 small

poinsettias and 2 large. Place on cutting mat to dry.

The fun trick with a push mold is to press the smallest amount of clay needed in the mold “sorta smear it in” this allows for your clay to dry and curl looking more natural and easier to trim neat.

Take rest of green clay and run through your Ultimate Clay Machine™ to a setting of 4.

Allow all to dry.  Place your green clay sheet in your die cutter and cut a tree. Use a small amount of your Timber sheet to make trunk.

Take extra clay and make a few little boxes to be presents.

Allow all clay to dry for 24 hours.

Remove timber sheets and take advantage of the torn sides, they make excellent forest floor roots.

Roll the clay to look like a tree stump and glue .

After making all the tree stump you want, I wanted to match my ephemeral sheet fence so I rolled small logs and glued like the fence in picture.

Measuring how I wanted my little cobble stone walks I trimmed my sheet accordingly for all 3 windows. Glue walks in.

Glue in tree,

Assemble poinsettias and holly to make 3 clusters for your top accents. (see photo).

Assemble and glue in all your little forest pieces into your frame kit taking your time to choose what you think looks best.  Again I used my ephemeral sheet to guide me. Don’t forget to place moss as well using sparingly as it is winter.

Now take clear all-purpose glue and with place

where you want flower soft aka SNOW. Dust your piece and leave to dry overnight. In the morning turn over in trash can emptying the extra snow.

Place plexi glass sheet over your village, tie on your ribbon and enjoy what you have created!!!