How to Make a Garden Gnome That Looks Like Your Husband

Garden gnomes are the adorable, fairytale looking statues meant to protect your coveted garden and keep it free from harm. While the traditional bearded, portly gnome may be the standard favorite for the garden, gnome enthusiasts are personalizing their garden gnomes to resemble family members–some people even turn the standard garden gnome into one that bears a strong resemblance to their husband. Achieving this isn't too tricky, although it may involve a little imagination and a tongue-in-cheek approach to decorating the gnome. Oh, and your husband needs to have a good sense of humor too...

Steps

1
Purchase a standard garden gnome. If you plan to add some cute accessories to make your gnome resemble your betrothed, a standard "common garden variety" gnome will do the trick. You can usually find these at most home and garden stores.

Hobby stores and specialty websites may also carry theme-based garden gnomes including bikers, soldiers, firemen and more. And don't forget to check online, although shipping costs may make such a purchase less desirable.
- If your husband already looks like a garden gnome, complete with trimmed beard and snub nose, then look for one that seems most representative of his look already.
- If the gnome has a beard (many do) and your husband does not, don't worry too much. Some artist's license is permissible here; after all, you're making a gnome representation of your husband and if that happens to also include a beard, then so be it.
To ensure you can customize this gnome to look like your hubby, you’ll need to get the gnome's height, overall width, hat size and head size. Make a note of each measurement on a piece of paper for future reference when measuring clothing, hats, etc.
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Identify three or four characteristics that represent the distinctiveness of your husband.

Is he a die-hard sports team fan and loves to wear his favorite jersey? Or does he wear glasses with unique frames? Perhaps he styles his hair in a certain way or has particularly prominent features worthy of a caricature. Selecting a few strong features will help you to personalize this garden gnome to best resemble your hubby.

As well as characteristics, don't forget to think about items that represent him, such as sports gear, a briefcase, a work-related symbol like scales of justice for a lawyer or a plunger for a plumber, etc. Indeed, it may be his tools of trade that help identify him most clearly of all, or at least make him look twice!
4
Draw a basic plan on paper of how you envisage transforming the gnome into your husband. Take the characteristics and items that you've decided upon and plan where they'll be placed on the gnome. This exercise will help you to work out what needs to be found and purchased and what things you'll need to create from scratch.

Don't spend too long on this step––a simple sketch of a stick figure gnome with arrows and instructions or pointers is sufficient.
- You may work out at this stage that the gnome needs a little paintwork as well as adding clothes or accessories. Factor this into the process of making over the gnome.
5
Search for mini-replicas of your husband’s distinct characteristics or items. Look around the house for shirts, glasses, beard materials or other items that are free to be used and could be cut down to size to accommodate the gnome's size. For example, a shirt could be cut down to size and restitched into gnome size, while oversized glasses would still work as a caricature effect.
- If you have children, look through their doll clothing, typically something that may fit an American Girl Doll or even a baby doll. You might need to dye the colors or change the outfit a bit to work; think laterally.
- If you craft things, it's likely that you'll have the items or the materials to create accessories such as a beard, hair or glasses. Anything used for making dolls, decorations or miniatures will likely be of use.
- Visit local retailers to purchase appropriate clothing or accessories for the garden gnome that you couldn't rummage up at home. With list of items you still need in hand, hit the local toy store first to see if they have any of the standard clothing or features. If you cannot complete your purchase at the toy store, the hobby and/or craft store should be your next stop. And even stores that stock items for cake decorating may be useful for miniatures such as bottles and sporting gear.
Items you may need include a hot glue gun, wire scissors, needle and thread, Velcro and/or double-sided tape. The types of materials you’ll need to build your gnome are dependent on what you intend to do to the gnome.

For example, if your gnome is a football-jersey-wearing, beer-drinking gnome, choose the materials you’ll need to create the jersey and to affix a miniature glass or bottle of beer in the gnome’s hand. In the case of this example, the items needed may include a small white t-shirt, iron-on transfer paper (for the sports logo) or a fabric pen, hot glue gun or even super glue to keep the small bottle in the gnome’s hand.

Don't forget the potential of changing the way the gnome looks through the use of paint and markers. A mustache, a swirl or hair, a ruddy complexion, etc., can all be created through the use of drawing or painting directly onto the gnome.
7
Improvise with clothing or accessories to obtain the desired result. In some cases, you may not be able to find that University of Michigan jersey small enough for your garden gnome, for example. If that’s the case, purchase a small white t-shirt from either the toy or craft store and either freehand draw the logo using fabric pen paint or generate an iron-on transfer using graphics you can find online.

Almost anything can be miniaturized with a little creative thinking.
- Items such as glasses and studs can be created using strong craft wire.
- Use yarn or special craft string for hair.
- Colored cotton wool can serve as a beard.
- Glue on real shoelaces to give the impression of strong work boots.
- An old beloved shirt can be cut down to size, or even just a logo can be removed from an old piece of clothing and stitched to the gnome's clothing.
8
Assemble the husband-like gnome. Set aside an afternoon or evening to spend creating the gnome. Naturally, either keep your husband out of the way or rely on the reality that most husbands stop looking closely at what wives are doing when it comes to "making craft" to reassure yourself that he's not going to put two and two together to note what you're really up to.

You could probably even ask him to hold a piece in place while you glue and he still wouldn't notice…
- Create any items that need to be created by hand. For example, if you have to make the shirt, glasses, hair etc., create that first. Keep the gnome on hand to ensure sizing and fit is accurate. If you can't sew, use glue or get a friend to do any sewing needed.
- Affix clothing or accessories that do not require glue first. That way you can start to get an idea of how your gnome will look without committing to the design with glue.
- Glue or add remaining items to the gnome. You may want to hold the items up to the gnome first to make sure the accessories go exactly where they should--for example, if you are adding an item for the gnome to hold, hold it up to his hand to make sure you like how it is placed before you add glue.
- Allow any glue used to dry on the gnome for two to three hours, or for the time specified by the glue instructions. To ensure everything stays in place allow the glue to dry so it doesn't fall apart when you place it in your garden.
9
Place the husband-like gnome in your garden or on your lawn. Find a strategic place in your garden such as by a fountain or next to a favorite plant. You could place it somewhere that he is bound to come across it regularly or somewhere that he is only likely to discover on the weekend when gardening or mowing the lawn; it's up to you and when you want the impact to occur.

Don’t tell your husband that you’ve created his alter-ego to protect the garden. Instead, wait to see how long it takes for him to notice. When he does, provided he finds it funny, own up and have a good laugh together about the whole husband-like gnome thing. In fact, get a photo of the two of them together and post it online. Then wait for your turn as he plots to make a garden gnome that looks just like his wife…
- If your husband doesn't have a sense of humor about it, tell him any resemblance to himself is a mere coincidence and that he is just flattering himself to think you'd take the time to make the gnome look anything like him.
- If your husband really gets irritable about what you've done, either cause the gnome to disappear quickly or reshape its features completely. If you didn't already know your husband's level of tolerance for garden gnomes, you sure do now.
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Tips

If you really don't feel like making the gnome up yourself, there are businesses that will customize a gnome from scratch to look like your husband. Do a search online and order away.
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Keep a photo or your husband nearby while making the gnome up, to make sure you're getting every little detail spot on.
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This can be a fun thing to do if your husband loves gardening. He'll spot the gnome's resemblance in no time as he's pottering around fixing things in the garden.
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Warnings

Avoid using any perishable items for your gnome––food or other perishable items will attract bugs or rodents. A gnawed gnome is not a nice gnome.
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