Liza Gardner Walsh - Fairy House Crafts: Wonderful, Whimsical Projects for You and Your fairy House

G lue is essential in most good craft projects, and it turns out to be essential in writing a craft book too. There were way more parts floating around with this book than any other and I owe the deepest thanks to Lynda Chilton for calmly securing those millions of pieces. Not only does she have a crafty eye, but she is endlessly patient, resourceful and exceedingly hardworking. Thank you, thank you! Without Michael Steere there would be no books, so thank you for your flexibility, sense of humor, and willingness to stay on the fairy train. Thank you to photographer Andy Dumas for your quick eye, patience, and for coming to the rescue time and time again.

I am also deeply grateful to all of the kids and families who help me fill these pages with adorable fairy models! It is a unique joy to watch you all grow up through these pages and it wouldnt be nearly as fun without your smiles and willingness to dig right in to the projects.

So thank you to cover girl, Ami, Graham, Marguerite, Izzy, Zoe, and their families for bringing so much magic to the Childrens Chapel shoot. Ella, Klara, Lila, Amelia, Ava, and Midge for making Merrysprings Fairy festival even brighter. Tessa, Andy, Midge, Clark, and Gwen were great sports through a very long photo shoot and smiled through it all. Thank you to Mrs. Peters Gifted and Talented Origami Experts for walking me through the challenging but amazing world of origami. Thank you to the Compass Rose Fairy Camp kids for trying all this stuff out and for such exuberant belief in the fairy world. Ava and Daphne, thank you for always being up for a last minute photo session again and again since the very beginning.

I want to especially thank my mom, for instilling in me her love of tiny things and for all of those days spent making salt-dough, dioramas and pouring through the Rainy Day Craft Book for new ideas to try. Thank you to Phoebe and Daphne for a constant stream of creativity and beautiful mess-making. You are both true artists and I love watching your creative spirits unfold. And to Jeff, you are the glue that holds us in one piece.

T he fairies certainly dont go to a giant craft store to load up on glue and paint, so why should you? Making your own craft supplies is not only fun and scientific (think kitchen chemistry) but it helps protect our planet. Homemade glue is biodegradable, which means it breaks down into the earth and wont leave a big mess in nature. It is non-toxic, which means it wont make you sick and wont harm plants or animals. And natural glues and paints work well with that all important rule about using only things that come from nature. For example, with rice-based glue, you can glue all the rungs on your fairy ladder and not worry that you are altering natures delicate balance. Same goes for the homemade paint recipes in this chapterpainting your fairy signs and doors with this stuff will make the fairies jump for joy at your creative and earth-friendly use of color. One last perk, if you run out of paint you will no longer need to ask your parents to take you to the store, you can just head into the kitchen and mix away.

YOU WILL NEED

cup water

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1 teaspoon white vinegar

cup corn starch

cup ice-cold water

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1: In a small saucepan, mix the water, corn syrup, and vinegar until smooth.

STEP 2: Heat the mixture over medium heat until it begins to boil.

STEP 3: Mix corn starch and cold water together in a small bowl and then slowly add this mixture to the saucepan. Stir well.

STEP 4: Take the saucepan carefully off of the heat and allow to cool. (Make sure a grownup is nearby) Pour into an airtight container and let the glue set overnight before using.

NOTE: To make your glue extra fairy-ish, you can add a little food coloring to jazz it up.

(Adapted from Green Guide for Artists)

R ice can be very sticky. In fact, there is a type of rice called sticky rice, so no wonder it is used in this glue recipe. A couple of notes about this glue, its extra thick and doesnt dry clear so its better for pasting underneath objects where it wont be seen. Known for sticking objects to paper, it makes a great choice for collage work.

NOTE: Rice flour is available in most supermarkets in the gluten-free section.

YOU WILL NEED

cup rice flour

2 tablespoons sugar

cup warm water

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1: In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, rice flour, and water. Stir well until all lumps disappear.

STEP 2: Over low heat, continue stirring until mixture thickens.

STEP 3: Let glue mixture cool and then pour into a jar that has a lid. The glue can be stored for a couple of months.

YOU WILL NEED

3 tablespoons baking soda

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons white vinegar

1 teaspoons light corn syrup

Food coloring

Small plastic or glass containers

(like yogurt containers or baby food jars or an ice cube tray)

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1: In a small bowl, mix together baking soda, corn starch, and corn syrup.

STEP 2: Pour the mixture into the containers you have handy.

STEP 3: Add one color of food coloring to each jar. Use the watercolors right away in their wet form or let them dry into hard cakes of paint.

R eal milk paint dates back to ancient Egypt and was especially common in Colonial America for painting furniture and barns. But traditional milk paint takes a couple of days to make and requires curdling the milkYuck! The following recipe uses condensed milk instead to copy the spirit of milk paint but in a much simpler version.

YOU WILL NEED

cup condensed milk

6 to 8 drops of food coloring.

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix together milk and color or colors of your choice in a small bowl until well-blended. The paint will be high gloss and can be made over and over!

S ome painters spend a whole day preparing their paints, but in the fairy-craft world, the process is a little easier. You are limited only by how many saucepans you have since each color needs to be created separately.

YOU WILL NEED

cup flour

1 cup water

3 tablespoons of powdered tempera paint for each color

(this can be tricky to find in regular store. You might need to order it online)

2 tablespoons water

teaspoon liquid starch

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1: In a small saucepan, mix flour and water and stir well.