For some reason we’ve gotten into making Gnome houses. We’ve made so many, we now have a village! Here are our top 5 fairy or gnome houses for your garden this spring/summer.

1. The Tree Stump

A neighbor was trimming trees and a few branches were quite thick. So we took a stump. With just a forstner bit I was able to drill a doorway, a window right above the doorway, and a secret hiding spot. The doorway and window were straight forward.

The hidden spot however took a little work. First, take a 2 inch slice off the top of the tree stump to act as a lid. Then, pre-drill a hole for a screw. Secure the pivoting lid with a screw. I made the screw recessed so that I could hide it with some wood glue and saw dust. You can barely make out the perfect dot in the picture.

I also drilled a recessed area in the back to hide solar fairy lights. I used the mason jar battery/solar lights.

2. The Cardboard Condo

Like many of us we have no shortage of boxes. This house let us use that cardboard to make a three story condo for our fairies to enjoy. The outside was covered with bark and sticks from outside. The roof was made from a grocery brown paper sack. It was fun to make this one especially since we got to go on a nature hunt first to gather our materials.

3. Paper Bag Teepee

Just as the name suggests with a brown paper bag from the local grocery store and a few twigs we made a teepee. Our youngest loved this one and enjoyed making a nature first floor covered in pine needles for his tiny critters. Not to be outdone by his brother’s condo, we added a second floor and stairs.

4. Tree Branch Treehouse

Since we had a few large branches I decided to debarked one and see what it would look like. Turned out the wood was gorgeous! I was able to use the same forstner bit here to make a doorway and window as the tree stump house.

I also had a fairy door which fit perfectly. A bit of wood glue for the tree top platform and we have ourselves a tree house!

 

 

5. Birdhouse Caravan

These caravans were too cute to pass up at the craft store. But we didn’t want bird houses. Instead we converted them to Gnome’s glamping. Using a drill and a jig saw I made a large back door for the caravan. I cut off the little bird perch from the front and used it as the doorknob. I also used a jig saw to cut a hole to recess the mason jar solar fairy lights. Lastly, I had one hinge for the boys but the other houses I connected the door by sewing through pre-drilled holes with burlap thread. Turned out pretty neat.