Happy Birthday Mom! A picnic themed fairy garden…

July 31, 2015July 31, 2015 / beneaththeferns / 3 Comments

This month my mom celebrated her birthday, and while I wasn’t able to be there, I made this fairy garden as a belated birthday gift for her!

I started with a terra-cotta colored walkway I got from the eFairies store in Tacoma, Washington. I love the classic foundation it gives the garden.

Next I added a little bistro table and chairs made from fancy, craft beer bottles.

I added some plates, a miniature birthday card, and of course, a giant cupcake to share with my mom…

On the side are a matching bird house and bird bath that I made.

…and I finished it off with a few mushrooms and a birthday banner. I hope my mom enjoys this garden as much as I enjoyed watching it come together! Happy Birthday Mom!

Summer fun! A beachy fairy garden theme ♥

July 24, 2015July 24, 2015 / beneaththeferns / Leave a comment

Fairy gardens are fun no matter what time of year it is! To celebrate the hot days of summer, this week I’m featuring some beachy-themed fairy garden accessories. Just click on each picture to be taken to their Etsy store ♥

Up first are some amazing nautical doors created by the talented hands of Alicia at MiniWhimsies. I couldn’t decide which door I liked better, so I had to include them both! Alicia has an amazing vision, and makes her doors fit seamlessly with her theme.

Next are some adorable little flip-flops and a woven basket created by Plamena at Plad. Plamena’s work has been a favorite of mine for many years… and these little beauties look soft and whimsical, like a perfect day at the beach!

And what day at the beach is complete without a little something cold and bubbly? Pam from Landscapes in Miniature has provided the refreshments today with a little bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice.

These charming bedrolls were made by Pam at BitsandpiecesbyPam. They look like a sleeping bag I had when I camped out as a kid!

Here is another gorgeous little piece that has been in my favorite box on Etsy for years… Orly from Orlydesign has captured the misty feel of the coast in her little house just perfectly!

I had to revisit Alicia at MiniWhimsies (The artist who made the doors above) for this spectacular sand castle, made from polymer clay! If you want a nautical feel in your fairy garden, this castle will bring that! I love the blue and white accents with the sandy color and texture of the rest of the castle…

And finally, this little lighthouse and boat are just too cute! They are perfect by themselves, or add them to a fairy garden… Edna from Ednapio has created a sweet little pair here!

Maybe I just love the beach because I grew up in the midwest, and only had the Great Lakes to look at.. I could imagine what the “real” ocean looked like, and always told myself I’d go there. Well now I’m a west-coaster, and all these beautiful fairy garden accessories sum up the beach experience for me: sand, water, and a touch of magic!

Thanks for looking, and remember to click on those pictures if you want to learn more about each item!

♥ Jessi

Summer fun! A fairy garden camping trip ♥

July 23, 2015August 8, 2015 / beneaththeferns / 1 Comment

It’s time for our annual camping trip, so to celebrate, I’m putting together a collection of my favorite Etsy mini-camping-theme listings! I bet the fairies get away for a quick camping weekend just like we do, and of course, they need to bring all the essentials. Click on the picture of each listing to go to their Etsy shop, and don’t forget the bug spray!

First off we need s’mores, hot dogs, and a little fire to roast them on! Jennifer from Gnome Woods has artfully created a fire that will heat our little campsite nicely from polymer clay, complete with some extra firewood to go with it! The picture above and below were both created by Jennifer, and make me think of camping every time I see them!

Next, our fairy friends will need to decide where to stay… For the brave outdoor fairy, Sereny from Fairy Elements has created this summer-celebrating tent, complete with a tiny rug inside so our tiny friends can get back to nature. Sereny has lots of colors and styles to choose from, so every fairy can find a teepee just their style!

For the fairies that prefer “glamping” (Glamour+camping=Glamping!), Penny from Penny’s Pixie Planters has created the ultimate fairy garden getaway vehicle. Each camper is hand crafted from wood and metal, and so wonderfully detailed, I wonder if Penny employs a few fairies from time to time to help her in her shop???

Another choice for “Glamping” comes from Emily at Birch Tree Fairy. Each camper is delicately decorated with natural treasures, giving them a unique charm!

Now back to the food… As we said earlier, we need s’mores, and Pam at Landscapes in Miniatures has supplied our fairy friends with all the fixings! From the marshmallows to the chocolate, these miniatures are so perfectly detailed, they will make anyone who looks at your fairy campground want to cook some up!

Now if your fairies are short on time, and want to create their campsite quickly, this sweet little diorama will turn any miniature garden into a campsite in a flash. It was artfully created by the daughter of the shop owner at The Enchanted Acorn, and looks so sweet! This talented young artist has a good eye for detail!

If your fairies are feeling adventurous, they can always go on a short hike… Tatiana from Striped Box has created a miniature backpack that’s so realistic, it looks like I could wear it! Our little friends will definitely like this one!

If hiking isn’t to the fairies liking, they can always go out for a little evening canoe paddle. Faith at Rustic Blend offers a perfectly detailed little canoe that any fairy would trust to take out on the lake!

And finally, what would a camping trip be without a little wildlife? While I normally would want to avoid an encounter with a bear, this little cutie below created by Nicole at Nicole Lillian Ryan is just too cute! I’m sure our fairy friends would invite him to sit around the campfire and hand out mushrooms if they found him wandering in the forest!

August is halfway upon us, and camping is at it’s best! Remember to click on any of the pictures above to see more items in the artists’ shop, and enjoy the rest of your summer, wherever it takes you ♥

~Jessi

Polymer clay fairy garden bridge

July 20, 2015July 20, 2015 / beneaththeferns / 2 Comments

Recently I was invited to a miniature gardening group on Facebook where you are assigned a secret pal to send a package to. It’s just like the secret pal exchanges at Christmas, only these packages are all for your miniature fairy garden. I found out that the individual I got had a miniature garden with Irish leprechauns in it, so I tried to make them something that might fit with an Irish theme. I thought a old, mossy bridge might work!

I aged parts of the bridge to make it truly feel like it had been there for a while…

And what Irish, leprechaun, St. Patrick’s day theme would be complete with a pot of gold?

Here are the rest of the goodies that I sent out. I myself received an awesome package with lots of fairy furniture that is exactly my style, so it was a pretty fun thing to take part of! Interested in joining the group? You can find more information here: Secret Fairy Pals on Facebook

Have fun!

~Jessi

Fairy garden supplies in my Etsy shop!

July 15, 2015July 16, 2015 / beneaththeferns / 2 Comments

For a few years I’ve been selling my hand-crafted jewelry and art on a site called Etsy.com. As a young girl, I would attend craft bazaars every fall with my mom as she sold her wooden crafts. I guess we just grew up around creativity, and Etsy offers a nice year-round alternative to the holiday craft show craziness!

This week I added some new miniature fairy garden accessories to my jewelry shop, and I’m excited to be taking this slightly different creative path! While opening an entirely different shop might help keep both shops more cohesive, being the mom of two little ones limits my time, so I’m just putting everything into one shop for now…

Each picture below takes you to the real listing, so click on the picture if you want to see more detailed pictures of each item. Or take this link to jump right to my shop: Dreamofadream/Beneaththeferns

I hope you enjoy what I’ve created!

I’ve found a fun way to make miniature bird baths that look like big ceramic bird baths! There is even clear resin in the bath part to make it look like it is filled with water. It’s a fun way to add some realism to your fairy garden!

Every gardener gets dirty, and these miniature boots will help keep your fairy feet nice and clean! They are available in red, black, or yellow, and are soooo cute!

Did I mention the boots are cute?

I want to spread the fairy-garden-love, so I’ve made some miniature hedgehogs that I’m giving away with every order that’s more than $15.00! Then, to make it even more fun, I’m having a monthly giveaway on my Facebook page for anyone who just adds a picture of their hedgehog in their own fairy garden! (Or at the beach, or the city, or wherever your hedgehog goes!) The most creative photo each month gets a $10.00 gift certificate to spend back at my shop again, so I think it will be fun!

And here are two of my hedgehogs checking out the little mushroom house I’ve made for them!

And finally, my favorite perhaps…. I found a batch of vintage elf boots a while back, which I’ve added some “soil” moss and a mushroom to, and I LOVE the fairy tale look of them! They are a bit larger than the other boots I have, but they might pass as “Giant” shoes in your miniature garden! Don’t forget to click on any of the pictures above to see more pictures of each item ♥

The income from these items will go towards funding my book project, and some of them might also show up there! (See the “About me” section to learn more). I have more items in my shop, but these are a few of my favorites! Thanks for looking, and if there’s something you are interested in seeing me make, let me know in the comments below!

~Jessi