There Are Fairies Living In The Garden
One of my 153205325 ongoing projects was FINALLY completed this past weekend.
Alexis' fairy garden.
The idea originated when we were at Disney World two years ago. There is a Tinkerbell-themed garden area that makes an appearance during the Flower Show, and it features tons and tons of fairy houses.
Alexis saw the fairy houses and declared that she wanted one. SO BAD. But, she wanted hers to be pink. Ask and ye shall receive . . . eventually.
I already had the big metal container that the fairy garden lives in. I don't remember where it came from, but it has been a part of my garden since college. (I refuse to do the math and figure out how many years that is. REFUSE.) (GET OFF MY FAIRY LAWN, WHIPPERSNAPPERS.)
The house is just a plain old wood birdhouse I picked up at JoAnn's. I painted it and decorated it using some stuff that I found sitting around the yard (bark for the front door, rocks around the windows) and some stuff that was in my craft box (mirrors for windows and twine for general decor). Alexis helped me glue some pennies to the roof because she said that pennies are lucky and so are fairies. Somehow that justification made sense when she first brought up the idea.
There's a path made out of rocks, tiny little fencing we found at JoAnns, a clothesline for the fairy clothes, a seashell pond, and even a tiny bench holding an even tinier watering can.
It's all stuff that we've found at random places in the past two years. Except the fairy clothes. I made those. Anybody who is a real seamstress best not look closely at them because I made them late on a Saturday night by the light of a flashlight at the order of a Tiny Terrorist. She doesn't know how badly they are made, which is good because she'd probably crack her whip and make me do it again. Of course, sewing fairy clothes on a Saturday night is EXACTLY how I expected to eventually spend my summer nights.
The "grass" is Irish Moss that I found at Lowe's. There's also lobelia, alyssum, and a couple of dwarf trees I found at Bedner's. One of those trees holds Alexis' favorite part--the fairy swing.
Thanks to the wind moving things a bit and a bird dropping a feather by the seashell pond, Alexis is convinced that fairies really have visited her fairy garden. She will tell you that they eat the blueberries and strawberries from the other side of the yard. She'll tell you that only the fairies can open the door to the house. She'll tell you not to touch the tiny rake because it's exactly where the fairies want it.
It's probably best that you play along. Otherwise, she may just stab you with the tiny fairy pitchfork.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Reader Comments (62)
Saw this from Pinterest... I love all the cute little touches!
Your Fairy Garden is far and away the most beautiful miniature I have ever seen, and when your my age and had an uncle who did amazing miniatures that I remember from my childhood, that is saying something. I sat here for over 45 minutes, going over and over the pictures, finding some new wonder every time I looked. Thank you so very much for sharing this online. Purple is my favorite color so that was just an added plus. Truly, so awesome, I have to look once more before I shut down for the night. Hugs from an old grandmother who loves beautiful things, especially miniatures. Glorious!!!!
This is so sweet!! I love it and must have one just for me.
You see I believe in fairies too;-)
What a beautiful home for the fairies! Well done! Your comments cracked me up :).
I'm from a little town north of Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada, and we still have at least 2 ft. of snow that needs to melt before I can even think of gardening. Your little fairy garden was so uplifting that I'm planning one or two for this Spring (whenever it gets here ... so much for Global Warming!). Thanks for posting this and bringing some sunshine my way.
You r so artistic. How did you do it? It looks like it is hanging over the back of tub. I am just starting into fairy village for my garden but I think my granddaughters would love to get into this. Thanks for all your ideas. Let me know about the back of tub. Is that an illusion?
I have a galvanized tub that I keep thinking I should throw out because I don't do anything with it. Now I know what I'm going to do!!
What type of outdoor paint for the house?
I paint miniatures for fairy gardens on rocks and am going to build a fairy garden next spring. How does this moss hold up during the winter months? Do you leave it outside? It can get down to -20 degrees for a week or two at a time where I live, will the moss survive that do you think? Love love love your blog and your fairy garden! If you ever want a miniature animal or tiny cottage painted on stone, please have a look at my shop! I can even paint your own tiny pets on stone from a photograph. rockartiste.etsy.com
Headline: "Woman retires early from sales of fairy gardens. She's glad for retirement in her 30s, states she's worn out making the delightful gardens". LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. IT.
Made one this year and my granddaughter's loves it, as much as you can when you're 16 months old. Totally gonna o try this next year......
It must have taken you a lot of effort and time to complete this. I guess you are an architect or you looked up this construction from a design?