Driftwood Fairy Scape with a Twist of Cotton

One of the best things about being a DIY and craft blogger is that sometimes we get to create something just for fun. Like this little fantasy driftwood fairy scape I made for the Int’l bloggers club. It’s loosely based on “The Lorax”, who, as you probably know, has a passion for trees. A furry creature right after my own heart 😉 And since this month’s challenge is wood, it seemed appropriate too.

Mister!! he said with a sawdusty sneeze; I'm the Lorax and I speak for the trees Click to Tweet

But before I show you how to make this driftwood fairy scape, let me quickly tell you a little more about the IBC (Int’l Bloggers Club). Every month a group of bloggers from around the world get together to create something using a common theme. Our previous challenge was all about silk, and we made this gorgeous boho sign with beads and a silky fringe. I love the IBC. It’s so fascinating to see how we all interpret the same topic in so many different ways. You’ll be able to see all our projects at the end of the post.

Okay, before I get to the tutorial, please do me a favor and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. And don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll never miss a post!

Alrighty then. Let’s get cracking with making that Lorax inspired driftwood fairy scape with a twist of cotton 😉

What you need for a driftwood fairy scape

• Driftwood or an interesting piece of wood
• Cardboard tube

You’ll also need the following:

• The Twist Factor – Cotton wool
• Craft knife
• Jewelry wire
• Wire cutters and pliers
• Flour & Water
• Reindeer Moss
• Craft paint
• Cardstock
• Glue Gun

How to make the fairy scape

This is such an easy craft, and you can customize the fairy scape any way you want. We’ll start by making the little fairy house and then look at how to create the Truffula trees. To make the walls for the little house, cut the cardboard tube using a craft knife.

You can make the tube as tall or as short as you want. For the roof, take a piece of jewelry wire and twist one end, so it fits over the tube.

Place the jewelry wire on top of the tube and eyeball how high you want your roof to be before cutting the wire. Give the wire a few bends before wrapping it in cotton wool.

Start at the top and work your way down, adding more layers of cotton wool as you go. We used the same technique when we made the fairy mushrooms a few months ago.

Once you’re happy with the shape, mix up a batch of flour and water and drizzle it all over the roof. Bake in the oven on a low heat until hard.

See those funny looking little blobs in the piccy above? Those are just bits of cotton wool that have been dunked in the flour mix. They’ll be turned into Truffula trees in a bit. Let the baked cotton roof, and blobs 😉 cool down before painting.

I used a whole bunch of different blues and just went crazy, dripping, splatting and painting until I was happy with the look. Leave to dry.

For the walls, measure a piece of card stock to fit neatly around the cardboard tube. Draw, paint or doodle a door and window/s and then glue it around the tube.

And finally, glue the roof on top of the tube to finish the fairy home.

Making the Lorax inspired trees

Remember those blobs from earlier? We’ll be using those to make some of these Truffula trees.

A tree falls the way it leans. Be careful which way you lean - The Lorax Click to Tweet

For the trees you’ll need three pieces of jewelry wire. Twist the strands together, as shown below. Don’t twist all the way. About halfway is good.

Take the two outer strands and bend them into curly, wurly shapes. Make a small hole in the blob and glue the middle strand inside.

Easy right!!? All that’s left to do is put the fairy scape together and add some colored moss.

How to color moss

There are many ways to color moss. You can immerse some moss in a bucket of cold fabric dye and let it soak up the color. Or you can take the easy way out and drench it with a mix of craft paint and glycerine.

Putting the fairy scape together

Now that we have all the bits and blobs 😉 we can put our fairy scape together. The piece of driftwood I used had a rounded little bottom and a flat-ish top, so I played around with the layout before gluing everything down. The little fairy house sits on one end overlooking the edge of the driftwood.

A few wire heart flowers were added just for fun. The Truffula trees are grouped together in amongst the colored moss on the other, higher end of the piece of driftwood.

Every piece of wood will be different, so do what makes you happy.

I would love to know your thoughts on the driftwood, Lorax inspired fairy scape. Is it something you would make?

If you like the idea, don’t forget to pin it for later

Wanna see what the other IBC bloggers have done with this month’s wood challenge? Just click on the links below. I promise you’ll love their ideas.

Driftwood Fairy Scape by A Crafty Mix – that’s me 😉

Super Simple Decorative Wooden Tray by Northern Feeling

Old Door Idea Coat Rack by My Sweet Things

DIY Farmhouse Corbels For Cheap by Faeries & Fauna

How to Paint Farmhouse Stamped Placemats by Raggedy Bits

Oh and if you’re looking for some of the things we used, we’ve got you covered Disclosure: Clicking on the links below, means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us make more amazing crafts to share with you 😉

And if you prefer to buy rather than DIY, then maybe these beauties will appeal.

And as always here’s wishing you an amazingly awesome and crafty week