Here are the finishing touches of the fairy tree house!

This tabletop fairy tree house is for promoting my College Fae book series and is planned to be a centerpiece of a table in my booth at upcoming events. Here is the last part of the series (the first part and second part are here).

The pine cone awning was made from pine cone scales hot glued onto foam (we used packing foam). They are attached to the tree with a nail spike to keep it in place and hot glue.

Because the foam on the underside of the bottom of the tree kept flaking off, we decided to mount it on some cardboard using builder’s caulk. The cardboard was slightly bigger than the tree to allow some edging where we back-filled with foam where the roots were not laying flat.

Here’s a bit of a video showing how I painted these areas. Start with dark colors and work to light. The cracks would be black, building up to lighter gray with maybe some taupe highlights. If I wanted to continue the moss look, I would add a bit of green.

I like using a very dry brush and doing a sideways swipe for highlights.

The glass of the windows is from a plastic sheet is a ceiling light panel used to cover lights in suspended ceilings (from Lowes). The black crosspiece in the window was made from Fimo clay.

Use the window to size your black circle but bake it separately from the plastic (which would discolor if put in the oven).

The black circle is set on the window using a bit of clear caulk, and the clear caulk is used again to set it into in the tree.

We made the door with wood scraps, which were then stained. The hardware is made from black Fimo clay which was baked and glued on later. The paving was from part of our Christmas tree Dept. 56 display, but you could probably find some cobblestone patterns at stores that sell miniatures.

The door was set into the tree with clear caulk. It was back-filled from the inside with foam, as it is not designed to open.

Adding in moss, lichen, and fake succulents made the paint job come alive.

Fake foliage was added to the crown of the tree by attaching it with floral wire. We also pierced the tree branch with the stem of the branchlet. A dab of hot glue helped keep it all in place.

General tips:

  • Foam is a little tricky to work with – it dries and may shrink in areas. Work on a small project before tackling a big one.
  • Allow plenty of drying time of the foam, and don’t rush it. It does need about a week or more to cure depending on your area temperature.
  • Mixing natural materials (moss, lichen, wood door, pine cones, acorns etc…) with your painted fake tree will help it look more “real.”
  • Figure out your color palette first and go from there – I went with a black-gray-brown-taupe- evergreen and lime green color palette. However, you may want something more colorful like pinks, reds, or purple. Just develop a group of colors that goes well together.
  • Bits of foam will break off from time to time, especially if you plan on playing with it or moving it around (like I do) so I expect some future repair.

For the inside, we are using this disco light (battery-powered or electric) from Amazon.

This could be a fun project for someone wanting a model fairy house or a Hobbit house! Once you figure out the foam, the rest is all fun!

Never Date a Siren is #1 in the College Fae series. You can sign up to my newsletter via this link to get the book free. Or find it free at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Apple books.
A Study in Spirits is #2 in the College Fae series. You can sign up to my newsletter via this link to get the book free.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *