Our hope is that this event will not only encourage children and their families to enrich their relationship with Nature but also inspire them to create their own Fairy House as a family. We also hope to provide Fairy House Artists a sense of confidence that their Homes will be respected and treated with care while under our watch. While we cannot guarantee children will not touch the Homes, or rain will set in, or resident squirrels will nibble on your pinecones, we can promise to do our best to make you want to come back next year.
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We encourage Builders to use as much natural materials as possible when building their houses; but please do not harvest materials from live plants or trees. Instead, use "found and fallen" items. Obviously, hot glue and other adhesives are not necessarily "natural," but they are popular with builders because tying structural joints together with string is not always feasible or secure. So, use adhesives as needed.
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Also, many builders like to combine natural with recycled man-made materials, such as plastic jugs and bottles, cardboard oatmeal containers, tin cans, old boots, etc. Please feel free to re-use synthetic materials as you wish, if it keeps those items out of the landfills.
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Please contact us if you have any questions: thumbelinafairycraft@gmail.com.
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May 23, 2019 - We're running a free House Building Workshop at Methuen's Nevins Library from 6-8pm. If you'd like to join us, register for the event on the Nevins website. You're asked to bring building materials (natural and recyclable), the library will supply you with glue guns and glue sticks, and we'll be there for guidance and inspiration! So, gather you friends and family, make sure everyone has a bag, and go on a Scavenger Hunt in your house, backyard or nearby woods.
Here’s a suggested list of what you should be looking for:
You Need A Base to Build On - find one of these: a dried wood slice, medium to large cardboard box, large flat rock, a frisbee, a plant saucer, a plate, a small tin or wood tray… can you think of anything else?
Your Base Needs A Lawn - gather enough to cover your base: leaves, moss, felt, burlap, sandpaper... if your base is wood or stone, you may want to leave it bare.
You Need A Frame For Your House - find one of these: a clean, empty tin can, small milk carton, soda bottle or small jar, a small cardboard box, wooden birdhouse, terra cotta or plastic planter pots.
Your House Needs Siding - collect enough to cover all (four) walls of your house: sticks, popsicle sticks, leaves, small to medium sized flat rocks, felt, thick fabric, pieces of medium to thin bark.
Your House Needs A Roof - collect enough to create/cover your roof: thin sticks, thin to medium bark, flat rocks, pine needles, moss, felt, fabric, shells, pinecone scales.
Your New Home Needs Decoration and Landscaping - collect as much or as little as you like of these: dried/fabric flowers, acorns, acorn caps, rocks, pinecones, sticks, marbles, shells, bottle caps, feathers, crystals, loose moss.
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This is our schedule for the Walk on June 1, 2019:
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Fairy Walk Organizers and Volunteers meet Builders at Tenney Grammar School (at 75 Pleasant St) parking lot to receive and install Fairy Houses on the Tenney Grammar Front Lawn from 8am-9:30am.
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Fairy Walk opens to Visitors at 10am
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Fairy House Artists may also man their installation(s) to answer visitor questions
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Fairy Walk closes at 2pm
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Artists remove installations and organizers/volunteers walk path to pick up trash/litter from 2-4pm.
Builder Guidelines
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Builder Registration is open ONLY to individuals, families and non-profits, not for-profit businesses. If you are a for-profit business and wish to have a Home built and displaying your business name, please consider becoming a Sponsor. Contact us at thumbelinafairycraft@gmail.com for more information about sponsorships.
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Your completed Home should be brought to Tenney Grammar School parking lot, Methuen, for self-installation on June 1, 2019 from 8am to 9:30am. There is no rain date scheduled.
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You may bring wagons for transporting your Home but be advised you will be travelling over uneven, grassy terrain. There is an incline/decline as you walk between the parking lot and the front lawn.
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If you are unable to install your Home during the setup hours, please contact us at least 24 hours before the event date (thumbelinafairycraft@gmail.com) and we will try to make other arrangements for you.
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Spots are first come, first serve in terms of availability.
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If necessary, we will cap the number of entries to ensure we have enough appropriate and accessible spaces for all registered homes.
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During installation, participants are expected to treat the surrounding environment with care. As the Boy Scouts say, “leave no trace” - please take any and all leftover, unused materials with you after installation.
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You may post a sign (no bigger than 8.5x11”) displaying your fairy/gnome house's name next to your house.
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We welcome you to remain with your Home if you wish to be available to answer questions from visitors (and to enjoy their delight as they appreciate your art).
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Houses may be removed starting at 2pm. You are asked to park at Tenney Grammar for your pick-up. We ask that you do not remove your house before the designated time.
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Thumbelina Fairy Craft and the Tenney Grammar School will not be held responsible for any house left after the Walk event. We cannot guarantee their safety from the elements or animals, or inconsiderate humans. But, we can guarantee that if they are left there, the Fairies will enjoy them as long as they can. :)
Our Promise to You:
As Fairy Home creators ourselves, we are sensitive to the time, effort, money and love that goes into dreaming, designing and building your Fairy or Gnome Home. As your Organizers, we promise to respect your time and effort by posting signage for visitors asking them not to touch or otherwise manipulate your Homes. We will also try to arrange for volunteers to be stationed along the Walk to supervise visitors and remind them to respect the rules posted as necessary.
