TicTac Box Fairy House

Another upcycling project! This time I will be showing you how to create a cute, little fairy house out of a TicTac box. This is a great way to use up some of those small scraps of coloured paper that get stashed away so frequently. It's also fun to make with kids as it really doesn't have to be precise. In fact, the more natural and organic it looks, the better!

So, let's get started!

To make your very own fairy house, you will need:

• an empty TicTac box
• a glass of water
• nail polish remover
• a cotton bud
• scraps of coloured paper and thin card
• pencil and fineliner pen
• circle guide (optional)
• scissors
• craft knife, ruler and cutting mat
• double-sided tape and gluestick
• small craft punches (optional)

First, fill the empty TicTac box with water, close the lid and place it in a glass of water. (The water inside the box helps it to sink.)

 After a couple of hours (or overnight) empty the water out of the box and begin to scrape the label off with your thumbnail.

Then, using a small amount of nail polish remover on a cotton bud, gently rub over the use by date printed on the box, and over any remaining glue from the label.

Next, draw around the TicTac box onto a piece of coloured paper (approx A5 size). You need to draw around each of the four sides and the base making sure that no gaps are left. Then add a tab against one side, and a tab below each of the sides.

Cut this out, then draw some windows. I used a circle guide, putting a small one on the front and a larger one on the back, but it may look more natural if it is drawn freehand. Cut these out carfeully using a craft knife.

You then need to draw the window frames on another scrap of coloured paper. (Make sure the inside circle is smaller than the window circle you just cut out.)

Carefully cut these out using a craft knife, then glue them over the windows.

Apply double-sided tape around the edges of the TicTac box and along the top and bottom of the front and back. Then carefully position the coloured paper so that it wraps around the box. You may need some glue to hold the final tabs down on the base.

Once this is done, cut a small arch-shaped door out of another scrap of coloured paper and glue it to the front of the house.

To add some decoration, punch several flowers out of patterned card and glue them to the front and back of the house, then draw on some detail using a brown permanent fineliner pen.

FRONT

BACK

Using the following template for the roof, draw around it onto some thin patterned card and cut it out. Score along the dashed lines and fold them as shown to create the roof shape.

For added decoration, punch two hearts out of red paper and glue these to either side of the roof, then finish it off with more fineliner pen detail.

For the chimney, cut a small rectangle of paper (the same colour as the house if you wish) and, using doudle-sided tape, wrap it around the TicTac box lid.

Ta-Dah! A cute, little fairy house is complete!

I really hope you enjoyed this project and that you will soon start creating your own little fairy houses. Maybe you could make a row of them, or hide them around your home in the hope that the fairies will find them and move in!

*UPDATE* I have added a video tutorial for this on my YouTube channel, so check it out for more details!

Happy crafting!