Fairy House Building Tips for Little Girls

Are your fairy houses in disarray after the winter? My girls were saddened to see their hard work all but washed away, but just like we have to do in the gardens, it is simply time to rebuild, repair and remodel.

If you do not have a secret fairy house in your yard, it is time to add one. These little structures can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. They can also be rather addictive. Although the fairy house is my daughters’ creation, I find myself collecting tiny items to add as well.

A dollhouse for imaginative children, or if nothing else catching a glimpse of a little homelike setting will make you smile as you work in the yard!

Fairy house supplies:

• Tree bark
• Large stones
• Shells
• Tiny pebbles
• Dried flowers, a bag of potpourri from the Dollar Store works well
• Twigs
• Seed pods, nuts, pine cones and anything else you find while wandering
• Wood glue and varnish are optional

Fairy house instructions:
Building a fairy house is all very subjective depending upon your unique setting. One of our fairy houses is set in the middle of tree roots and the other is up against the house. These first set of instructions are for a free-standing fairy house that could even be moved indoors.

Fairy hotel

1. Choose a flat base such as tree bark, or a piece of scrap wood.
2. Construct the house using twigs, cardboard, bark or even clay. A hollowed out clay house could take on a hobbit-like appearance and could be covered with moss and flat stones. A combination of building materials can be used to create a sturdy and unique structure.
3. Now decorate! Make a path of pebbles that lead to the front door. You can add flower beds with potpourri, use twigs to fashion small benches, set a marble up as a gazing ball and more. Just use your imagination and the materials at hand to create something special.
4. Start with the flat base. Choose item for a house and glue to base. Add walkways, trees, flower beds, windows, antennas, gazing balls, swings, porches, little piles of fire wood, just let your imagination go wild.
5. Use the wood glue to help hold everything in place and then spray the whole thing with varnish if desired.

Backyard Bungalow

1. Choose a safe spot and be sure to check for poison ivy before letting your kids crawl around at the base of trees or stone walls!
2. Create a house by pushing sticks into the ground in the basic shape you want the fairy house. Prop strips of bark, or flat stones against the sticks to form the walls. The roof can be made from another piece of bark, leaves or twigs set across the opening.
3. Make the home look welcoming by adding a pebble pathway, a pine cone fence, or found feather decorations.

Fairy houses can also be made in the woods, in tree branches, at the beach, or wherever you find yourself on vacation. Knowing that you are leaving behind a fairy house for someone else to find can be exciting for kids to discuss on the way home.