Those Who Can't Make...Buy! Even Frugal Fairy Gardeners

I am pretty crafty. Not quite like the girl in the Beastie Boys song, but I can make a lot of different things. Often, when I fall in love with something I see online I can figure out how to make a reasonably similar version fused with my own unique style. However, there are some things I just can’t make. But really want.

One of the craft mediums I refuse to try is polymer clay. For a couple of silly reasons and one sad fact.

One, I am a perfectionist and it would be maddening to be unable to make perfect Oreo cookies or three tier extravagantly decorated cakes. Have you seen what people create out of polymer clay? Simply amazing. Just take a second and search miniature food on Etsy. See what I mean? AMAZING. And adorable.

Two,  this seems like a very expensive craft.

Three, my oven doesn’t work. So terrible right? Even if I invested and began spending inordinate amounts of time playing with clay, I just couldn’t do it at home. And quite honestly, I’d probably be baking a cobbler or garlic bread instead.

So when I come across adorable Fairy Garden delights I can’t make or live without, I definitely buy!

I am a little picky about what I buy or else I might drop some serious cash and worry about rent the following month. Recently I invested in a couple of impractical, adorable food stuffs for my fairies.

Another Etsy search query I recommend if you’re perusing for miniature food is miniature food jewelry. Tweens seem to love sporting mini food accents. Most of these accents are the perfect size for your Fairy Garden and crafted from polymer clay so they will weather the elements perfectly. I found a couple of food jewelry baubles I loved and contacted the seller to see if they could make me a custom item without the jewelry hardware. All of the sellers were able to fulfill my desires and even offered to knock the price down since I didn’t need a chain or earring posts!

Felicia from Oh Lucky Charm creates the most delicious and genuine looking desserts. Her gooey cupcakes and rainbow colored birthday cakes will make you drool! I spotted a grilled cheese necklace charm with toasty looking bread and melted cheese oozing from the middle that I just had to have. 

Photo courtesy of the Oh Lucky Charm Etsy shop.

I also decided I could not live without this plate of s’mores.

Photo courtesy of the Oh Lucky Charm Etsy shop.

I have a little fire pit with a bowl of marshmallows and toasting sticks propped beside a pair of chairs. This plate of s’mores was the perfect finishing touch for the area.

Ashley’s Etsy shop IncredInedible features mouth-watering savory delights like tacos, corn dogs, olives and waffles. She also has the most realistic looking miniature pumpkin pie necklace. I don’t even like pumpkin pie and I found myself needing to buy it. Just look at that crumbly crust.

Photo courtesy of the IncredInedible Etsy shop.

So, if you come across a few cute items you can’t make on your own, pick a few favorites and indulge yourself. You will not regret it!

*One bonus fairy food frugal idea, kids are also very into rubber Japanese erasers that you can take apart and put back together. Some of them are the perfect scale for a Fairy Garden. For less than a dollar you can score a cute, outdoor-safe cake or pie.

Fairy Garden Swings - Four DIY Tutorials

Fairies love to play, especially on swings! They also love variety.

Here are four DIY ideas for Fairy Garden Swings…What do they all have in common? They are delightfully adorable and easy to create!

1. The Tire Swing

This is the easiest! I scored a fat miniature mud tire at the bottom of a toy bin at one of the local thrift stores. (And I got it for free since the cashier was confused on why I wanted a broken toy part.) Just tie some ribbon, jute or string around the tire and hang it from a branch.

2. Leather Flower Swing

Inspired by my favorite Indoor Swing from Urban Outfitters, this swing is simple and adorable. I used a leather flower from a thrift store bracelet find. You can use flowers from sandals, jewelry or hair accessories. Use a needle to thread a string or ribbon through the middle of the flower. Add bead accents and hang from decorative wire or a tree branch in a corner of your Fairy Garden.

3. Wire & Beads Flower Swing

A beaded wire flower sprig can be used for so many different and adorable Fairy Garden items. Try making a swing by attaching two long strands to the ends of a wooden block. I painted this block fairy pink and sprinkled glitter over the top while the second coat of paint was drying. I added glitter glue accents to each of the bead flowers for extra fairy delight.

*Don’t have a beaded floral display hanging around your house? You can easily make your own with beads and thin wire. It is hard to go wrong when fashioning wire and beads. Do not worry about uniformity or balance, creations will look even better when asymmetrical.

 4. Flower Garland Swing

Craft stores have big discounts on their fake flowers at the end of each season to make room for the next crop of faux florals. I used Cherry Blossom-like branches, two wooden beads and a painted, glitter accented popsicle stick to create this whimsical Fairy Garden Swing.

Read This Before You Age Wood With Wool & Vinegar!!!

A few tips and tricks on How To Age Wood…without creating a huge mess or being disappointed.

When I first began creating delights for my Fairy Garden, I used a lot of popsicle sticks. I liked how they were pre-cut and functioned like mini boards but hated the way they looked like a kindergartner's craft project. Then, I saw a few posts and tutorials on how to instantly age wood. I was so excited! I ran right out and bought steel wool and white vinegar.

I love how the popsicle stick age using steel wool and vinegar but there was a lot the tutorials and articles left out. You can create a huge old mess if you’re not careful. So before you try it at home, read this for some tips and tricks…

1. Buy the right kind of steel wool. There are a few choices at your local grocery store. Get the kind without soap. I misread the label and had to scour my stove top and two pans to use up the gooey blue soap in my steel wool. The solution worked just right anyways, but you will save time and energy by carefully reading the package.

2. What ratio of steel wool to vinegar is best? I could not find a single article explicitly stating how much of each to use. I filled a pint jar with vinegar and added one steel wool pad. This was perfect.

3. How long do you let the solution sit? Overnight is best. Just screw the cap on and let it sit. I don’t know if the cap is necessary, but the solution smells like blood and is really strong. This prevented my whole house from reeking like a crime scene. The next day dip a piece of wood in and see how it "ages." If you like the way the woods looks, remove the remaining steel wool from your jar. This will keep your solution from getting darker and darker over time.

4. THIS IS SO MESSY! This solution “ages” wood because it actually stains the wood. This will also stain your fingers, nails, clothing, moss, counters, sink and anything else porous. Use gloves! The fingers were the worst, the skin under my nails was grey-brown for a few days. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get rid of it. Good news about your counter top, the stains scrub out using a bleach based cleaner and some steel wool. The best tip is to do this craft outside. In none of your favorite clothes.

5. This will not stain all wood products. It will stain popsicle sticks, bamboo skewers and toothpicks. It will not stain chopsticks from Panda Express or cute wooden blocks from Michael’s. Use a test piece of wood to see how it reacts to the stain before you get all of your mini building supplies in order. Also worth mentioning, if the wood gets wet in your garden the stain can leak and stain surrounding items, like glue or moss.

6. That being said, the aging is not actually “instant”. The final color is not apparent until the wood dries. This can take an hour or so. Be patient and wait to see how your wood transforms. I like to dip the wood into the solution the night before I want to build and let it dry overnight. Please note, wet wood glues horribly.

See how each piece of wood stains differently?

An aging rope bridge crafted from bamboo skewers and cute jute ribbon.

Fairy Garden Mini Life Hack #2 - Dryer Lint Smoke Stacks!

Dryer Lint Makes A Perfect Smoke Stack!

It’s the finishing touches and details that really make your Fairy Garden stand out.

Batting (pillow stuffing) or dryer lint makes perfcet smoke stacks. Adding some to your chimneys is super easy! Just glue a small piece of batting or lint into the top of your chimney. After it dries you can shape it by tearing, pulling or trimming with scissors.

Watch it “waft” in the breeze!

Thrift Store Find #2 - Fairy Garden Kitchen Stove

Thrift Store Find of the Day!

I scored this miniature plastic pet crate for 25₵!

What did I do with it?

I’m currently working on my Fairy Garden kitchen area. I really needed a stove or oven and decided to transform this into a place for the fairies to make some delicious food. I painted the crate black. I also painted several wooden blocks from the mini knock-off Jenga game I found at the Dollar Store. I used the blocks to make a stove top. A remnant of a swirly wooden piece was perfect as an ornamental stove pipe. The burners were created from two shower curtain grommets and the knobs crafted from a vintage button and two snaps. Four wooden beads from an old bracelet for feet and the fairies are ready to do some baking!

DIY Tutorial #1 - Easy Fairy Garden Vegetable Plot

Fairies love growing food in their gardens.

Here’s an easy, inexpensive tutorial for creating a little patch of fancy fairy vegetables for your Fairy Garden!

Materials & Supplies:

A Chunk of Styrofoam

Glass or Plastic Beads

Sprigs of Plastic Greenery

Potting Soil

A Small Pot

A Knife

Outdoor Adhesive

A Nail

    

1. Cut the Styrofoam. You will want a piece that fits into the pot, but not snugly. Make sure you leave a good ½ inch or more between the top of the pot and the height of your foam. A sharp kitchen knife will slice right through Styrofoam. It doesn’t have to be cleanly cut or look pretty, you will be covering it with dirt.

2. Cut small pieces of the greenery, one for each bead. Make sure the stems fits into the beads. Leave enough stem to fit all or half way down into the bead.

3. Cut or poke holes into the Styrofoam. Use a nail to make holes where you want the bead veggies to go. Make sure part of the beads will fit into your holes. I used oblong beads so my holes were deep enough to hold half of the bead.

4. Put adhesive into each hole.

5. Place a bead into each hole. Position them exactly where and how high you want them. Once again, don’t worry about globs of glue showing, these will be well hidden by dirt.

6. Dip the greenery stems into the adhesive and slide each into the top a bead. Let everything dry according to the drying time on your adhesive. Once everything is immovable, it is ready for Step 7!

7. Place the Styrofoam into the pot and cover with dirt. Use dirt to position the tops of the veggies where you want them. If you want them higher, put dirt under the Styrofoam.

8. A light sprinkling of water will settle the dirt. And because you used an adhesive designed for outdoor use, you never have to worry about this creation getting wet!

Additional Ideas:

*If you want straight rows, try gluing beads to a tongue depressor.

*Make a few extra veggies to put in a basket, wagon or wheelbarrow near the patch.

Thrift Store Find #1 - Fairy Garden Bowling Pins

Thrift Store Find of the Day!

I scored this bag of miniature bowling pins and two green marbles for $1!

What did I do with them?

As you know, fairies love glitter! And playing games. I covered the bowling pins with glue and dipped them in a pink glitter mixture. The finishing touch was a sparkling rhinestone on the top of each pin. I glued them on a flat, triangular rock. Positioned in a mossy corner of my Fairy Garden, the fairies now have a place to enjoy a little lawn bowling.