DIY Fairy Doll: A Magical Birthday Surprise
I have a friend with an 8-year-old daughter who absolutely adores fairies. Reflecting on my own childhood love for these magical creatures, I decided to help prepare for her birthday party by creating a unique, upcycled fairy doll.
Among other ideas, I experimented with making a tutu skirt from plastic bags, following this tutorial. Simultaneously, I pondered crafting a small ragdoll fairy as a fun party activity. I discovered a no-sew tutorial here, but the idea of cutting my old shirts into strips felt like too much effort.
That's when I had an epiphany: I had leftover plastic bag strips from the tutu skirt project. All that remained was to tie the strips following the ragdoll tutorial. Instead of using cotton balls for the doll's head, I jumbled together scraps of plastic bags.
I love that my fairy doll is entirely upcycled from plastic bags, requiring no additional materials. The doll's translucency adds a whimsical touch, perfect for a fairy. Another advantage is that this doll is suitable for both indoor and outdoor play. Unlike traditional homemade dolls, my plastic bag doll can be washed, dried, and even left outside for a scavenger hunt during a fairy garden party.
This craft was incredibly easy and enjoyable to make. I plan to create more smaller dolls to populate a fairy garden, decorate for the party, and creatively repurpose our transparent plastic bags.
Steps to Make Your Own Upcycled Fairy Doll:
Gather your materials:
Plastic bags (various colors)
Scissors
Step 1: Making the Body
Cut the plastic bags into strips. Cut away the bottoms and handles to use them as filler later.
Arrange most of them in a sun rays pattern as shown on the picture:
Step 2: Creating the Head
Gather some plastic bag scraps and form them into a ball in the middle of your sun pattern.
Form the head.
Step 3: Assembling the Doll
Tie the strips around the head to form the body. I formed limbs by tying three strips to the head in the middle and then braiding them together on each side.
Step 4: Adding the Finishing Touches
Adjust the strips to create a balanced look for your doll.
Going forward, I would like to create clothing for the doll (tutorial for a dress from a circle here and from a sock here and add butterfly wings using this tutorial.
After creating the fairy, we made some photos of it outside.
We also tried to make a skirt for the fairy using a paper tissue flower. Isn't she lovely? Let me know in the comments what accessories for the fairy would be fun to make.
