Monday, April 25, 2011

Clothespin Fairy Dolls

Someone asked me if I could please make a fairy doll craft, so here is my attempt! I also had some requests for ways to repurpose plastic cups and containers, so this is really efficient! My daughter really enjoyed taking these outside and playing with them in the yard, too. So if you have any fairy fans in your house, you'll have to give this a try!

To make them, we used round wooden clothespins, then with a hot glue gun, I glued some strips of fabric around the pins. Then I took some yarn and hot glued that to the head for hair. Finally, with scissors, I cut out the wings (in one solid piece) from a plastic cup, and hot glued those to the back of the doll. That's it. They were really fast and easy to make. It might be fun to paint some faces on them too, or even attach a string so they could "fly". I'm new at this genre, so any fairy advice is very welcome! Upload photos or ideas to the Made by Joel Facebook Page if you have any!






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19 comments:

  1. PaulineApril 25, 2011 at 9:06 PM

    Oh my. Those are too cute. May just have to try this for my slightly fairy-obsessed daughter...

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  2. Karen G.April 25, 2011 at 9:17 PM

    I love clothespin fairies! I just wrapped up a fairy village class at our local (amazing) kid and craft store. I'd love for you to see the fabulous things the girls created.

    http://normaltownlab.tumblr.com/day/2011/04/10
    (You'll have to browse past the sheep. I can't for the life of me figure out how to link to just the fairies.)
    And here:
    http://normaltownlab.tumblr.com/post/4174155803/oh-how-i-love-i-love-i-love-teaching-the-fairy

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  3. Joel HenriquesApril 25, 2011 at 9:20 PM

    Thanks!

    Karen G - Awesome! So many great things! I love the fairy bench! I'll have to make something like that for my dollhouse. Totally cool.

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  4. AnonymousApril 25, 2011 at 11:13 PM

    What an absolutely wonderful idea for all the girls that love fairies and princesses...thank you !
    Simone

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  5. Being MeApril 26, 2011 at 4:10 AM

    Divine. So simple! Wish I had a hot glue gun.... :(

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  6. I Live in an AntbedApril 26, 2011 at 6:00 AM

    Adorable! Simply adorable!

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  7. Jules MeansApril 26, 2011 at 7:00 AM

    I want to come back as one of your children in my next life.

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  8. Heather (love your space)April 26, 2011 at 8:59 AM

    TOTALLY making these-what a great idea!

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  9. jfidzApril 26, 2011 at 9:27 AM

    Here's 'one I made earlier' from a clothespin;
    http://jfidz.blogspot.com/2011/01/poseable-jake.html
    Could easily be painted and clothed.

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  10. Áurea LópezApril 26, 2011 at 10:39 AM

    How nice!. In Spain we do not use this type of clothespin and hard to find.

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  11. sherbearApril 27, 2011 at 8:19 PM

    where would you find the round clothespins? Thx.

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  12. BrieApril 27, 2011 at 9:58 PM

    Old silk flowers make great little hats, skirts and wings when cut or folded.

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  13. Jill WApril 28, 2011 at 8:23 AM

    I LOVE this idea -- I have a new fairy convert, myself, and it's "all fairies, all the time" around here now. :)

    Two small suggestions for future fairy-related projects:

    a) i'd make the dress "longer" so it looks more like a strapless dress and less like a skirt (my own little girl would love to use fabric glue + little scraps of rick-rack or ribbon to decorate her dress, too!); and

    b) GLITTER. Of course. By the pound, if at all possible. ;) [in swirls on the wings, perhaps?]

    This is such a great spot for me to find inspiration to be the CraftyMommy/CreativeMommy I want to be!! Thank you so very very much!

    PS: Yes, I've already preordered you at Amazon. Cannot wait!! :)

    PPS: @Sherbear and @AureaLopez, you can buy these clothespins (in big bunches or in smaller groups, and they even come in different sizes!) at crafting stores -- or, if you can't find them there, you can get them from sellers on ETSY -- there are lots of great projects for the clothespins on there, too! Lots of eye candy...! ;)

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  14. GersiApril 28, 2011 at 12:41 PM

    Hello Joel !!
    I'm form France but i'm brazilian. I love your universe and ideas. Congratulation.
    I invite you to know Bruno Munari italian designer, I think he is fantastic.

    And i invite you to visit my blog of corse : http://taco-a-taco.blogspot.com/

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  15. Joel HenriquesApril 28, 2011 at 8:06 PM

    Great! So many fantastic ideas! I've got to make some more fairies to try these out! Thanks everybody!

    Gersi - I'm a huge Bruno Munari fan. I have many of his books! He's fabulous.

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  16. ManonApril 29, 2011 at 2:59 AM

    I don't know where to begin. First of all, when I discover your blog I was just astonished ! There are so many good ideas, and so well DONE ! I'm actually a student who gives times in a french association of laic scoutism; and all these projects just made a big bang of idea in my head : pedagogical toys, handcraft paper city, "moving" toys.... and what is more, there are templates...
    So... thanks :) And keep doing what you do, you do it well.

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  17. Secret AdmirerMay 1, 2011 at 6:54 AM

    I would suggest that perhaps they shouldn't be topless and might like to have a cheerful top drawn on. Not meaning to be a prude but wee little fairies can get chilly sometimes too!

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  18. Joel HenriquesMay 1, 2011 at 7:09 AM

    Manon - Thanks! I'm glad you found the blog!

    Secret Admirer - Ha. Oops, yes, I was going for a strapless Tinker Bell dress stryle, but it looks like they're bordering on mermaids. I need to get more fabric scraps next time!

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  19. RachelMay 1, 2011 at 2:00 PM

    absolutely adorable!

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