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Scrap Happy in Miniature

What’s a ScrapHappy post?

It’s an opportunity, or an excuse, to make something entirely out of scraps. Our host Kate, of Tall Tales from Chiconia, encourages the use of scraps to make something useful or beautiful or both.

If you would like to join us, please see the details at the end of this post.

Several years ago, I bought a beautiful felted wool birdhouse, hung it in a tree, and patiently waited for a nesting bird to make it home. How could they resist something so appealing?

The wooly nest has a small opening, soft, felted wool for warmth, and it’s even perchless to avoid predators.

I hung the cozy nest in different trees and at different heights. Year after year, nothing, and eventually, I gave up. I forgot about it, mostly. Earlier this year, I removed it from the tree, inspected it for insects, and brought it inside.

The wool was dirty and crusty from years outdoors. Even the paper wasps were indifferent. I rinsed the nest in warm water and watched years of dirt and grime fall away. My wooly nest came clean almost immediately.

In honor of ScrapHappy June, I turned the wooly nest into a fairy house.

woolen bird house

Felted wool birdhouse converted into a home for visiting fairies.

Once washed and dried, I removed the bottom stitching and inserted a glass sauce jar.

Glass jar viewed through nesting hole.

Now it can stand up on its own.

Jar inserted inside the birdhouse.

I tucked the wool leaves into the opening and added a piece of broken jewelry to make a window that a woodland faerie might enjoy.

glass jewel faerie garden window

An old piece of glass jewelry makes a superb window

The faerie house sits nestled under our Little Free Library.

Woolen faerie house sitting at the base of the faux tree.

My second scrappy project this month involved revitalizing a miniature version of a Little Free Library. The little, LFL is made from a cardboard box, with matchbook covers and toothpicks inside to form books. Twice, the heavy winds sent the miniature library tumbling through the yard. I knew sturdier measures were in order.

I employed a pair of joined wooden chopsticks that could be plunged deep into the soil, but they looked too new and shiny. I rubbed the sticks with the contents of my morning Roobios, and that did the trick.

chopstick legs

I used chopsticks to make legs for the miniature LFL.

chopsticks stained with tea

My morning tea leaves made a lovely stain.

The wee Little Free Library is in the shadow of the larger one, staked firmly into the ground. If your line of vision is in sync with your imagination, you can spot it from the sidewalk.

Refurbished miniature LFL.

Faerie’s can grab a book from the miniature LFL nearby.

As seen from the walkway.

I love repurposing items into something fun and whimsical. Creating from scraps is both challenging and rewarding, not to mention relaxing. I highly recommend it.

Check out the links below on June 15, 2020, to see the other scrap-happy posts.

Kate, Gun, Titti, Heléne, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan,
Moira, Sandra, Linda, Chris, Nancy, Alys, Kerry, Claire, Jean,
Joanne, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Connie, Bekki, Pauline,
Sue L, Sunny, Kjerstin, and Vera

26 thoughts on “Scrap Happy in Miniature”

  3. Well, you’ve certainly been having fun. i wonder what it is about things in miniature that fascinate us. I’m not great at making ‘fiddly’ things so I’m always in awe of people that can make tiny objects. Your faeries are well catered for.

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    • For me, working in miniature gets me out of my head and into a fantasy world. I don’t mean that in a woo-woo kind of way, but more as a means of escape from day to day reality. Does that make sense?

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  6. Those finicky birds don’t know what they missed but I’m sure the fairies will love it. Thank you for sharing your beautiful crafts.

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  9. You did a great job at repurposing the birdhouse! I would never have thought of it. It turned out quite darling as did to updated LFL miniature. I can understand how those tiny projects get you out of your head for awhile.

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  10. Now see, you can do the most amazing things in California 💕 Your beyond cute mini LFL would be a pile of mush here in one day of rain. Adorable little fairy setting under the ornamental grasses. They can wander in and set a spell in a teeny garden chair 😀
    I have a bird house in the yard with a nest. It’s really funny, the first couple of years I didn’t see any use. I thought if was probably more decorative than functional but then wondered if it was too full inside and pulled off the back wall to clean it out (no clean-out door) . I hadn’t nailed it back on tightly and always thought I’d get the ladder and hammer out again. Being the super procrastinator that I am, I never got up there again and for 3 years, they nest and enter via the back door, LOL xxK

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    • Boomdee, I love your nesting box story. Procrastinating has its rewards, and here you are with lovely proof. Do you know what kind of birds move into the house each year? I’ve read a lot about nests, and some birds could care less, and others are quite particular, i.e., it has to be so far up, facing a specific direction, etc. I’ve heard that a perch is a bad idea because it allows a predator to land. Those mama birds know what they are doing.

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  11. Oh, Alys! Both of your projects add such delightful bits of whimsy to your Little Free Library. You are blessed with endless creativity! Everyone who stops to visit will surely smile. I just love the thought of a felted wool birdhouse, too. It sounds so cozy and inviting!
    Happy Summer days, sweet friend!💗

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