Skip to main content

Making Tomtes to celebrate my heritage during the holidays

While our family has a true multi-cultural background, a significant portion of my heritage is Swedish and Norwegian. 

For most of the year that has little influence in my family's life, but when Christmas rolls around that Scandinavian heritage suddenly becomes all-important. Or at least it is, if you base it on the lefse, sandbakkels and spritz cookies consumed in my house during the month of December.

I'm Betsy Skagen of Paper Calliope, and I decided to celebrate my Swedish heritage in a non-caloric manner by making some little tomtes. I experimented with two different media, CelluClay Instant Paper Mache and Lumina Air Dry Polymer Clay.

I did not start out with the intention of making two different kinds of tomtes, but someone who will be going on Santa's naughty list caused this to happen.  


First I hand formed the Tomtes with CelluClay Instant Paper Mache and let the clay dry overnight.




The nature of paper mache requires sanding. 

During the sanding process, I made the mistake of leaving them on the kitchen counter when I needed to go pick up my daughter from basketball. 

Boomer, the golden retriever puppy, does not discern food from non-food in what he eats.

Don't let the cute face fool you. He's guilty of tomte-cide.

Poor little tomtes--only a few survived.

Next I made tomtes from Lumina Air Dry Polymer Clay. They required no sanding.



I added a coat of gesso. After drying, I painted with pink and red acrylic paint.



I then added some vintage angel hair type material. (I think it is fiberglass insulation) Based on how my skin reacted to working with it, I'm pretty sure this must be some toxic substance now banned in all 50 states.

I don't think the description on the vintage packaging would be used today.


That's it. Thank you for stopping by today. Have a great day. - Betsy


Great Stuff I used
CelluClay Instant Paper Mache
Lumina Air Dry Polymer Clay
Red acrylic paint
Pink acrylic paint
Adhesive
Vintage angel hair


Comments

  1. these are so precious. Frustrated for you in your struggles, but the end result was awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  2. These are adorable! I like to hear/see people's traditions. I like that we can still hold onto our heritage and be proud of where we came! I do beleive that our differences is what make us more interesting. Irish, African, German, Native American. We are all the same basic humans but different in our beginnnings, cultures and traditions. THANKS Betsy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. These are super cute! On the caloric side, I'm still having some ostakaka . . .
    :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. These are so cute, Betsy. TFS your traditions and heritage!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Get on Over!

We like having you visit,  Make sure to subscribe... Just click here - easy peasy November will be filled with Die Cut ART,  join us. Embellish premade pieces art by Barbara Rankin Cut your own pieces Paint or Foil to add interest art by Lyneen Jesse Combine Die cuts in a variety of mediums art by Jean Moore Create with your manual die cutting machine  or buy premade
 Handy Tip for Artists, Recyclers and Neat Freaks! I have a follow-up to the Citra-Sol method for creating fabulous background pages and collages.   I bought a big bag of navel oranges and realized I had the ingredients to make my own solvent!   Simply take a clean glass jar, peel the rind from the oranges and place all the rind/peels, without the pulp (tangerines, oranges, navels) into the jar.   Pour enough vinegar over the peels to cover them.    Allow the jar to sit for a week or two and VOILA!     You have made your own solvent for literally pennies.    You will notice the liquid getting a bit thicker than the plain vinegar and it does not smell bad!!! I now have a  HUGE jar on the window sill!       Be careful and only use this after testing on a safe spot.

DINA WAKLEY Featured Artist

We are SO Proud to present Dina Wakley with her ART and February Tip   (oops, she says she is totally disorganized, so there is HOPE for all of us!) Dina Wakley is a mixed-media artist and teacher. She loves everything about art: creating it, thinking about it, looking at it, and teaching it. Dina is passionate about teaching art. She teaches both in-person and online workshops.  She is a docent at the Phoenix Art Museum, where she gives tours to school groups and gets kids excited about art. As a Ranger Signature Designer, Dina designs a line of mixed-media art supplies that includes acrylic paints, mediums, brushes, rubber stamps, stencils, and more. Look for the Dina Wakley Media Line by Ranger at a store near you.  Dina's books Art Journal Freedom and Art Journal Courage are available now. Also look for three new North Light DVDs starring Dina, available this month: "Art Journal Mark Making and Throwing Ink," Art Journal Color Courage," and &q