We had a really fun time painting Lucky the Gnome and some awesome concrete turtles! The best part, the kids were entertained, got along, and were rather quiet for an HOUR!
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Short History of Gnomes
According to Love to Know, garden gnomes were first produced in Germany in the 1800s and have always been seen as symbols of good luck. Originally they were thought to provide protection over things such as buried treasure, crops, and livestock. There also are gnomes in folklore who lived underground and protected buried treasure.
Every House Needs a Gnome (or 5)!
Now that you know these little guys will bring good luck, you know you need one! The best part is that you can personalize yours to look any way that you want. They’re also fun to have show up in random places if you place them around the house or the garden. If my kids weren’t so insistent on everything staying in one place, I’d move theirs around randomly and have them find him. Sure, I could do the same with mine but I’m protective of mine. Haha!
These cute little gnomes are 3-1/2 inches tall by 2 inches wide by 2 inches deep. They are small enough that mine fits in the wheelbarrow of another gnome I just purchased the other day. Ha! Yet they’re big enough to have personality, especially when you paint them with your own flair!
Painting Supplies
We want to have our family of Lucky the Gnomes outside so we used Acrylic Paint. Though acrylic paint is water-based, it is what many use to paint rocks so I figured it would work fine for our purposes. I also figure that if after a while the gnomes are back to their original concrete nakedness, it would be fun to paint them again anyway!
These small mason jars make great water cups while painting.
In addition to the items above, I suggest:
- Large piece of cardboard – we luckily had a huge box that we were able to open up and lay out for everyone to paint on. Otherwise we would have used smaller boxes, probably one for each kid to sit and create on.
Where to Purchase Lucky the Gnome!
You can purchase handmade unpainted Lucky the Gnomes from Etsy.com. You can buy them individually to be shipped to your house and paint them.
Painting our Gnomes
We had so much fun painting these. Like I mentioned above, the kids did really well with this and painted for about an hour. Granted, they had several color changes between the gnomes and the turtles, but they had a great time.
I suggest using the smaller paintbrushes for the detailed parts such as the nose and feet, and a medium brush for the beard and hat. Granted, my kids used a large brush for all of it and it turned out great. You really can’t go wrong with these!
Winter Care
I’ve learned over the years that the brutal Minnesota winters are NOT nice to anything decorative that is outside. I’d suggest bringing Lucky in before the first snow flies and put him in a nice cozy spot to hibernate for the winter. I’m sure that we’ll end up with quite the cozy box for our Luckies, turtles, stepping stones, and ducks. I envision it having at least one blanket and possibly some pretend gnome food, at least.
As a mom of identical twins and a son two years older, I have gained invaluable experience in the realm, and chaos, of parenting. With a Master's Degree and Education Specialist Degree in School Psychology, I spent years as a school psychologist, helping children navigate through their educational and emotional challenges. Now as a stay at home mom and professional blogger, I combine my areas of expertise to help you in your parenting journey.