DIY: Upcycled Faerie Garden

 

This project was something that my five-year old was VERY excited about.  We used scraps from around our house to create this faerie door.  I actually started with a story: there had been faeries spotted playing in our backyard, but because the spot they liked to play in was such a mess (left by my husband recently) they weren't staying.  They would play and then they would just keep looking for a more suitable home.  I suggested that if we cleaned up their play area and created a little space for them, they might want to stay.  My kid was all over this.  He even helped me to haul all of the junk out of the designated faerie home and I let him help with all the parts of this project that were appropriate for him: painting, putting together the river, etc.  It was a great kid activity and since the door has been put in, he has spotted many faeries in the backyard -  I think they are here to stay.

1. We started by bending an old piece of tin roofing from my dad's property in half - I just bent it by hand and then pounded it a little but with a mallet.  
2. Next, we painted that with leftover paint from another project.
3. While the paint was drying on that, we found a scrap piece of wood laying around - in this case a 2x8.  We used the chop saw and cut a point on one end - our point was not perfect, but that added to the whimsy look of this faerie abode.
4. We painted that and set it aside to dry.
5. Next, we collected the supplies for the little window and the door handle.  We used a closet rod holder - which we painted blue and screwed into place on the door- and an aquarium gem - which we glued in place with wood glue.
6. For the door handle we used a hooked screw.
7. As we waited anxiously for the pieces to dry, we made a trip to our local nursery and bought the bridge, table and chairs - We are planning to add more from upcycled stuff around the house and I will post that later.
8. To finish this off, I pushed the tin roofing so that the back edge was even with the back of the wood onto the top of the door.  I used small picture hanging screws (which were a bit weak - if I had something better I would have used that) and hammered the tin onto the door.
9. We took a long screw and hid it up under the roof - this is how we attached the door to our tree.