This Peppermint Gnome is so Cute I want to Eat it!

Instructions

1. Make your gnome's nose by combining the white and light brown polymer clay until the color is consistent throughout.
2. Roll your now light brown clay into a neat ball. Set aside.
3. Make the peppermint candies by rolling both the red and white clay into long, thin, tiny snakes.
4. Twist the two different colored snakes together and roll them until they are flat on the exterior.
5. Cut off one end with the exacto knife, then cut 10-12 sections about 1/8-inch thick. Set aside.
6. Break the white clay for the mittens into two equal-sized pieces.
7. Roll into balls, then flatten and shape into two mittens. Set aside.
8. Break the black clay for the shoes into two equal-sized pieces.
9. Roll into balls, then form and shape into two shoes.
10. Bake the gnome nose, shoes, mittens and the candies in the oven per the instructions on your clay's package instructions.
11. Allow to cool before handling. Set aside.
12. Make the hat by cutting a very long, skinny triangle from your red and white striped fabric. I made mine as long as the fabric was, just gradually reducing the size as I went. The base I left at the same width as the 1/4-yard fabric would allow. This ended up being just wide enough to go around the pool noodle. Check this before moving on. If it is too wide, trim it down a little. But be sure to leave a seam allowance.
13. Hem the bottom of the triangle.
14. Fold the triangle face-to-face and hem the entire length of the triangle.
15. Turn the hat right-side-out.
16. Slide one floral wire all the way up into the end of the hat and hot glue it in place.
17. Tuck polyfill up into the hat as far as you can get it--using a pencil to push it deeper, if possible.
18. When you have reached the end of the first floral wire, add the second and hot glue it in place.
19. Add polyfill to the hat and fill it to the end.
20. Twist the end of the hat in a spiral, hot glueing it in place as you go. Only twist it up about halfway, then stop. You don't want to go too far and not be happy with it, so wait until you have your gnome further along to wind it up more. Set aside the hat for now.
21. Cut 6-inches off the end of your pool noodle.
22. Cut a length of red craft felt that will wrap around the full length and width of the pool noodle, leaving about 1-inch hangover on each end.
23. Hot glue this in place, covering the pool noodle piece.
24. Use this felt-covered pool noodle body to gauge the size of your beard and trace this shape onto the back of your white craft fur.
25. Cut out the white craft fur on the backside of the fabric with the exacto knife.
26. Cut out a small rectangle of the white craft fur to make the mustache. Finger brush this in each direction outward to create the mustache shape.
27. Attach the beard to the top of the gnome body.
28. Place the hat on the gnome's body and hot glue in place on the back and sides.
29. Hot glue the nose on the top of the beard.
30. Wrinkle the hat over the nose and hot glue in place.
31. Attach the mustache under the nose.
32. Further twist the hat to the desired twistiness and hot glue in place.
33. Affix the wood round to the bottom of the pool noodle with hot glue.
34. Wrap each of the candies in transparent wrapping paper and twist the ends closed. Add a drop of hot glue to keep it closed, if necessary.
35. Attach the mittens and shoes to the body, as appropriate.
36. Glue the candies in place on the hat and beard and wood round, as desired.
37. Enjoy!