Fairy House Lights

In my previous post, I showed you how to take an empty TicTac box and upcycle it into a cute fairy house. Well, now I've taken 10 empty TicTac boxes and turned them into a row of fairy house lights!

Easy to assemble, these lights are sure to brighten your home and, with any luck, the fairies will move in in no time at all!

To create your very own fairy house lights, you will firstly need to follow the instructions on my previous post and create as many little houses as you wish. In addition, you will need a string of led lights. I used a one metre string of 10 lights in warm white. The lights are approximately 10cm apart, which provides just enough space between the completed houses.

Check out my short video tutorial on my YouTube channel for assembly instructions.

The most important thing is to use thin, light coloured paper to cover the houses otherwise the light may struggle to shine through.

Just remember to have fun with your house designs. Basically, anything goes, and it's a great way to use up some of your small scraps of coloured paper.

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!

Milk Bottle Owl

This is my little upcycled owl, made entirely out of plastic items that would otherwise have ended up in the recycling bin. He is super cute and easy to make, and can be used as a handy desk tidy.

To make one, you will need:

• a one pint plastic milk bottle
• a two pint plastic milk bottle
• 2 plastic milk bottle lids
• 2 smaller plastic lids (e.g. from a drinks carton)
• 2 small bendy plastic drinking straws
• Mod Podge or PVA glue
• acrylic paint and soft paintbrush
• hot glue gun or super glue
• permanent marker pen (e.g. Sharpie)

To begin, cut 2 wing shapes out of the 2 pint milk bottle (one from either side), then cut the ridged section from the front of the bottle and a small diamond shape from one of the sides. Fold the diamond shape in half to form a beak before the next step.

Cover the cut out pieces, the 1 pint milk bottle, the milk bottle lids and the straws with a thick layer of Mod Podge or PVA glue using a soft paintbrush. This helps the paint to stick.

Once dry, fold the straws at the bend and cut one side as shown. Then, using a hot glue gun or super glue, attach the cut off piece to the centre of the bend and cut this to the same size. Finally, cover the straws with a thick layer of brown acrylic paint.

   

    

Cover the 1 pint milk bottle and the three cut out pieces with several thick layers of white acrylic paint. The two larger plastic lids and the plastic diamond (beak) need to be covered with brown acrylic paint.

        

        

Attach the smaller plastic lids to the larger lids using a hot glue gun or superglue.

Then glue all of the pieces in place.

        

    

To make the owl stand up straight, glue the pieces of cut off straw to the base of the bottle at the back.

Next, using a permanent pen, draw the centres of the eyes, leaving a small highlight if you wish, and a few v-shaped feathers on the owl's chest.

Trim each of the straws at an angle, then cover the whole owl with Mod Podge or PVA glue to seal it.

    

Once dry, your little upcycled owl is complete. It can be used to hold paintbrushes, pencils, dried flowers, fresh flowers, or smaller items such as paper clips.