DIY Travel Buddy - Inuksuk

Have you ever wanted to come back from a travel with awesome pictures? Do you like creative photography? You are tired of selfie sticks and strangers taking your pictures? Well this instructable could be just what you need for your next travel.

As a bonus you´ll learn a cool unusual use for black pepper and laundry lint.

I'm sure you've seen these friendly rock sculptures, let me tell you more about them.

Inuit people (first people to inhabit northern Alaska, Arctic Canada, and Greenland) make inuksuit (plural of inuksuk) by stacking rocks. They use them to mark special places of veneration, hunting, fishing, travel routes. If the inuksuk is built with a human shape it's called inunnguaq.

You can learn more about inuksuit in this video.

I got the inspiration for this instructable by meeting several Inuit people, looking at inunnguaq they build beside their houses. I´m spending some months in the Canadian Arctic, and this is the perfect way to document my adventure (and yours too).

So let's make our inunnguaq! You can attach it to a keychain, your backpack or a necklace. And he'll always be with you ready for a picture.

Black pepper

Old toothbrush

Laundry lint

Black and white polymer clay

Wire

Tweezers

Necklace or keychain

Start by mixing a little bit of white clay with black clay until you get your desired color.

It looks nice if the colours aren't perfectly mixed. We are going to make five different rocks, so each will have its own texture and color.

Now add a little bit of laundry lint to a part of your clay, it will give the clay a rock like texture.

You can add black pepper to give it another kind of texture.

When you have the color and shape you want, you can add more texture with the toothbrush.

Now let's put the five parts together. Use wire to keep them together.
Next step is important: check that it stands alone. As the clay is still soft you can change the shape until it stands by itself.

Make a loop in another piece of wire. It will help us attach it to the necklace or keychain.
I inserted it in the back of the tummy and the back of the head. As shown in the picture. Now bake it according to the manufacturers instructions. I baked mine at 270F for 30 minutes. Attach it to your necklace / keychain / backpack, and that´s it.

You can hold it from the bottom to take him a picture, or find one or two stones that are flat so he can stand. He looks great being the main focus of the picture, and he looks great blurred too, to make the scenery stand out.

If you liked you can vote for this Instructable in the contests below. It will be greatly appreciated. And visit my blog for more DIYs