Judy Dolley started making miniature fairy houses as gifts for her grand daughters, but now it’s become an obsession.
Her latest creation is a miniature fairy cabin that was commissioned locally.
“I thought when they came to my house they’d have something to play with,” said Dolley.
“Then I got into it as an obsession and couldn’t stop picking up sticks and bark.”
Starting with a sketch the end result looks almost nothing like the original.
“Anything you do with art, you create as you go.”
Dolley has been creating fairy houses for close to three years and the detail is incredible.
Nearly all of the items in her fairy house are recycled products, mostly from nature.
“Just going out for walks finding pine cones and sticks. I love finding sticks with moss.”
Unique rocks, shells and some dollar store items.
Snails as part of flowers came from her son’s aquarium.
“He cleaned it all out and I took them because everything can be used.”
It’s all part of the fun trying to get an inside look at the cabin.
“The flooring is made out of kindling, the chair I bought, but the table I made of wood and old stick, plumbing parts I made from work along with the bench and curtains were made from material.”
The fireplace is made from stone and mortar repair. At the top of the chimney there is even a heart shaped stone.
“The people at Home Hardware are getting used to me coming up. I ask these ladies who are into crafting, “what can I do to make a stone fireplace?”
“They set me up with a calking gun, mortar repair and stones from my driveway and I had the best fun.”
The tops of acorns are used as lampshades for outside the front door.
Some of the rocks came from New Brunswick.
Though some of the things inside may be impossible to see, Dolley says, “it’s just me. When you open the door there just has to be something in there to look at.”
This is her first outdoor house, but she has done approximately 10 houses for indoors.
Dolley’s first outdoor house was custom built for Bob Cowin who owns Lakeshore Hydrant Services Inc.
It’s something that will be placed out front of his office in the garden.
Along with a few miniature hydrants, there is also a hydrant poster on the inside of the cabin.
“He said do whatever you want, so this is what I ended up making.”
Cowin is a proud Canadian and there is even a Canadian flag outside the front door.
“I hope he likes it.”
Dolley said she’s spent well over 200 hundred hours on the project and finds it hard to stop.
“I could still take this home and add things because I’ve got some new flowers and thought they would be pretty on this.”
After everything was in place Dolley sprayed it with a coating to protect it from the elements.
Last year’s flooding was a perfect Mother’s Day gift for Dolley.
“My two children asked me what I wanted for Mother’s Day and I said a walk in the woods.”
“The flooding had just receded and the stuff we found – everyone had bags of stuff. I had a great Mother’s Day.”
There are thousands of parts to the outdoor miniature fairy cabin and it would likely take hours to find everything.
“That’s what I like about it. There is always something new to see.”
Making her grand daughters happy is something Dolley loves to do and it’s a way to keep busy for the self described “homebody.”
“I’ve always sewed and mending peoples clothes, but I’ve always loved crafts.”
“I can’t stop now. This is my thing.”
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
