Musings of a Vintage Junkie: fairy house

Showing posts with label fairy house. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

As My Garden Grows

It has been especially hard this year to get the garden growing. I missed all the garden blog hops because mine just wasn't ready.

I blame it mostly on the cold weather. My garden is almost all perennials but I do like to plant annuals in pots for around the yard and the front porch. It just never fails here in the northeast that you just can't trust the weather until after Memorial Day.

At least my favorite Spring plants came back in a big way this year and flourished.

My Bleeding Heart is just huge and was full of gorgeous flowers.

The Quince bush bloomed profusely this year and my Forget Me Nots doubled in size and quantity.

I have been collecting new things for my garden since last summer. All stored over the winter, now being revealed in my garden at last.

I found this great fence at a roadside sale I just happened to drive by on the way home from Naples. I could not afford much of what the antique dealer had but the fence was $8 so I went for it.

I love how cute an old sink filled with flowers looks in the garden so I started looking for one. I found this one at the Restore. I am still looking for a faucet. The plates are a recent barn sale find. I filled the sink with my new favorite flowers, white Bacopa.

I could not pass this rusty milk can up, even though it would be the fourth one in my collection. The wheel is a barn sale find and the watering can garland is something I have had that rusted perfectly over the years.

I found this great door last year, also at a drive by sale. It was only $5.

I didn't do anything with it last summer because I didn't know if I wanted to paint it or distress it. I figured we'd put it away for the winter and then I would deal with it in the Spring.

Fast forward to Spring and I am wondering where my door is. My husband says, "oh, it's behind the grill". It never got put in the garage for the winter!

I am so glad because the fierce northeast winter weathered it so much more perfectly than I could.

I saw the idea for a garden hose wreath on Pinterest and I just made mine very simple. I just tied a garden shovel, a garden fork and some old gloves to the top.

I showed you a sneak peek of the door in my last post but I restyled it to this....
the little rocker a recent yard sale find.

Just around the right side of the same tree is where the fairies live.

And this is where the Royal Fairies live...

I mentioned a few times before that I was going to make a fairy garden in my big galvanized tub for my garden. Well, I decided that smaller is better and I am happy with my small enamel pan fairy garden.

I even found some small plates to add to her garden. The plants are small succulents and pink baby's breath. The little fairy just sits by her house all day admiring her lovely garden.

Next to the fairy garden the Poppy's are starting to bloom...

Instead of the fairy garden, I planted purple Bacopa in my huge galvanized tub again this year. Last year it grew to overflowing and was gorgeous. It is early stages....

In my middle garden, that needs a good weeding, I tried another new idea I found online.....a succulent garden in a bird bath. The birds never noticed this old wrought iron bath last year so I decided to try a new kind of garden. It has already grown and spread out.

I hung my blue shutter up again from last year and added a rusty star to the rusty shovel that was there.

Last year I found a huge ivy geranium to hang from my post that stayed beautiful all year. This year I decided to try and plant my own in the rusty old wire basket my daughter Jena gave me for Mother's Day.

I finally found a plant to survive in my aqua wire basket. It is a very hot spot and the planter is very shallow. Purslane seems to love those conditions so we will see how it does this summer. It has the sweetest pink flowers.

Along the house I have been digging out and re-doing the garden. It was so overgrown.
Last year I had a table with a chair and the shutters in this spot....

In one summer that poor table got so weather worn that I decided not to put it out in the garden again. It is being very useful in my new booth. So instead, I did a makeover on this vignette.

The chair was a roadside find. That is my Elephant Ear plant in the large galvanized bucket that hasn't started growing yet.

The plates are another cute idea I found on the many blogs I visit. I just happened to have a few left over from the garden flowers I made last year.

The large one to the right of the shutters is one I made for myself after making three others for gifts....Aqua!

My purple Iris bloomed this year after a no show last year. They are so pretty but seem to want to grow out instead of up. I know I need to move them but I am so afraid of killing them. They are unique!

I just loved these ceramic garden hands with two birds on them. It reminds me of the scripture Job 12:10 - In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

I found them at Rite Aid of all places!!

My Orange Blossom tree is a little late in blooming this year, which is magnificent when in full bloom. Here is a peek at it just starting to pop. That's my new birdhouse hanging from it. My husband got if for me from Wegmans.

I couldn't wait for the Margarita Daisies to bloom for this post, but they look about ready to pop too.

After a long day puttering in the garden, there is a place to rest and relax....

I can finally rest a little and, like my little fairy, just sit back and watch my garden grow.

AnnMarie xoxo

I am linking up with these fine blog parties:

Make It Pretty Monday

Talk of the Town

Share Your Cup Thursday

Vintage Charm

Thoughts of Home

Home Sweet Home
Anything Blue Friday
"Anything Goes" Pink Saturday
Dishing It & Digging It Link Party
Happiness is Homemade Link Party
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday
Top Recipes, Crafts, and Tips of the Day from Plucky
Best of the Weekend
June Garden Party

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

DIY Miniature Fairy Garden Terrariums

This post is about my newest passion....making fairy garden terrariums.

It seems that when I see something I love, I have to make one and give it as a gift. It all started when my husband gave me a fairy garden kit for Christmas. It came out so cute.

It sits on the kitchen window sill so I can see it whenever I am at the sink.

When my daughter saw it she said "I want one!". So I decided to try and make one for her for her birthday. The first picture and the one below are of the terrarium I made for her birthday.

Can you see the green watering can and spade?

When I started to gather supplies to make terrariums, I bought any and every jar or container I thought might work. Any clear glass bowl, with or without a cover, will work. Make sure the jar you choose has a large enough opening so you can fit your hand inside to place the pretty accents! A covered jar works best to create the ecosystem contained in the jar that terrariums are made for. Of course I got them all at thrift stores for $1 or less. I gathered so many that I could make four different ones for four gifts.

The other supplies needed are potting soil, activated charcoal (purchased in the pet area of a garden store), small pebbles (Lowes garden department), large stones or glass beads (from my stash), Spanish moss (any craft store), fresh moss, and your decorations...ie. fairy house, mushrooms, little accents, and of course a fairy. All of the supplies come in containers large enough to make five terrariums plus extra for more. Most of the houses, a fairy and the accent pieces you will see came from Jo-Ann's. The mushrooms were found at Michael's. Of course you can find more online.

The first thing to do is to wash and dry your container. I used an open container for demonstration purposes.

Soak the Spanish Moss in water.

Fill the bottom of your jar with the small pebbles.

Add a layer of larger stones such as river rocks, or the craft glass beads that come in a variety of colors. I chose a mix of blues for this one.

Put a layer of the wet Spanish Moss on top...

Then sprinkle on some activated charcoal....

Put a layer of the potting soil over that. You can be creative and make hills and valleys if you'd like and have room in your container.

Spritz the dirt with water to make it moist. This is the view from the side of the glass bowl.

I then pulled small pieces of the fresh moss from the bag I ordered (see link above). It came in a ziplock bag in one patch of moss. It was enough to make four terrariums.

I tucked each piece of moss into the dirt to create the yard and left the middle open for a path to the house. I spritzed the moss with water and then added my accents.....a daisy stepping stone path with a ladybug, a wooden barrel filled with flowers and some mushrooms scattered around. Of course the thatched roof cottage is the focal point. No fairies in sight though (couldn't find one small enough!).

I wanted to thank my dear friend Kim for always being so supportive of the things I do so I made a miniature fairy terrarium for her, just because. It is in an apple shaped jar with a lid that has a stem on it.

What I didn't know, that Kim shared with me when she got this garden, is that our mutual dear friend Lora loves everything fairy! I was sick for her birthday party so hadn't been able to give her a gift yet, so guess what I made for her? Her terrarium is extra special because I found a small enough fairy to perch at the end of the path. This garden made it's debut in my last post.

I used terrarium moss for this one as opposed to live moss.

I just followed the same layering process for all of these. The fun is making them in

different shaped jars, using different stones and accents to make them unique.

You can even use an antique porcelain dish....

This one sits on my mantel in the parlor. Because it is open to the air it has to be spritzed every now and then. None of the terrariums should be put in direct light.

I hope you try one for yourself or a gift. They really are fun and easy to make.

The next thing I want to try is a fairy garden in my old dented, rusty galvanized bucket for outdoors this summer.

Stay tuned!