I've been making fairy gardens for quite some time now. They make the best gift & they're super easy. I'm thinking I'm going to have to create another post of my past projects but for this one, I'll show you what my son, Trey & I created tonight.
I have been brainstorming for awhile what to do about teacher gifts. I'm on a tight budget but I refuse to be a tacky gift giver. I'm all about making something from the heart while staying a budget & looking like a million bucks. Tricky, isn't it?
Yes, but it's definitely not impossible.
For this project, we created 3 separate gardens for Trey's 3 preschool teachers he's had for the last 2 school years. I stopped at Michael's with my coupons during a sale & was able to score everything I needed for the low - the best!
I started with 3 terracotta pots. I made sure to grab the trays underneath. They sell them separately & they're vital if you plan to plant real succulents. I say this because you can buy artificial succulents too. This helps drain without getting all over the place.
I also grabbed a decent size bag of potting soil made for potted plants & filled the pot 1/3 of the way. I then dampened the soil & filled about half way. The reason for this is the succulents I purchased were pretty dry. I have found it best that they are watered 1-2 times weekly depending on how dry the air is. When watering, you want to be sure the soil is wet but also be sure not to drown the poor things. Luckily, these are pretty hardy.
Because succulents are hardy, I'm not real picky where I purchase them. I've bought them at Walmart & a local store that specializes in plants. They're all living happily. It's totally up to you. I just so happen to work next door to the local grocery store that specializes in plants - I picked these up on my lunch. They're huge!
We then scooped a hole into the soil to transfer the succulents to their new pots. I have found that dampened soil also helps & is easier to work with.
Once the succulent is moved to it's new pot, work the soil around the succulent.
Once settled, you can start adding your fairy items. We chose a tiny teapot house for this one. So little!
I bought these to use as well. The glass to resemble water, stumps, & stones.
The stones have a great way of being a bloody mess. I have found it easiest to cup my hand & pour a tiny bit at a time.
Going around the narrow edges is tricky. I use my hand as sort of a barrier & open my closed fist a tad (more into a cup) to let the pebbles fall into sort of a flat line around the edges. It works pretty well.
Afterwards, you're able to use your fingers to "rake" the stones around how you want them. We added a couple of "stumps" & a gnome. You can also see a little pond in the back.
We also worked on a little house & used the same materials.
And lastly, the tee-pee & canoe.
I have a pretty proud plant guy on my hands. We're excited for spring so we can go outside & do some planting.
Be sure to tag @thedustypines in your succulent fairy gardens on Instagram. We would love to see them!