Garden Gnome, Elf, or Fairy House

Supplies needed: Bark, dried leaves, wooden pieces, plastic file folder, empty plastic container, rain-ready, sun/freeze-proof silicone, glitter glue, paint brush, newspaper to protect your work space, and small gravel.

Directions: Using an empty detergent container or something similar, cut away the top of the handle, which provides a chimney for your house. Cut the top of the container off also to provide a place for your roof. (See photos below.) I taped a photo of a staircase from a magazine to show the "interior" of my house and then framed a door around it. With silicone, glue the bits and pieces of wood and bark to completely cover your house.

To make the roof, I used dried leaves from a red tip Photinia bush. Like Magnolia leaves, these leaves have a thick texture and do not crumble when dried. Cut a piece of a plastic file folder into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. Make a cut from the edge to the center of the circle, overlap the edges enough to make a shallow cone, and staple together. (See supply photo below.) This is the base to which leaves will be glued on for the roof. Glue the first row of leaves along the outer edges of the roof, with the leaves curling over the edge. Place the next row over the top of the first row, continuing to glue leaves until the roof is covered. I placed one last leaf in the center. Aquarium gravel or something similar should be placed in the bottom of the container to weigh it down so winds won't make it fall over or blow away. Use three small strips of plastic to hold the roof in place, securing them first to the roof and then to the inside of the container.

I used little threads of hot glue to make some good "smoke" for the chimney top. Just glue the bits and pieces of scrap glue together and attach to the inside of the chimney.

Brush glitter glue here and there along the leaves and to highlight the bark. The glitter picks up the sunshine and gives a little extra "sparkle magic" to your house. A small figurine and a little aquarium gravel path placed in front of your house help to complete your project. Mine lives on an old stump in the back of a flowerbed.

When I did this the first time, it was great until we had a very hot day followed by a heavy rain. The glue gun glue I had used melted in the heat, so the leaves fell apart and some of the bark fell off. I changed to silicone, which should stand up to most weather conditions but was difficult to work with for me. I would suggest you try the high heat glue gun as that may be the easiest solution.