fun summer activity :: fairy and gnome house building

A few weeks back my oldest two kids and I got to look at some wonderfully detailed fairy houses at our local nature center. After looking at the unique and intricate details on these thirty plus creations I gladly gave into the requests to create some fairy houses of our own. As a parent who probably over things things I thought this project would require a lot of prep and gathering of supplies. Thankfully my husband thinks very differently than I do and helped the girls get started that day using things they found around our house, in our shed, and throughout the yard.

Before you think that we went and bought a kit I need to disclaim that the bases for both of their creations are pieces of various Home Depot kids projects my girls had lying around to deconstruct. I’m thankful to no longer need to find a home for the duplicate or triplicate miniature bowling sets, flower planters. rain gauges, and photo frames and my kids were extremely happy to pound nails, use wood glue, and let their imaginations run wild.

Here are some supply suggestions to get you started, many of these items can easily be found right at your home or on a nature walk! If you plan on leaving your creations outdoors make sure to only use natural materials, my kids take theirs in each day after adding more details and playing so we went wild with any found items we wanted.

• wood glue
• small nails (if they are old enough) & hammer
• scissors
• sticks
• nut shells
• feathers
• moss
• shells
• dried seeds
• acorn caps
• stones of various sizes and textures
• bark
• dried flowers
• pinecones
• pine needles
• leaves
• grapevines
• coconut shells
• bottlecaps
• treated wood scraps
• popsicle or crafting sticks
• felt
• wine corks
• sequins
• rhinestones
• pipe cleaners
• pom poms
• fabric scraps
• plastic cups
• party hats
• old dishes
• paint
• chalk
• paper (construction, tissue, scrapbooking, etc.)
• small toys (fast food meal toys work great!)
• beads
• yarn or string

To make this the easiest process possible for myself we set up some ground rules: 1) they had to only use approved materials and 2) hammering nails had to be under supervision. My kids have already had hours of fun creating these houses and I get to watch their little imaginations run wild and the pride they have in creating on their own.

Any supplies that you would add to the list? Tips for fairy or gnome houses you’ve built with your kids?