Each year as garden season begins. . .
. . . we craft a new. . .
. . . fairy house for our magical little friends. . .
. . . to keep them cozy and warm. . .
. . . so they can spend all day in the garden. . .
. . . and come home to a beautiful house in the trees.
This year's fairy house: The Pine Needle Tree House
Materials:
- Pine Needle Basket Kit- Mini or Full sized (includes, pine needles, raffia, basket starter and tapestry needle)
- Feathers
- Scrap fabric (optional for flag)
- twig or stick (optional for flag)
- needle and thread (optional for flag)
To get started follow the instructions from your pine needle basket kit. If you are using the mini basket kit, instead of going straight up from the leather base, coil your pine needles out a bit until you have a base that is approximately 2.5" to 3". If you are using the full sized kit, just work straight up.
For either kit, once your walls are close to 3" tall, stop adding pine needles and finish off by leaving about 4-6" of pine needles sticking out for a decorative element (see image above).
Instead of adding the handle over the opening, make a knot in the end of a strand of raffia and secure the raffia from the inside of the basket about half way between the base and the opening. Pull the raffia through to the outside and stitch around the nub ends of the pine with a few stitches to secure completely.
Wrap the raffia around the pine needles like a candy cane stripe and stitch the other end the same way you did the first to secure it.
Add feathers and flags (I made a waxed fabric flag like these garden markers here) and hang in a tree.
If you used the mini basket kit, you should have enough left over material to make a tiny fairy basket for holding flowers (see image above and follow kit instructions).
Looking for more fairy dwellings? Take a peek at our other options:
Happy Fairy Garden Season!
~ Sarah
*Last time in Crafts and Activities: Merry May