Pine Cone Fairy.

"Then clear on a flute of purest gold

A sweet fairy played.

And wonderful fairy tales she told

and marvelous music made."

-Ida Rentoul Outhwaite

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Pierrot and Pierrette c. 1920

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 It is easy, on a still, quiet day like today, to feel as though there are elemental beings living alongside us.  It is quite a lovely and magical way to pass some time.  Maybe, it is the certain way a flame flickers in a hot burning stove, or the pale, pink wisp of an evening cloud, which catches the eye and makes one think that surely they saw something flying about with purpose and glee. 

 It is often in the presence of young children where the world of fairies comes so alive, and what a treat it is! How lucky they are to believe so purely and whole heartedly in the existence of these tiny, winged delights! 

I remember, years ago, while spending time on Monhegan Island, a place I would return to again and again, coming upon a wooded trail nestled within the island. On each side of the trail, and deep into the woods, where little fairy homes.  In the nook of a tree here, beneath a mushroom there.  My sister and I quickly found an ideal spot near a clear, babbling brook and built a home for them too! In the process, one really felt as though, as evening fell, and the sea mist swept over the woods, that a little fairy family would be making their way to their new home. Needless to say, I find it so nice and comforting to think that fairies of all sorts exist,and whenever I have doubts, I have the lucky fortune of spending time with a young child who reminds me with great honesty that indeed they do! 

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So, here is a little project that I have been working on with fairies on my mind.

To begin...

When I found these little pine cones I thought they would work quite nicely for the small, fairy body. Any size will do, really.

The most dainty acorn tops appeared in our yard this year and were the perfect size for fairy hats.  My son and I gathered them up quickly before the squirrels could get to them!

I had been thinking of these maple seedlings for sometime to be the fairy's wings.  They were no where to be found since they swirl down in the spring.  One night my fellow had a dream that he found some and a few days later proudly came home with a pocket full of them that he had found on our town common.  (That is a true story!) They were a bit large but I thought they could be cut.  Really, anything you like would be fine!  Some oragami paper or a bit of leaf would be nice too!

All of the little acorns had fallen out of their top hats and were hard to find amongst the leaves, so I thought of using these small, wood beads as the head. I picked them up at a craft store and ended up liking the contrast of color. 

I gathered up the rest of my supplies.  Some beloved Elmer's glue (I like the small sized one for this kind of work) and some curly, yellow wool for the hair that I had picked up during one of our yearly adventures to the 

NY Sheep & Wool Festival.

Okay.  Before beginning, make sure the wood bead (if that is what you are using) fits snuggly into the acorn top!

Here we go!

1. Put a small dollop of glue inside the acorn top.

2. Take a piece of the wool and press it into the glue.

3. Put a bit more glue on the wood bead or acorn and press it into the acorn top.  Wait a few minutes until all is secure.

4. Now, put some glue on the top of the pine cone.

5. Hold the pine cone together with the wood bead or acorn and again, wait a few minutes.

6. Lastly, glue the fairy wings on the back of the pine cone.  When all is dry and secure tie a piece of thread from the acorn hat and there you have it. 

 Fairies take flight!

p.s The wings of the fairy above were made out of the veins of green leaves.  

They are just noticeable in the picture. 

 This one flew home with my sister on her 28th birthday!

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