How to Make a Baba Yaga House
Baba Yaga is a much-feared figure in Russian mythology. According to legend, she is an old witch who eats children and presides over the underworld. She rides in a flying mortar and pestle to capture any prey that escapes her home, and her home itself is enchanted as well. Baba Yaga's house is an important element of her legend. Instead of being stationary, the house lives and runs on hen's feet. According to Order White Moon, the "windows seem to be eyes and the door is like a mouth." You can build this special home yourself as part of a mythology lesson plan or as an original Halloween decoration. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Cardboard
- Brown paint
- Twigs approximately 6 inches long, ½-inch thick
- Pruning snips
- Hot glue
- Cedar chips
- Red paint
- Gold bead
- Large fake bird
Instructions
-
-
1
Cut a piece of cardboard about 5 inches square. You may paint it brown if desired or if your chosen cardboard isn't brown to begin with. This will help disguise the cardboard.
-
2
Snip about four of your 6-inch twigs in half. Nip ½ inch from the cut end of each twig. This creates pieces for your door. Glue the pieces approximately 1 inch apart to the front side of the cardboard with hot glue.
-
-
3
Run a bead of hot glue along a 6-inch twig and press it to the left edge of the cardboard. Repeat on the back and right side. Glue one ½-inch piece of twig to the logs on either side of your door opening; this keeps the logs even. Keep building until your door is finished.
-
4
Nip three twigs into three pieces. Nip ¼ inch from the cut end of each twig piece. These are the pieces for your windows. Keep stacking your house, building up the windows as you did the door. Stack two full sets of twigs on top of the windows. Let the glue cure for 10 minutes.
-
5
Cut two cardboard triangles approximately 5-¾ inches long with 1-inch glue tabs on all sides. Glue twigs to the triangles, nipping them so they fit the triangles. Glue the bottom tabs of one triangle to the inside of the front of the house and the tabs of the other triangle to the back. This creates a foundation for your roof.
-
6
Cut two cardboard rectangles approximately 7 inches long and 5 inches wide. Glue a row of cedar chips along the bottom of each rectangle. Glue a second row overlapping and staggered with the first. Keep applying cedar shingles this way until each side of the roof is covered. Bend down the glue tabs on your triangles and glue the rectangles to them. The roof is complete. Let it cure for 10 minutes.
-
7
Cut a cardboard rectangle the size of your door hole. Paint it red and run hot glue down one side. Press the glue side into one edge of the door hole. Glue a gold bead to the open side of the door to make a door handle.
-
8
Nip the legs from your fake bird with pruning shears. Make sure the top of each leg is flat and even. Cut a 2-inch square of cardboard for each leg and glue them flat to the cut ends of the legs. Let the glue cure for 10 minutes.
-
9
Lay your house on its back with the door facing up. Glue the cardboard on the tops of the legs to the bottom of the house. Let them cure for at least an hour before standing the house up on the feet. The house should be able to stand on its own.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If you can't find a fake bird, bend wire into the shape of hen's legs and cover it in papier maché. You can either paint them as they are or glue little pine cone pieces to them for scales. Paint the legs yellow and glue them to the house.
Cannibalize a few plastic skeletons to make a full replica. Place the house on a piece of green-painted cardboard. Take the skeletons apart and glue the bones back together as a picket fence with the skulls as finials.
References
- Photo Credit Jonathan Kirn/Photodisc/Getty Images
