mandrake – A Gypsy Life For Me

Welcome back to Day 2 of Ornament Week!

If you are just now joining us for ornament week, you can catch up by checking out the other ornament week posts:

Baby Yoda Ornament

Today’s DIY Ornament inspiration: a mandrake!

It’s finally time. This is the year that I finally have a Harry Potter themed tree. And today’s ornament is a grimacing, angry, ugly little mandrake. No muffs required.

Materials:

Mini flower pot (you can also buy them individually at Michaels)
Foil
Small gauge wire & cutters
Super Sculpey Oven Bake Clake
Clay sculpting tools (if desired)
Brown craft paint
Beige craft paint
Paintbrushes
Faux foliage
Hot glue gun
Twine, string or cord
E-6000 glue

Mold the Mandrake Body

To start, I made a frame for my mandrake’s little body out of foil and wire. With the wire, I planned out the two arms and three little vines coming out the top of his head.

After kneading the clay for a bit so that it was pliable, I started applying it to the foil and wire frame. I used my fingers to sculpt his general shape.

I kept the small flower pot nearby so I could keep checking the size and make sure he fit in there securely.

I then used a few different tools to sculpt his little face and add details to his body. I also twisted additional little vines around the ones on top of his head and created little vine-like fingers for him. When I was happy with how he looked, I baked him according to the package directions on the box of clay.

Paint the Mandrake

Once my mandrake was cooled, I I used a dark brown paint to fill in all the little creases and crevices.

Then I gently added another layer of beige paint, being careful to not apply it in all the creases and crevices to create shading.

Then I touched up the crease shading and did some blending with the darker color and a super fine paint brush.

Glue the Mandrake in his Flower Pot

I used E-6000 glue to secure the mandrake inside his flower pot.

Add Twine for Hanging

I used E-6000 glue to secure a length of twine to two sides of the flower pot so I can hang him on my tree. I made sure to make it long enough to account for the leaves that I was going to add on top.

Add Foliage to Vines

Finally, I pulled out some faux leaves leftover from another project to add to the top of the mandrake. I had to cut some of them down to size. I secured them to the tops of the vines with a little dollop of hot glue.