Summer Maker Special: Fairy Gardens and Toad Abodes

Teeny tiny habitats for wee folk and other garden inhabitants.

What we made:  Fairy Gardens (also known as Toad Abodes or Gnome Houses)

Supplies:
-base containers (I used mostly old cake and pie tins that I picked up at a local thrift shop.  Plastic storage containers, large plastic take-out containers and sturdy shoe boxes might also work.)

-potting soil
-paint & brushes
-string and fishing line
-hot glue gun
-plants (a variety, some purchased, others donated by friends with overflowing flowerbeds.  Petite plants work best, mosses and small succulents are perfectly suited for this project.)
-stuff from nature:  shells, stones, twigs, sticks, pinecones, etc.
(more supplies listed after the jump!)



-wander your local craft store for inspiration!  Some of the most popular things I bought there included:
---- itty bitty flower pots, wooden picks, mini clothespins and miniature bird house ornaments (from the "unfinished wooden things" section)

---- wired pearls and other baubles, flat glass pebbles, dried seed pods, corks and interestingly shaped potpourri mixes (although mine were blessedly unscented, so I think they were just "decorative"?) from the floral section

---- stick-on gems, tiny glass bottles with corks, and metal keys and keyholes (from the scrapbooking section)

---- plastic "prehistoric" skulls or dinosaurs (in the "toobs" in the toy section)
----teeny jingle bells, small mirrors

What participants did:
 --some painted their birdhouses.

 --this one made a mailbox (with mail!)

--this one built a very complex fence

 --this one had a clothesline

--this one had a great, bell-draped "chandelier"

 

 --and here are some finished gardens:

 Aren't they all fantastic?  I was so impressed with everyone--they worked so hard!  The last participants left two hours after the program began!  Some of the adults stayed and worked with their kids to make the gardens and I think they had as much fun as the kids.

If you're thinking of making your own fairy garden, here are a few other ideas I didn't get around to using that might come in handy for you:
--acorn cap "mushrooms," stone cairns and shell birdbaths
--twig chairs