Cookie8, that's adorable! I love your broken pot garden.

luvs2click, I can never get enough of your fairy gardens!

Steiconi, Thanks for the tip and luckily I just found a stash from years ago, in my basement.

Cookie, like you broken pot, yep, I have one of those too, sitting on my patio waiting for inspiration, and you just gave it to me.

Luvs, My hubby said I should make more mini gardens for our local Fall Fest, but am not sure if it would be worth the work. Any advice, we won't be in competition, since I live in Illinois.

Darling broken pot garden. Catching up after company left. Will be a couple of days but I am looking forward to adding to my fairy garden and the bark house I hope to build. Weather is not cooperating right now. Cold and cloudy with rain expected. so glad I had nice weather while my company was here.

luvs2click, thanks for all the inspiration! Love all your little fairy gardens. They are perfect - not too much and not too little plus your accessories blend in with the plants to look like a secret fairy garden. I noticed more and more stores are carrying the fairy garden accessories. I was surprised when the big garden center I usually buy my flowers from started carrying things. I am curious, the little cups and saucers stuck in the ground, were those ones you made with doll size dishes and a nail or did they come like that?

Cookie8, love your broken pot garden too! I have a broken terracotta pot on the porch and now I'll have to take another look at it to see if I can do something similar. Thanks for the inspiration!

Friends that came suggested I put a fence around the Fairy garden like I have all over the yard. I think it is a perfect use for this little twisted foot board.

I also came across a little broken wind chime that had a fairy on top. I think I will just use her as a fairy with out the chimes. I do need to drill holes for spikes so they will stay standing up.

The_Kat, yes, doll house tea set I glued together onto a nail.

citytransplant, I use perennial groundcover plants so the gardens can be left outside all winter, they are also very hardy and take the hot dry weather, as the pans dry out quickly. It's a great selling point. I also hand out care sheets with every garden purchased on how to take care of it. I'm wondering how it will go this year with the availability of fairy garden supplies out there, when this trend is going to die out. I've been doing it since 2009 and it has become increasingly easier to find stuff. But a lot of people don't want to put the work into it - they'd rather buy one already made. I sell a lot of them for gifts.

Well my first attempt at ugly gnome us, um, demonic?

luvs2click, you certainly have a gift for putting the fairy gardens together. I think most people would rather buy something ready made than take time out of their busy lives to do it. Everyone seems to be so overwhelmed with their jobs, family, and other activities.

Cookie8, did you have a mold for the faces for your "ugly gnomes"? I bought some molds for polymer clay years ago but have no idea what happened to them. You did a great job for your first time. What did you use for the hair?

I also went to luvs2click a few times - so many varieties! I could never be so creative.

TheKat - No, I followed a tutorial on youtube (polymer faces) and copied faces on a link from pinterest. Youtube had a pretty fairy and I didn't really want pretty. I will have look up face molds. I think I would prefer that as I found it pretty difficult to do the face. The hair is a craft curly hair that I bought a Michael's - angel hair, I think. My daughter made fun of me as this is how I like to spend my free time even if it is a Friday night (like last night).

I just remembered a dollhouse I turned into a fairy house several years ago. I did make some twig furniture for it (table, chairs and bed) The living room furniture is just grapevine bench and chair I purchased. I just used hot glue because it was not going to be outside. The bathtub is a big clam shell. Here's a link with pictures.Dollhouse turned Fairy House

The ugly gnomes are darling. Even the demonic one before changes. the hat on your revision is adorable. Very cute look to them. I have not taken time yet to try to do more with my fairy garden. I am heading in to many other directions. You all are giving me good ideas though.

luvs2click, I love your doll house alteration! I wouldn't mind living there. What did you use for the siding on the house?

I don't think you have anything to worry about when it comes to more people making their own fairy gardens. You have a special artistic talent for putting it all together that a lot of people just don't have. (That's not to say people here don't...I'm talking about the general public.)

luvs2click , Your doll house conversion is so cute. Love all the details and that your fairy has a dog and a cat.

It looks to me like your fairy gardens are very special. Lots of thought going into them. It does not look like you just plunked some plants in a pot and figure's and put a price tag on them. It feels like you have little stories going on in them.

I did shows for so many years of different craft items and found as long as you keep just a little edge , some thing new, above your competition you will continue to do well. I remember all to well people walking up seeing my stuff and then saying to each other. OH we can make those. But the thing is will they?? And then as The_Cat said there are few like you and the people doing things here that can actually work their way through a project from vision to completion. it takes a lot to just happen to have all the sedums/succulents growing in your yard to plant your little fairy gardens. Are they willing to grow a whole yard of these to just plant one fairy garden? Your work is really great. My only thought on running out of favor might be once every one has their fill of fairy gardens how many more will they buy. And did they care for them properly and keep the plants growing or just let them die and decide a fairy garden is not for them?

Thanks all! It is fun for me, and it also funds 6 weeks vacation for hubby and I in Florida during the cold Ohio winter, so it's all good. I just keep thinking the trend is going to end one of these days.

I had a lot of old wallpaper books that I use for other crafts and so I "sided" the house with wallpaper that looked like wood.

And yes, it does take a lot of thought to put the gardens together. I like to say the first 30 or 40 are fun, after that it gets mundane! I have to consider what plants will grow taller and put them to the back, and have to envision the finished garden while planting. I just finished up 61 pans today for this year's show. Now they have several weeks to grow (I use small starts) and then I will accessorize them just before the show.

I agree, the group here is very talented, lots of really neat projects on this board! I love sharing and seeing everyone's projects. I wish the board was as active as it used to be!

also, this is the first year I made some faux fairy gardens, with fake succulents. These are for people who don't want live plants (because of pets, etc.) or just have a black thumb. It will be interesting to see how those go over. I will try to take pictures soon and post a link. They were fun because I didn't have to be concerned with how things would weather since they are for indoors, and could dig into my craft supplies and use up stuff I already had.

Great idea to use fake succulents! They tend to look more real than the "silk" plants. I can't wait to see some of those!

OH I am all about using what I already have. I do not do craft shows any more but I do try to use up what I have around my own yard and house. And today I came across some canning kettle lids I hope to make mosaic flowers on for the fence posts. Sheese like I need another project or 10. NOT.

OT I want to brag I just moved a heavy metal gate my hubby put metal on top to make a dog house. Well I was not using that any more so used just the roof part to cover the old dog house in my other thread it has a tarp on it. I had to lift that metal gate that is 9 1/6 feet long 4 foot high up 6 foot high. With out getting hurt. And it is done and not a scratch or bump on me. I also had to move it all back into the dog yard and over about 50 foot. I am afraid I might be a little sore tomorrow. A super productive day. And I did use all garden left over junk. Happy Happy. I was so afraid to do this. Too dark for a photo.

Still not quite motivated to put everything together but here is the starting point. My daughter and I took a sculpting class a couple years ago and made two houses and toadstools. I probably won't start assembling accessories until the plants fill in.

Absolutely love those houses, Cookie!

Cookie your houses are so cute.

Cookie8, love your little houses!

I am excited because I ordered a bunch of little gnomes from Joann's. They were on sale for about $1.50 to $3.00 a piece. I ordered 6 different gnomes and a small wooden bridge that was a $1.80. Can't wait for their arrival!

Next step will be going to the massive garden center about 20 miles away for my plants and flowers. To give you an idea of how big the place is, here is a video on YouTube showing part of 1 greenhouse (I think they have 4) and the selection of roses outside. They always have a great selection of elephant ears, coleus, ferns, ivy, begonias and impatiens. Love their pretty multiple petal impatiens that look like little roses.

HOLY COW what a lovely garden center I would love just to walk through. We have one nicely set up garden center about 45 miles away. My friend and I go in there just to look at how pretty it is. Get our pretty fix for the day. I was tempted to go to the garden center today when I was at walmart but decided to just take care of what I have for now. I might be covering everything up tonight as I heard there is a storm coming in really lowering the temps to freezing. I need to gather the animal bedding to cover my fairy garden.

Milaegers is awesome. They also have a huge building with outdoor furniture, year-round Xmas ornaments, women's clothes, shoes, and accessories, and decorative things for the house and garden. They have the best selection of flowers and plants that I have seen in Southeastern Wisconsin. We have other garden centers but they are tiny by comparison.

We had a flashy light show go through here twice tonight. We didn't get hail like they did west of here but we had plenty of lightning. Luckily our power didn't go off. We sometimes experience short power outages during bad storms.

The stick creations are adorable--but wood in my garden wouldn't last a season. These little guys are already labor intensive..I don't need to reinvent the wheel each year.

I regret that we don't have a tree that I can turn into a fairy high-rise. There are so many cute doors and windows you can stick on a tree like yours. I like your little fairy "villages". Is it crazy that it is so fun to play with miniatures like little kids?

I have three stumps just off my shade garden that I was going to play around with but don't have the time to make the roof, door, etc. Maybe at the end of summer. I'll post a picture and will take ideas. That's another thing, I don't have the creativity to do anything special right now.

And The_Kat, I love miniatures too. I have no idea why. I made a dollhouse for my daughter and most of the furniture. I went through a huge Fimo phase. My older daughter had no interest by my now 9 year old plays around with it - decorating, not doll play.

I have to pick up my fairy gardens and bring them in for winter here. Like you I do not want to make them all over again. Besides it is fun to do it different each year. I just put them in a box on the garage shelf in late fall.

I can't wait to get my gnomes and start work on some "gnome" gardens. It's too bad that the only shrubs I have are barberries with thorns. I'd like to play around with making some furniture, a fence, or use the sticks to cover a little house. I'll have to have my husband watch for shrub or tree scraps.

Has anyone bought things like birch bark from online stores? I'm wondering if there is someone out there who sells natural bits and pieces like that. I'm severely handicapped and can't venture out in the woods to find things.

I worked on my in-ground fairy garden today. It surrounds my potting shed. This is where I get starts off the ground covers to fill my pan gardens. I bought this house at a craft fair a few years ago. The raccoon is a painted rock I picked up at a yard sale. I also have a skunk.

luvs2click, I really like your eye for incorporating plants and rocks into your gardens. That house was a great find.

Lovs 2click it is darling Your house is so perfect!

The_Kat see if you can message me through this site. I think you can. I can not see how to do it your direction. I would be more than happy to gather some things for you to play with. I live where there is lots of this available just for the picking. Even some small plants. If you can not find the message button then my email is my user name with lower case s and @ yahoo.com. I am crazy as a loon but I am harmless.

Thanks for your offer, Shades! I sent you a message via this site with my email address.

I got pics uploaded finally of my fairy gardens with faux plants - made for indoors.
Faux Fairy Gardens

Those are adorable! Are some of them in regular size tea cups? The plants look surprisingly real.

thanks - they are oversized tea cups

OHHHH they are so cute Luvs2click!. Love the turquoise camp trailer.

luvs2click, I was wondering how you found such tiny things to use in a regular size tea cup that's why I asked. I agree with Shades that the one with the camper is adorable. I like how you have the deer peeking out from behind the succulent and the bird on one of its "branches".

Luvs2, They are adorable! You have a great eye for scale.

Looking at luvs2click's camper, I keep eyeing up my toaster to try to figure out how to convert it into a fairy camper. lol Of course I'd try to find one that no longer works to do it and maybe one that is all silver so it would look like an Airstream.

That's a cool idea! I know you could do it. I always wanted to plant a toaster. Haven't found just the right one yet. And I've always wanted to plant an old typewriter. Would do hens & chicks in both.

Love the toaster idea for an air stream. I have the perfect silver toaster for that . I do not eat bread now but I do haul it out when I have company for toast for them. Now you have me thinking what I would have that could be used. All I can think of is the plastic boxes Floppy discs used to come in when we still bought them. the short ones are too short and the longer ones I think were more square. Two short ones would be too long but they did have nice rounded ends. Hummm. Cut one down and glue it together with the other??

Sounds like your wheels are turning. If you come up with something be sure to take a picture!

OHHHH I think I got it. Photo to come tomorrow if I can make it work. It will be a pale green though and not turquoise. Too dark out now to try to do it. I know what a tease.

OK - I'm done creating for my show this weekend - now for the hard part (pricing). 59 live gardens, 14 fake ones, plus lots of other planters, many not pictured. Here's a link with tons of photos. There are a few camper gardens in the lot. I'd like to sleep for a week when this is over with, but instead I have my 3 grandkids for 9 days!! Fairy Gardens 2017

luvs2click, I sure love the way you arrange your fairy gardens! I could look at your photo album all day. Now you have me inspired because I have an old white enameled pan trimmed in red that I think I'll turn into a gnome garden. Love the old rusty toolbox fairy garden!

I could look at those all day!

love them all and could look at them all day too. How on earth do you price them?

Thanks - it's not easy! I start with the smallest and go up. I try to double whatever I have in them. So this year my prices range from $20 - $68 (68 being the drawered toolbox). I buy my supplies wholesale, and use a lot of succulent starts from my own fairy garden. Also I try not to pay over $3 for pans, toolboxes, etc. - I watch at garage sales and thrifts all year long. Sometimes I will pay $5 for a big one. We also have a greenhouse nearby that sells the groundcovers at a good price.

Luvs, thanks.

I keep playing with idea of selling them, but am not sure I want to start such a large commitment and get tired before there would be enough to pay for the rental space. But.... I have so many ideas swimming in my head and certainly don't need more than the 6 or so that I have already made. Sooooo. I told DH that I would make them if he would sell them, he politely changed the subject. LOL

I sure do appreciated all the hard work and creativity you put into your works of art. Also your prices seem very reasonable, I thought the tool box would be more like $90.00.

Thanks for sharing.

Joan