Fairy House Week Part 7: Little Fairy House Details

And lastly, a few details for Fairy House Week; it's important to remember that fairies like their furniture, their little tables and lamps - their tea. Acorns, acorn caps, milkweed pods, stones and twigs can be used to make the special tiny furnishings in a fairy house. Simple is the key.

Here is a PDF of all the Fairy House constructions. For personal use only please.

 
 
 
 

Wood disks bought at craft store

Hot glue little chair together

Fairy House Week Part 6: Fairy House Mini Washi Tape Bunting

 
Every fairy house needs to have a little bunting - made from fabric or washi tape it makes the house festive and welcoming.

Materials:
Japanese Washi tape
Bakers twine, Perle cotton, embroidery floss, waxed thread- basically any thin string
2 sticks

• Cut a length of string.
• Place a 2” long, piece of Washi tape –sticky side up under the string.
• Fold the Washi tape onto itself with the string in the middle. 
• Trim the tape bottom straight.
• Trim the sides to make a triangle shape or make a forked flag by cutting out a small triangle at the bottom of the folded tape.
• Repeat along the string – cutting the folded tape to the same length then into a triangle shape.

Fairy House Week Part 5: Fairy Fences and Ladders

Sometimes fairies like little ladders, fences, and walkways for their homes- here are a couple of ways we've constructed them in our Fairy House Construction week.

The Ladder/Fence

To make the Fairy House ladder, cut 2 sticks into 12” lengths.
Cut smaller sticks into 2”-2.5”lengths.
Lay the long sticks parallel to each other about 1.5” to 2” apart.
Use (hot or wood) glue to attach the short sticks every 1” to both long sticks to make the ladder.
Propped up – a ladder.
On its side – a fence.
Laying down - a walkway.

 

 
 

Mini Rope Ladder

Materials:
Twine
Twigs
 
 

Cut twigs into small sections-about 3” each.
Cut 2 lengths of twine, twice as long as the length of the finished ladder.
Make a knot around the end of a twig with one piece of twine, leaving a 3” tail on one end.
Continue to tie the twigs every inch or so until all the rungs are in place on one side.
Repeat on the other side, keeping the twigs even on the second length of twine.
Trim any remaining twine.

 

Fairy House Week Part 4: The Tree Branch Fairy House

 
Continuing with this weeks Fairy House Construction series: the Tree Branch House is an easy way to make a fairy house but will need a little help from a saw.
 
Use a sturdy thick stick with 3 branches coming off it.
Cut the branches so they're even in length and rest them on the ground.
Trim the top.
 
Lash short sticks with thin twine to the branches 1” to 2” from the ends and then lay smaller sticks across to make a platform floor.
Add fairy details - tables, chairs, bowls and such to lure and keep your fairies happy.
  
 

Fairy House Week Part 3: Two Story Fairy Houses

Continuing the week of Fairy House Constructions!

For this 2 story fairy house you will need:
8 sticks cut into--
4 longer sticks (ours measure about 14”)
4 short sticks (ours measure about 8”)
2 pieces of bark
 
Start by constructing the first floor.
Push 4 sticks into the ground in square shape arranged so that it is slightly smaller than the shape of one of the pieces of bark.
Add the bark (roof/floor).

 
 

Add the 2nd group of sticks into the ground around the first platform and add the roof bark to make the second floor roof.

Fairy House Week Part 2: “A” Shape Projects

Continuing with Fairy House Constructions this week: try lashing together some sticks to make A shapes.  The “A” shape can be used to build a tent house, a swing or to hold a hammock.

Materials:
2 long sticks (ours measure 8”)
One shorter stick (ours measures 4”)
Twine cut into 31” sections

 
Start by laying the two 8” long sticks parallel with each other.
 

Tie and then wrap half of the 31” twine length around the sticks about an inch from the top leaving a 3” tail.

 

Spread the sticks apart to form a V then continue to wrap the twine around and through the sticks and finally, tie the twine off using the tail.

Lay the shorter stick about half way along one of the V shaped sticks then tie (again leaving a tail) and wrap twine around the intersection.
Repeat with the end of the cross stick.

  Swing

To make the seat, lash 3 to 4 short sticks together by wrapping the twine over and under, back and forth on both sides at the ends of the sticks. 

Thread a length of string through twine on one side and tie it into a loop with the knot hiding on the bottom.
Trim the excess twine.
Repeat on the other end.

Thread the loops through a stick and in the crook in the A shapes.
 

If the ground is not being used to hold the sticks in place, lash the “A” shapes together using the top stick and lash 2 sticks across to the bottoms of the A shapes.

 

Hammock

Use pinking shears to cut a rectangle shaped piece of fabric (ours measures 4.5” by 6”).

Gather one end of the fabric and wrap and tie a length of string around the fabric gather.
 

Tie a knot in the remaining twine about 4“ from the gathered material to form a loop and then trim the excess.
Repeat on the other end.
Thread a stick through the loops and rest the stick on the notches in the A shapes.

 

If the ground is not being used to hold the sticks in place, lash the “A” shapes together using the top stick and lash 2 sticks across to the bottoms of the A shapes.

Teepee Frames

 

The teepee frame can be made many ways- here are 2 basic constructions that work well.
The first construction is to simply stick short sticks (ours measure about 8-9”) into the earth and lean them into the center at the top of the teepee.
Add fabric, bark or leave the structure as-is.

Triangle Teepee from 2 “A” shapes 

The second construction is to use the “A” shapes to form a unit.
This construction can be made with 2 “A” shapes to form a triangle shaped footprint OR 3 “A” shapes to form a square footprint.

 
Make 2 “A” shapes then lash them together at the top and sides – all with a slight lean into the center so that the legs run parallel to each other. The foot print will form a triangle with one open side as seen from above.
Cut a ¼ of a circle (like a piece of pie) of fabric to make the teepee fabric covering. 
 

 

Triangle Teepee from 3 “A” shapes

 
Make 3 “A” shapes then lash them together at the top and sides – all with a slight lean into the center so that the legs run parallel to each other. The foot print will form a square with one open side as seen from above.
 
Cut a little more than ¼ of a circle of fabric to make the teepee fabric covering. Cut a corresponding curve at the top to remove the excess fabric.


Next up Part 3

Fairy House Week Part 1: Fairy Doors

Awhile back, I worked on a huge Fairy House project for an assignment for work but the project was canceled. I can’t let the houses go --they were so much fun and magical to make. At the time, I was asked to write up EVERY SINGLE DETAIL of the Fairy House Project and now- I will post them here on the blog over the coming week.


The first project is a fairy door. It goes against any tree trunk, nook or cranny. It’s meant to be temporary- as all fairy things are meant to be.

Materials:
3 Popsicle sticks
4 tongue depressors
Kitchen scissors to cut the wood
Craft knife (not shown)
Modeling clay to hold the house doors onto the bark
The Popsicle sticks are thicker the tongue depressors and need to be scored and snapped with a craft knife.

 
Line the 4 tongue depressors flush next to each.

Use hot glue to add the first Popsicle stick horizontally in the middle across the surface of the tongue depressors --not quite flush with one side.

You could cut the Popsicle sticks first instead of trimming them later.

Add the 2 more sticks on the top and bottom about an inch away from the middle stick.

Draw and trim a curve onto the top of the door using the strong kitchen scissors (in this picture I’d not yet trimmed the popsicle sticks).

Trim the sticks flush with the edge of the door. Add a door handle stone, stick etc. with a dab of hot glue.

Use modeling clay to hold the door onto the bark.

 



Next up: Part 2