Paper Mache Fairy Garden Tree House

In this instructable, I show you how to make a fairy tree house with an original design inspired by imagination and nature using mainly paper mache. I tried to make the shape of the fairy garden look perfectly like real tree logs. This technique is called "Faux Bois" which refers to the artistic imitation of wood or wood grains in various media. It’s fun to make and you can use it as an awesome decoration indoors or in your garden.

Materials:

• Cardboard 50x100cm
• Paper Tape: 1pc
• Paper Towel: 1pc
• Egg Carton: 1pc
• Aluminium 30cmx10m: Link
• Acrylic Paint: Link
• Wood Glue or Glue PVA: 1pc
• Hot Glue Sticks: 3pc
• Super Glue: 1pc
• Wood stirrers: 20pc
• Ice sticks: 40pc

Tools:

• Cutter
• Hot Glue Gun: Link
• Acrylic Paint Brushes: Link
• Scissors
• Cutting pliers

We start by cutting the cardboard to obtain a rectangle measuring 38x23cm. Then I gently roll the cardboard with my hands to get a cylindrical shape. To maintain the desired cylinder shape, both ends must be glued using hot glue.

Using a cutter, we cut the cardboard to obtain a 26x22cm rectangle. This cardboard piece will be the basis of the project. The cylinder is glued to this base using a hot glue gun. Follow the attached illustration photos to know the exact fixing position.

Using a compass, I draw on the cylinder 4 circles with diameters of 8, 6, 4 and 6cm respectively. The first circle of 8cm will be considered as the main door of the house. Its height from the floor is 3cm. The other circles will be the windows of the house. I chose the last window to be a semicircle. Please follow the attached illustration photos for approximate window positions.

I use a cutter to cut all the drawn circles. Please wear work gloves to protect against possible injury. I also changed the shape of the base from rectangular to a circle with a diameter of 22cm.

The first step in making the tree bark texture is to use aluminium foil and shape it into the desired shape. We start by cutting an aluminium foil about 60cm long. Then, we gently form it with my hands in order to make its shape close to the texture of tree bark. Please see the attached illustration photos to fully understand the method I followed.

Subsequently, the aluminium sheet that has been formed is glued to the cylinder using hot glue. Repeat the same previous steps and cover the whole tree with formed aluminium foil.

This step consists of covering all the aluminium foil with paper tape. This operation is important for the realization of the paper mache technique which will be explained in the next step.

In this step, I applied the paper mache technique. I started by diluting wood glue in a plastic bowl. The dilution ratio is 2 cups glue + 1 cup water. Then I cut slices of paper towel and gently dip them into the bowl of glue and immediately take it out and lay it on the surface covered by the paper tape.

I use a brush to shape the paper towel well and achieve the desired tree bark texture. I redo the same previous steps to cover the whole tree.

Using the same technique to add branches to our tree. So, we start by forming aluminium branches, then the total covering with paper tape. I fixed the branches next to the tree and shaped them to mimic the actual branches of a tree.

At the end I covered it with paper towels dipped in glue. After 24 to 36 hours, the project will be completely dry.

To make the floor, I start by covering the cardboard with paper tape and then cover it with paper towels dipped in glue. In order to make stone floor texture, I cut an egg carton into circular pieces the size of a coin. Then I glue these egg carton pieces into the floor with wood glue (or PVA Glue).

You can see the result obtained in the attached photos.

For building the wooden door, I used wooden stirrers. I group a dozen near each other. I glued three pieces of stirrers to the top using super glue to make the door one piece of wood. Using a craft knife, I cut the desired circular shape of the door presented in the attached photos.

I cut two small plastic pieces taken from a green cola bottle. These pieces will be used as the door glass. Finally, I glued the door in its designated position.

In this part, I will show you how I built the door canopy. I started by cutting a part of a paper towel roll 4 cm wide. I cut the unnecessary parts with scissors. We glue the door canopy in its place above the door.

To make the texture shown in the attached photos, I cut ice sticks into 15mm long pieces and glued them on top of each other. The type of glue used in this work is super glue.

I wanted to add large leaves and mushrooms to my fairy house. I followed the same technique used in this project. We always start with the aluminium form, then the cover with paper tape.

I glue all the pieces made in their positions with hot glue.

Feel free to decorate your home as you wish.

After the project has completely dried, I pass to the painting of the fairy garden tree. I used acrylic paint for its ability to resist more humidity. You can also use watercolours and watercolour crayons.

It's up to you. In the end, you can seal the paint using some matte spray varnish.

Acrylic Paint: Link

Paint Brushes: Link

Using ice sticks and following the same construction steps of the main door, I made a wooden circle with a diameter of 10cm (the same inside diameter of the tree). Then I painted it in acrylic paint. For the roof to be hinged, I glued a cardboard hinge that will attach the roof to the tree.

Please see the attached illustrative photos to fully understand the work done.

Finally, I used the roof as a terrace and I decorated it with miniature furniture like a table, chairs, vases, etc.

To add a light effect to our fairy house, just open the hinged roof and put the LED string lights in the tree. It is better to choose light strips with batteries and not which require a connection with the sector in order to avoid the exit of the cable through the roof.

LED String Lights: Link

Finally, I ended up with a wonderful house as shown in the attached photos :)

In order to not miss any details and to follow all the real chain of the instructable, enjoy watching the video tutorial 👉 Link