Nature's Magic: Building Fairy Houses with Author Tracy Kane at Mary Roberts Rinehart Nature Park

Alexis Thompson, 8, and Paige Frank, 7, carefully added white sea shells and blue flowers to complete their fairy house.

"Girls, I'm impressed. That looks magical," author and illustrator Tracy Kane said, complimenting the Sewickley friends on their creation.

And there was something magical happening at the "Fairy Fun" event on Saturday at the Mary Roberts Rinehart Nature Park, a day organized by the Osborne Trail and Park Association and sponsored by the Edgeworth Garden Club. 

Organizers estimate about 240 people took part in the day of building and learning about fairy houses—little habitats created using natural materials.

"It's great family fun," said Kane, the author and illustrator of a series of books on Fairy Houses.

Before the day's building began, Kane gave a presentation on fairy houses, showing an array of photo examples from icicles and pumpkins to beach sand houses.

She said the small habitats should only be constructed using natural materials found in the environment, such as bark, twigs or stones. 

"Sometimes you see a little fairy house in a bush or a tree, or sometimes it's different levels on the ground," Kane told a group of about 100 gathered at an afternoon presentation at Osborne Elementary School.

After the talk, kids and adults scouted for the best spots in nearby MRR Park, then focused on building the best environment for little fairy visitors.  

For adults who want to connect kids with the magic of nature and imagination, Kane said building fairy houses is a natural treasure trove. 

That's why Rose Teske of Aleppo wanted to bring her granddaughter, Alexis, who likes making fairy houses. 

"Alexis has been building houses for years and years. I always said to her 'what are you building out there?' She said 'fairy houses.' "

It's an activity anyone can get involved in. After writing her first book, Kane learned that grandparents were her biggest audience.

"It was something that they could share with their grandchildren and it didn't require running soccer or playing video games," she said. "They could go out and just create a wonderful memory together building fairy houses." 

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