DIY Miniature/Fairy Garden Fence

It's so easy to make your own accessories for your miniature/fairy garden! Here's a quick and easy tutorial on how to make your own fence using cut up cedar shingles and copper wire.

Materials/tools needed:
Cedar shingle scraps, cut into 4-5" lengths
24 gauge copper wire (get it from an arts&crafts store from the beading/jewelry section)
Jewelry or needle nose pliers
X-acto or similar sharp cutting knife

1. Cut scrap length-wise into 1/4" widths (doesn't need to be exact)

2.  Cut two long pieces of copper wire at least 4x longer than the finished length of the fence. Fold in half, and wrap one around a cedar piece about 1/2" from the top. Twist the wire 4-5 times, then add another cedar "post".

3. After you have a few posts together, add the second wire about 1/3 of the way down from the top of the post. Do the same as the top wire until the pieces are together.

4. Continue wrapping and twisting until you get the length you need or you run out of wire.

5. To finish off the end, twist the wire and fold it over the last post.

6. You may cut off the extra length if you need to. This is optional. I left the posts intact because the extra length will help to keep the fence secure in the garden. Install and enjoy!

Side note: If you end up with little splinters on the edges after snapping the posts apart, use the knife to scrape them off and clean up the edges.

The Beginning of a Fairy/Miniature Garden

I've had my eye on miniature gardens since the first time I saw them years ago on display at a nursery. There's something so wonderful and whimsical about creating a tiny world or habitat, and it fuels my obsession/fascination with all things miniature involving nature. I never delved into playing with dollhouses (though I had always wanted one), but bonsai, terrariums, mosses and lichens are some of my favorite things. So when I came across an awesome galvanized tub at the flea market for next to nothing, I knew it would be the perfect container for a miniature nature-play fairy garden that I hope work on with my daughter over the years to come.

I went ahead and got a head start on the "plot" for the fairy garden - maybe one will take up residence soon?

I had two japanese maple saplings that my mother brought up with her last spring, and I thought that they might enjoy the new setting; I plan to keep them small in a bonsai-type fashion. I also transplanted some of the moss from our back yard (we have tons in our backyard) and added some elfin thyme and irish moss (both which, in addition to their cute, tiny leaves have cute, tiny flowers!) and a few rocks as a path and around the garden.

I think it's a good start, don't you?

The First Full Week of April

After one of the longest, coldest winters we've had in years, it is finally starting to feel like spring! We feel so much more at home when we're outside. Doozer was so excited to get outdoors, she learned how to put her boots on herself (though I do sometimes have to switch them for her) to let me know it's time to get out and get some fresh air! Here are some photos of our backyard explorations.

first flowers of spring

rocks Doozer collected and placed on her playhouse table

A Felted Mobile For A Friend

When a long-time friend told me she is expecting a baby (sometime this summer), I knew I wanted to make something special for her and her baby. After all, she has over the years gifted me and my daughter numerous, wonderful, handmade goodies that will be loved and treasured for years to come, so I knew I wanted to repay her in kind. When I asked her what she would like, and what theme she is doing for her gender-neutral nursery, she requested a mobile, and the theme is space and robots. She also showed me this print that she got for the nursery, so I used it as inspiration for the mobile. At least that's where it started - making the main part Saturn, and the toys would hang off Saturn's ring.

The toys were a combination of wet and needle felted. The needle-felted stars have glass "crystal" beads on top and bottom to add a little sparkle. The ring is from a wood embroidery hoop that I covered with wool felt and needle-felted the seams. The toys hang on mono-filament, and Saturn and its ring hang on wire that I pulled out of an ethernet cable (it's orange to match!). My friend has the option of removing the toys later on if she so chooses to allow the baby to play with them. They were kid-tested by my daughter (20 months), who kept running off with them every time I finished one. She enjoyed playing with the robot the most.

needle-felted shooting star

baby's view

DIY Wood Sorting Bowls With Acorns

One thing I LOVE is being able to make toys for my daughter. Here is a wood sorting toy that I painted and put together in maybe an hour's worth of time. I forgot to time myself, but I can say on a scale of one to five, if you've got a steady hand and know how to use a paintbrush, it's pretty easy to do.

Still a little early to really get "matching" - but distributing them among the bowls was fun on its own...

... as well as pouring them back into the main bowl, which for this activity is one of my salad bowls.

Stacking the bowls.

Here's how to make one yourself:

• wood bowls (5)
• acorns (1 bag of 25)
• watercolors, tube (which is what I used) or liquid watercolors
• a watercolor brush with a fine point to paint all the way to the acorn cap
• non-toxic wood sealant - note that I haven't done this yet - I just used a butcher block oil that included beeswax (Boos board block cream) and it seems to work fine, though you may still have some of the dye rub off while wiping off the excess. Here's another way to do it.

While you're in the Woodworks store browsing around through the wooden goodies full of potential, I recommend checking out the little people (painted gnome project with felted hats?), the spools and tie pegs (DIY birthday ring decorations?) or maybe throw in a few rounded hen eggs for a quick and easy kitchen toy. I grabbed 6 and cut an egg carton in half that I was saving for exactly this sort of thing. That's it! A bonus quick and easy DIY toy! (PS. I will likely be using this site for other future DIY projects, so if you like this project, keep it bookmarked.)

Back to the sorting toy, pick out five watercolors that you'd like to use. I chose the classic rainbow (minus purple) for mine. I used tube watercolors because I already had some on hand, and I wanted to paint them on so I could leave some of the natural wood exposed, like the acorn tops. Three acorns fit in one little bowl (save the extras for your nature table or other activities, or if you eventually decide to get more bowls and add colors).  

I painted the bottom of the acorns, three to each color, as well as the inside of the wood bowls. I wanted them to look a little finished and didn't had any standalone beeswax polish on hand, so as soon as they were dry, I used my Boos block board cream. It contains beeswax, it's food grade and therefore non-toxic. :)

That doesn't mean these are a good idea for kids who are still putting things in their mouths... without a proper sealer, the color will come off a bit. Not a lot. I tried washing a painted acorn in water just to see, after using Boos, and some of it came off but not a lot. I do plan on sourcing a non-toxic sealer to permanently seal the colors on.

The project took about an hour to complete, and cost $13.25 for the wood materials, not including shipping (I got a bunch of other stuff for future craft projects anyway). The standard shipping for me was $5.95. Not bad, eh?