What have I done now?: How to Make a Fairy Garden

Decide where you want your fairy garden - inside, outside, in your flower beds, in a container etc. I chose containers so I picked out a few of varying sizes and placed them together. I filled them with dirt from my back yard and then topped it off with potting soil. You can fill half of the container with Styrofoam pieces if you are worried about weight,

The House:

I chose to use found objects to make mine. (O.K., I bought the moss.)

Assemble your materials. I used a cardboard box, sticks, rocks, and moss. Cut the cardboard and tape into the shape you want. Spray paint it black. *Note - It's easier to cut the windows before than add them after. :)

Glue the rocks and the sticks as desired onto the box. I used E6000 because it is waterproof.

After the rocks and sticks are dry enough they don't shift, stuff the cracks with moss.

Cover the roof with moss and add a chimney. I glued 4 rocks in a square and filled it with moss. A little glass bird I had decided to build a nest on the chimney by stuffing an acorn cap with moss and settling in.

After I was done I realized I forgot to add windows. :) I used some lace and put sticks around the edges and in the middle and glued it to the side of the house. The door is craft sticks with the round part cut off and stained with Early American Wood Finish. I didn't cut it to fit the door. I just glued it to the back of the hole and used a craft stick to stabilize it in the back. The door knob is half of a beading closure glued on.

All done. My daughter thought it needed a butterfly and a flower.

Accessories:

You can use what ever you want to accessorize your house. I used a mixture of found objects and miniatures I bought. Confession time: Considering I have killed every plant I have ever owned I thoughtfully filled my garden with beautiful fake plants.

Assemble your accessories and assistants.

Tip - Glue a nail to the bottom of your accessories and they will stay where you put them.

Tier 1: House and Patio - Note the cute flamingos. :)

I found some "make your own" doll house furniture at Michael's as well as the miniature gardening tools. The planters are wooden drawer knobs that happened to have the perfect size hole so I painted them and put plants in them, anchoring them with glue and moss.

I found a cute little wheel barrow at Michael's.

The benches were purchased at Gordman's and the trellis came from Hobby Lobby. The fairy vines were on clearance at Michael's. The patio is a tile left over from tiling my bathroom.

Succulent garden. All of them are from Michael's.

I made the pathway with tiny rocks and tile pieces from my bathroom.

Tier 2: I used a small pot just to give height to it. This one is decorated mostly with found objects and fake plants. There are a few small animals from my miniature animal collection. I used crushed glass for the river and I found the bridge at Michael's. The tire came from a toy motorcycle.