Fairy houses are a fun craft that bring a little enchantment to your lawn or a local park. A little home or even just a simple door magically appears in front of a tree, and sometimes little treats or notes accompany it. Imaginations run wild thinking about who could live inside. It’s a delight for people of all ages who come across the tiny bit of wonder.
Make your own little piece of magic with a dash of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi with this how-to for an Ewok house! You’ll reuse an empty plastic container by turning it into a rustic home that would fit right into a neighborhood in Bright Tree Village. Celebrate Earth Day or any day with this upcycling DIY!
Note: Trees are not harmed in this DIY, so you won’t be makings any Ewoks angry.
What You’ll Need
- Large, clean yogurt or sour cream container
- Coffee stirrer sticks (unused)
- Sticks gathered from outside
- Twine
- Thin craft foam sheets
- Dark brown acrylic paint
- Small container for paint mixing
- Water
- Permanent marker
- Hot glue gun
- Scissors
- Paint brush
Yub Nub!
Step 1: Begin by drawing a rectangle about two inches wide into the back of the container. Cut out the shape so that the house will rest flush against the tree.
Step 2: Draw and cut a small circle for the door on the front-facing side.
Step 3: Hot glue coffee stirrer sticks around the container to make the inner layer of the house. Trim the stirrers around the door edge. (Scissors should easily cut the stirrer sticks.)
Step 4: Mix the dark brown paint with water to make a light wash. Paint the glued coffee stirrer sticks with the wash and let dry completely.
Step 5: Next, hot glue the sticks you gathered to the coffee stirrers you painted.
Step 6: Glue two or three pieces of twine around and inside the door frame. Cut the twine at the bottom of the door for a neat finish.
Tip: Watch your fingertips if you’re using thin twine with hot glue!
Step 7: Next, cut a strip of craft foam (or glue small pieces together) that’s long enough to wrap once around the top of the house. Glue the ends together.
Step 8: Break the coffee stirrer sticks in half. Hot glue them around the house on top of the craft foam, lining up the unbroken ends with the top edge.
Step 9: Cut a large circle from the craft foam. Cut a small slice from the circle, and then wrap it around to create a cone shape. Hot glue the cone shape together.
Tip: The roof can be as tall or wide as you like, but make sure the base completely covers the top of the house.
Step 10: Snap just one end of the coffee stirrers before hot gluing them around the roof.
Tip: You can reuse sticks picked up from the yard in place of the coffee stirrers for the roof.
Step 11: Trim the top point of the roof as needed.
Step 12: Fill in any gaps or add more layers as desired with more stirrers until there is no craft foam showing through.
Step 13: Paint the roof with the dark brown paint wash and let dry completely.
Step 14: Set the roof on top of the house; hot glue it to the top if you’d like to keep it all in one piece. Your Ewok house is ready to go outside!
Set the house at the base of a tree. Place other decorations to make the Ewok house feel like an Ewok home. You could add a ladder made with twine and coffee stirrers, some stick bundles, and stormtrooper helmets or other action figure pieces. You can also make a little hearth for inside the house with an LED tealight decorated with more coffee stirrers and twine. (You can also add Ewok action figures, of course, but just remember they might walk away when unsupervised.)
Enjoy; Bright Tree Village has relocated from Endor to your front yard!
Bring the house and all decorations indoors when the Ewoks have finished having their fun outside. When you’re ready to dismantle the house, simply pop off the hot-glued sticks from the plastic container and recycle it. Coffee stirrers and sticks with the hot glue completely removed can also be composted.
Kelly Knox writes features and DIYs for StarWars.com. Her writing can also be seen on Marvel, DC Comics, IGN, and more. Follow her on Twitter at @kelly_knox to talk Star Wars, games, and crafts.
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Author: Kelly Knox