Don’t Be Shy, Build a Fairy House

Fairy Houses are little houses built from natural materials, designed to look like homes for fairies. This month, The Raspberry's editor, Beatrix Taylor, wrote about her experience building Fairy Houses, and provides us some advice on building our very own!

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When I was a kid, building fairy houses was a regular activity. My old babysitter would take my sister and I on walks through forest trails, and once we’d found a satisfactory spot, we’d put on our metaphorical hard hats and get to work.

            When I say we made fairy houses, I want to clarify that we didn’t use any manmade materials. The rule was to use natural materials that we found while on our walk to create a beautiful house for forest fairies to discover. This hobby continued for years, and my sister and I indoctrinated friends into our construction crew. Together, we didn’t stop at little fairy houses­­—w­e’d make fairy hotels in the sides of ditches for all the fairies’ friends to stay at when they’d come to visit. Every natural nook and cranny held potential for our designs. Bedrooms, pools, front desks, and gardens were just a few of the luxuries the fairies could peruse.

            I was remembering all of my sister and I’s architectural endeavors when I was on a walk through one of the forests I’d frequented as a kid. I wondered why we ever stopped building the houses. It’s not like the forest fairies stopped needing places to live. As a matter of fact, I’ve heard that the local fairy housing market is in as dire straits as the human one.

            I propose we bring back building fairy houses, to set a good example for the powers that be. In this post, I’ve compiled some tips for you and your loved ones to be inspired by, should you decide to join the construction crew.

 

Before we get started, here are some important guidelines:

1. As I mentioned before, always use natural materials that you find in the environment. Every time a piece of plastic is left in the forest, the forest fairies cry in unison.

2. Keep disturbance to the area to a minimum. Use materials that have already fallen from plants and are already on their way to becoming compost for new life to grow. Fairies do not take kindly to us harming plants.

3. Fairies appreciate beautiful things. If you find a particularly gorgeous pebble or fallen leaf, leave it as a gift in the new home.

 

Now, you might be wondering how exactly you get started. Lucky for you, I’ve got some tips to get your creative juices flowing. Remember, you can use any of the materials you find for any purpose in the build. If you can think of it, it can be done. That being said, here are the basic materials I typically use and for what.

 

·       Foundation: the ledge of a big rock, the forest floor, against a tree trunk.

·       Walls: bark, twigs, rocks, ferns.

·       Door: a strip of wood, bark, a flat rock.

·       Mattress: moss, lichen, grass.

·       Pillow: moss, various fluffs.

·       Blanket: leaves, ferns.

·       Table: rock, flat piece of wood over two twigs.

·       Chairs: small rocks.

 

As for the rest of the decor and furnishings, that will depend on your surroundings. In my opinion, half of the fun is taking a look around and seeing what’s available. I hope you have a grand time as a fairy house architect.

Don’t forget to always be respectful of the forest —oh! And don’t eat any snacks the fairies might leave you!