Make your own fairy garden - A gift for kids, by kids!

I'm always on the lookout for gifts and toys that really bring out a child's creativity.

When I found this idea today, I knew I had found something wonderful! Not only that, this gift is eco-friendly, budget-friendly, and imagination-friendly!

Make Your Own Fairy Garden Kit

For us, this gift is two parts. The first half is a homemade flower pot. We took a bulk-size cottage cheese container and decorated it with construction paper, stickers and mod-podge. My daughter loved decorating this special flower pot for her cousin. She will also give her a couple packets of wild flower seeds to plant.

The second part of the gift is the fairy house kit. I put this kit in those fancy-looking spaghetti sauce jars. Here are a few ideas of how to make your own fairy house. Using these ideas, I filled the jar with "supplies." Here's my list:

Buttons
Rocks
Bundles of short twigs
Feathers
Cotton Balls
Leaves
Flowers
Ribbon
Paper Clips
Small wood letters
Thread
Glitter




You can add anything small and pretty from nature, or old toys, craft odds and ends, etc. I also suggest printing off an idea or two from the internet just to get them started. Also...maybe lots of glue.

The idea is to fill the "flower pot" with dirt, make a fairy house, put it in the dirt, plant the flowers around it, and Ta-Da! Fairy garden.

Also, here is a little poem to put on the card...if you feel so inclined.

Everybody needs a fairy,
To help their flowers bloom.
So build a tiny, cozy house,
And one will move in soon!

Mother's Day Candles

When you think about gifts for Mother's Day, what to you makes the perfect gift?  For me it is something thoughtful, perhaps handmade, personalized, and frugile (let's face it, you have to buy for mom's, grandma's, daughters, it can get expensive).

These candles are the perfect Mother's Day present (or any time of year present if we are completely honest).  They only cost whatever the candle costs plus a dollar for tissue paper.  I got these jumbo ones at Walmart for about 7.50 a piece.  You can personalize them with any quote, note, or picture your little heart desires.  And you get to feel crafty giving a homemade gift!

I found the idea for these candles here. If I were to do it again, I think I would cut out the background on the pictures and just have the people on the candle (like shown on the website).  The link I provided gives very broad instructions, here are some tips to make this project easy-peasy.

1 - Cut your tissue paper (yes just regular tissue paper gift wrap) down to about the size of a regular sheet of paper.  Then tape the tissue paper around the edges to a piece of printer paper.   This makes it possible to print your picture or graphic onto the tissue paper.  Then print it out.

2 - Cut out picture and pin to candle.

3 - The original instructions call for a heat gun.  A hair dryer worked just fine for me.  You are melting the candle to the tissue paper.  Your picture will look like it is starting to get wet, you want the whole picture "wet" or melted to the candle.  Make sure you have it totally smoothed out because it can get wrinkled.  Also don't overdo it on the melting of the wax will bleed through the tissue paper.

And you're done.  In about 10 minutes.  Now go make one for all the mothers in your life.  Then make some more to decorate your house.  I am thinking you can print off quotes and put them on your candles.

By the way, I found this quote that would go perfectly either on the candle or in the card with the candle.  

The love of a mother is the veil of a softer light between the heart and the heavenly Father. ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge