Sewing Bee Fabrics Tutorial
How To MakeA Pebble House For A Fairy Garden
We are very lucky to have a community park near us that has a fairy garden in, and it has sparked a real magical appreciation in my little ones, so I wanted to bring a little of the magic home, by making our own fairy house to start our own fairy garden. Here's how I made it.
What you will need:
LOTSof pebbles! I am lucky to live near a beach with a huge amount of pebbles that anyone is allowed to wander off with, but if you don't, you can always buy some. Most garden centres tend to stock them. I also added a few little jem stone chipping beads as decoration but these are completely optional.
A good pile of reasonably straight sticks - approx. 1/2cm - 1cm wide. I had 2 fat sticks with a sharp bend in them that I used to base the roof shape on, but if you can't find that, you can always just glue 2 sticks together at an angle first. I also kept back a few really narrow twigs for making the windows with.
A bit of scrap wood for a door - I found a little bit of rectangulardriftwood that looked perfect. If you really can't find anything, you might want to consider gluing some lolly sticks together.
A cherry stone for a doorhandle
A hinge (so the door can open)
Scraps of PUL fabric - enough to cover the roof
Enough live moss to cover the roof
Epoxy glue. I love the version made bygorilla gluebecause it will hold it's position much quicker than some of the budget alternatives I've tried. This makes it much easier to create the final shape. I tried with a cheapie one half way through building the main structure and couldn't believe the amount of scaffolding I ended up propping against stones to keep them in place. Whereas with the gorilla glue, I found that by the time I'd worked my way around 1 layer of stones, the ones I started on were stuck hard in place and ready for more.
A surface epoxy glue wont stick to. I use an old silicone baking sheet. I put it on a board so I can move it around easily.
Optional - I also used a clear sealant by plastikote to give the stones a sheen and protect the twigs to extend their life.
How To Make It:
First, lay a line of pebbles out the size that you want your house. I made mine approximately 25cm x 20cm.Remember to leave an opening for the door. I later decided that it didn't quite have the stability when it was picked up, so popped a flat stone under the doorway like an entrance mat. This would probably be easier to do from the start if you have one handy. Dribble a little epoxy glue between each of the stones to bond them together. To prepare the epoxy, it first needs to be mixed. The gorilla glue comes in a syringe that easily dispenses an equal amount but other brandsmay need measuring. It sets very quickly so only mix up small amounts at a time. Mix it thoroughly then use a wooden lolly stick to apply it. The gorilla glue comes with one, but feel free to use this as your excuse to buy several boxes of ice creams!
Gradually build up the pebbles in rows until you reach the height that you'd want windows.
With your twigs, make up a square with a cross in the middle, and glue this together. Once this is set, glue it on top of the pebbles then fill in with pebbles to the height of the window.
Keep in mind that the roof will slope, so you will need to build up the height more at the front and back with pebble rows. I found it helpful to keep checking with my crooked sticks what shape I was aiming for. I left the top area for filling in once those were in place to get a perfect look. I then decided that it might look good to make a pebble feature at the top, so I arranged small pebbles in a circle with some amethyst beads in the centre. I poured on epoxy glue and left it to set solid.
Glue in place the 2 crooked sticks across the width of the fairy house (or use2 sticks glued together) with a stick across the length of it to make a cross bar. I then added the feature stone.
Next, lay your sticks over the cross bar so they alternate crossing over. I did mine a couple at a time, gluing them in place waiting for them to set before adding more.
I then gave it a couple of coats of clear sealant to help exended the life of the sticks as well as giving the pebbles a sheen that adds tothe magic.
Now here comes the fun part - PUL fabric is brilliant for growing moss on for a fairy roof. It keeps the inside of the house well sheltered, and moss roots don't like being disturbed, so PUL fabric does this well as the knit fibres allow the roots to grow into, and thewaterproof layer underneath gives the protection.
Spread some epoxy over the sticks then smooth the PUL fabric scraps over the top. Wait a few minutes for it to set then trim it flush to the edge of the roof.
My moss came from myguttering and driveway. Please make sure that you aren't removing moss from somewhere you don't have permission. My fairy house is going to live outside in a fairy garden in a very sheltered spot. If it was more exposed, I wouldglue another stick across the bottom of the PULso the rain couldn't wash the moss down.
I just lay my moss across the PUL fabric.
I kept going until the fairy house roof was fully covered with moss. If the fairy house was going to live somewhere a little windy (or near little meddling fingers!!), I would have added a layer of tulle over the top, glued around the edges. As the moss becomes established it will grow into it and be barely noticeable, but it will protect the moss and hold it in position while the roots set in.
Mist the moss with a spray bottle of water daily for the first few weeks. Moss is only active when it has sunlight and water, so unlike other plants, it is not able to take up water to use for later, so make sure that you mist the moss first thing so that it has the moisture at the same time as the daylight.
