The Christmas Farm Fairy Garden

So, this was my first venture into making a fairy garden. I decided that being this close to Christmas that my miniature garden scene should have a holiday spin on it. I was able to easily find all of the things that I needed in the holiday aisle at the store. I used items that would traditionally be used in a Christmas village, but I gave it a fairy garden feel by putting it in one of my old window planters. 

Now I have had this old window planter for literally 20 years. I have had herbs in it, I've had vine plants that crept along my windowsill, and more recently some pretty blooms to attract butterflies. Needless to say, this planter and I have history! It is a bit worn and faded, but it was the perfect size to make it into it's latest transformation, a Christmas farm fairy garden!

I decided on a farm theme because although I had seen an epic fairy farm before, I had never seen a Christmas fairy farm. I thought it would look pretty, so I decided to give it a go. To be honest, I could have bought a lot more stuff for this project had I been using a bigger planter. I found everything I needed pretty easily, there was a nice selection of miniature items.

While gathering supplies I realized that there were countless theme ideas that you could do with this project. Winter wonderland, rustic woodlands, candy Christmas, vintage Christmas. I mean, you could really have a heyday with this venture, depending on your personal preferences and budget.

My window box planter already had some old soil in it, giving me a good base to work with. I added some shells, pea gravel and limestone rocks, all of which I took out of my landscaping, so use whatever you have. I needed these on top of my soil to give some height to the "ground" I was creating and even it out a bit.

To make the "snow", I debated on using a snow roll, traditionally used in Christmas village decor, or tissue paper. I opted for tissue paper for several reasons. It was more versatile for the size I needed and would be easier to cut, if I had to. The tissue paper worked perfectly! It was just the right size for my rectangular planter. I used white tissue paper sprinkled with glitter. It looks wonderful as my snow base!

Now I totally realize that most fairy gardens are, well, outside. Mine is in my sun room, so I used tissue paper because it isn't exposed to the elements. Of course if you are placing your fairy garden outside, you can easily use a piece of vinyl fabric, limestone rocks or really any kind of rocks or gravel as your base. Use your imagination and go wild! Even using shells as snow would look cool and give it a totally different look, so wherever your artistic side takes you, roll with it!

I added a tiny picket fence for effect, with my mini barn in the background, found in the ornament aisle. It worked out great and really gave the feel of a winter fairy farm. Adding some little trees, small-scale animals and kids, farm accents and voila, my scene was complete! I had to work with my farm a couple of different ways to get the look that I wanted.

I didn't have to spend too much to get what I needed for my fairy farm theme. This was definitely a budget friendly project, but I used a lot of things I already had on hand, so get creative! Breathe new life into your old planters, pots and buckets! 

If you have never before tried to your hand at creating a scene for the wee folk, have at it! It is a fun and easy project, and it's an eye catcher. My kids got a big kick out of the finished product! To all, have a safe and very Merry Christmas!