Downed tree to miniature tree house…

When Sherry Law realized a tree needed to be cut down in her garden, she went to work and created an amazingly detailed miniature home for gnomes,.. or fairies.  Sherry includes her material list and complete instructions.

Sherry’s miniature tree ‘house’ from a stump

Sherry says, “When we knew we were going to have to cut down one of the trunks of our tri-trunk river birch, I knew I’d be using the stump to make a gnome house. We intentionally left the tree stump taller than normal because I wanted to to create a multi-level Gnome House.”

The tree stump, before

What Sherry used:

• Tree stump or large log if you don’t have a stump!
• Cedar shakes Roof shingles
• 2 small logs – one for roof and one for Chimney
• 2 1/8″ drill bit – to make window circles
• 2″ disc mirrors
• Windows
• Unfinished wooden boat
• Door
• Box of nature potpourri
• Assorted moss
• Viney type plastic greenery
• Pine cones
• Assorted accessories
• Paint
• Varnish
• Frosted paint spray
• Gnomes!

Tall view of the miniature tree house

What she did:

“First step was to cut several thin slices off the top of the tree stump, to use for shelves and door step.

Second step was to angle cut the top of the tree stump and nail a small log to the top as a rafter. My husband used cedar shakes to make the roof. He used large shakes on the first layer, and cut smaller shakes as he layered up the roof. We used another small log as the chimney.

To make the windows, my husband drilled holes with a 2 1/8″ door knob drill bit. The window holes do not need to be drilled to deep. Just deep enough to insert mirrors and sticks for bars. After windows were drilled we painted the insides black. I partially sanded the backs of the disc mirrors, and coated the backs with yellow paint. The mirrors still had to much reflection for me so I spritzed them with Valspar Frosting Spray. After mirrors were dry, I glued them into the holes on the tree using silicon. The windows bars are made with sticks cut to size of holes and glued to the mirror discs.

Materials for making a tree house door

The door. I found an unfinished wooden boat at a craft store. It was the perfect size and shape I wanted for the door, so I modified the boat to look like a door. I used some left over outdoor deck paint to paint the door and marine varnish to seal. After the door was dry I carved lines in the door to make them look like wooden planks. I then attached hardware for the door knob and hinges. The door is just nailed to the stump.

Bottom of house and door

After roof, windows and doors were complete it was time to decorate!  The first thing we did was to nail large sticks/branches on each side of the door to give it a more woodsy look and help conceal the gaps between door and tree. I used sturdy branches because I knew I would be hanging other decorations from them, like the Gnome on the tire swing.

Shelves were made from the slices we cut off the top of the stump and nailed to the tree. The shelves were decorated with pine cones, flowers, bird houses and other little decor items.

The box of nature potpourri was a great find. It had several woodsy items I was able to use for decorations, like the stick balls that dangle from the roof. The lotus pod at the top of stump looks like a vent.  Skunk tree heart shaped fruit pods, (a type of tropical tree pod, Sterculia foetida), were always in the box of potpourri and used as decorations on the stump above the windows.

The green moss was used to stick in nooks and crannies of the stump to give it more color. Spanish moss was draped over the branches and mixed with the greenery for roof and door to help give a more woodsy look.

For protection from the elements we coated several items with marine varnish. Items coated were” Roof, Shelves, Lotus Pods, Skunk Tree Fruit Pods, Stick Balls, Door and Door Step.

The Tree Stump Gnome House had been through several severe rain storms lately and as you can see it held up just fine.”

More from Sherry Law:

Sherry’s perfect pallet chairs