Just Wing It: Secrets of Building a Fairy House
Photo by Barry Kane.
They lurk among the trees and moss.
You might stumble upon one on a hike, or in a private garden, and they inspire wonder and delight in children and young-at-heart adults.
They are fairy houses (also known as faerie houses) — made of the Earth, meant for creatures of the ether, and a charming way to connect hands to nature. If doll houses seem a little too humdrum and snow forts leave you cold, this could be the perfect whimsical project for you.
Exactly how fairy houses evolved remains something of a mystery. Tracy Kane first saw them on an island off the coast of Maine, and they enchanted her. She penned a series of children’s books about them, and now makes a living selling her books and holding demos and giving lectures.
"I use it as a vehicle for kids to get back to nature," Kane says, "for people to get back into their surroundings.
They can be any size, made of any material found in nature, and are only limited by the creativeness of their makers.
The little abodes maybe low tech and nature inspired, but fairies have been in the zeitgeist (thanks, Disney) and grown into a near-obsession among the grade-school set. And there’s the adult version, boosted by the popularity of movies like the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies. George Lucas has even been hitting the pixie dust, with his latest project, and the fairy tale mashup “Into the Woods" just brought the Brothers Grimm back on the big screen again.
So it’s no wonder fairy houses are having a bit of a moment.
The town of Portsmouth, NH, hosts an annual Fairy House Tour in September. Last year they welcomed 6,000 visitors to view more than 150 fairy houses.
Building a fairy house begins with a simple house-shaped foundation of sticks and stones. Kane recommends inexperienced builders use a tree or rock as support.
You’ll want to collect treasures amid the flora that might serve as decor — an especially good project for little hands, as even toddlers enjoy the hunt.
Sally Smith, who lives in New York’s Adirondacks and runs Greenspririt Arts, suggests bringing pruning shears and raffia or cotton thread to help hold the structure together. The natural fiber will eventually decompose along with the house.
From there, it’s all imagination. Acorn cups can hold seeds for “food.” Hollowed-out bark can serve as a bathtub. Berries can add decor. Small stacked stones can resemble bricks.
"The most important thing is to let yourself not be constrained by time or by any rules that say you have to have it a certain way," Smith says. "Because part of the magic of building fairy houses, especially if you have children with you, is the process of invention."
Photo by Barry Kane.
More permanent houses, like those kept in a garden, might employ hot wax to hold together.
Some artisans like Smith create fairy houses for sale. She combines naturally-discovered elements with glass and quartz, including ones sold with lights that give an ethereal glow from within.
"It’s like buying a painting or making a painting," she says, explaining the difference between buying or DIY’ing the houses. "When you do it yourself, you have the experience, and that’s what makes that process valuable.
"For some people, they want to have the experience of something beautiful they can look at all the time. So for them, buying something makes all the difference."
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Other fairy house makers craft tiny abodes in a natural style, with copper and polymer clay, though debate rages if they are considered true fairy houses. Others go all-out with dollhouse-sized pieces that include furniture (natural or upcycled, of course). Those may sell for many thousands of dollars.
Beliefs vary too. Some creators rely heavily on faerie, or fairy, lore, a belief in tiny, natural spirits populating our world.
Others, like Kane, build to stay close nature. If there’s something mysterious and unseen that needs a home, well, they’re welcome too.
Says Kane, “They ask me if I believe in fairies, and i tell them I believe that fairies are out there in the beauty of nature.”
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