Tiny Treasures: 5 DIY Fairy Garden Ideas To Spark Your Imagination

Are you looking for a way to celebrate being outside again after a long, hard winter? Creating a mini garden full of tiny fairy magic is a great way to feel connected to springtime and the joy it brings. And, I love how excited kids get about using their imaginations to create and play with miniature gardens worthy of fairy tales. That alone is enough to get me excited about these DIY fairy garden ideas!

If you have no idea how to create your own fairy garden, never fear. This is actually a really straightforward little craft that anyone can do! Let me walk you through the process of inspiration, gathering (or making!) fairy garden supplies, and putting it all together. This is such a simple way to celebrate spring. I cannot wait to tell you how it’s done and show you some of my past fairy gardens for inspiration!

How do you make a homemade fairy garden?

So, how do you actually make your own whimsical fairy garden? Let me share some easy DIY fairy garden ideas and things to think about to get you started. 

1. Pick a Spot 

The first thing you need to do is decide where you want your fairy garden to live! This will influence the materials you build it out of and the container too. After all, if you choose to create an indoor fairy garden to live in your dining room or on your kitchen windowsill, then your fairy garden design will be very different than if you choose to make one for an outdoor area. 

2. What container can I use for a fairy garden?

If you want to make a fairy garden inside, then you will most likely contain it in a small pot, galvanized tub or tea cup! Stay tuned for that. Any small container will do, really! Thrift stores are a great place to start. You never know what kind of fun shapes and materials you will find in the basket or vase sections! If you incorporate live plants for your little fairies’ home, then make sure you choose a container with good drainage.

Making one outside gives you many other options! You don’t have to contain an outside fairy garden at all if you don’t want to. Instead, you could have it ramble a bit through your flower beds or trees, and put up a fairy door or house against a tree trunk or picket fence rail and go from there. Additionally, you could incorporate existing objects or features in your front or backyard like your vegetable garden or miniature pond. 

A big terra cotta planter or some other larger container could also be the perfect way to display the pretty little scene you will create in a larger outdoor space. I recommend an outdoor fairy garden if you plan to let your kids use it for imaginative play. There is so much more space outside, and you won’t care about the mess they make that way either!

3. Get Inspired

This is the fun part! Now you get to decide on a theme (if you want to be really fancy) or find ideas for what to include in your fairy dream house. And remember that the materials and supplies you choose may be different for outside fairy gardens than for inside ones! Inside, you may want to use faux plants and synthetic materials like popsicle sticks to build your fairy house and garden. Outside, you may choose to go with live plants and more natural materials like flower petals, moss, twigs, leaves, and berries for your house and decorations because these materials last longer outside and are less likely to cause allergic reactions too. So, go online, visit greenhouse displays, or check out the DIY fairy garden ideas below to get inspiration for what kind of fairy haven you want to create!

3. Gather Your Supplies

There are certain items that you will see in most fairy gardens! So, here’s a list of these common items to give you an idea of what to gather while you make your plans for the final look of your fairy garden project. (You can also purchase fairy garden kits that will have all this included, but where’s the fun in that? Try doing it yourself first!)

1. A House: what would a fairy garden be without a home for the fairies to live in? This house can be anything, really. An old birdhouse is perfect! You can also make one from sticks or other natural items. And, hot glue can do just about anything, so be creative.

2. Doors: If you would rather not attempt a whole fairy house, then use a stump or log as a backdrop and place a fairy door on it! You can decorate this door by placing a banner over it or creating a little awning to attach above it. Or, you could just leave it and set the rest of your fairy items up around it.

3. Figurines: Obviously your garden needs a fairy or two. You can also use small woodland creature figurines or any small toys your kids have lying around. Pick a theme or setting and see what you can think of to go with it. 

3. Natural items: Part of the allure and comfort of fairyland is its connection to nature. So be sure to give your fairy garden a touch of nature with bark, acorns, twigs (they make great ladders or swings when combined with twine!) purposefully placed small stones, berry decor, a small water feature (either a real tiny pond or a mirror to create the illusion!), etc. You get the idea.

4. Plants: As I have said, a fairy garden is not complete without nature! If your fairy garden is outside, then choose the location before picking the plants, as some will do better in shade or sun. Alyssum, pansies, herbs, and marigolds are all good choices. Try to keep the scale of the plant small so it looks like it belongs to fairyland and then choose whatever leaf shape and flower colours you love. Can you make a fairy garden with fake plants? Of course! If gardening inside or out does not bring you joy, then faux plants are perfectly acceptable.

5. Other accessories: You might want to use popsicle sticks to create a small fairy fence. You could also include miniature watering cans, flower pots, wheelbarrows, or anything else in miniature that adds to your theme. How do you make a cheap fairy garden? Look for cheap sources and shop accordingly. Find as many of these accessories as you can in your kids’ toy bins, at thrift stores, your local craft store, or the dollar store. The toy section of the dollar store often has miniatures like this. In the end, you just have to look around.

4. Put It All Together

Once you have chosen a spot, a container, and gathered all your supplies, the fun really begins! Now it’s time to get your kids to help you set up a little fairy tableaux using the materials you gathered. There is no wrong way to do this. Just have fun! 

Fairy Gardens I Have Made

If all this still feels overwhelming, don’t worry! I’ve made a few different styles of fairy gardens in my lifetime: some tiny, some bigger in scope, some indoor and some outdoor. Check out the following posts for great DIY fairy garden ideas you can copy or tweak to make your own! 

How to Create Your Own Outdoor Mini Fairy Garden

Are you looking for a way to add a little whimsy to your outdoor space this spring? Try building a mini fairy garden! I built one in the grove of trees behind our house for my girls to play with, and we are all so pleased with how it turned out. You don’t need a grove of trees though! As long as you have a tree or even a tree stump or log to set your fairy door against, you’re in business.

We gathered some miniatures that all the girls and I liked. Some fairies, small plants, and a decorative banner above the door made us all happy. You could add small animals, bunnies, or even a unicorn or two to your own fairy garden! Whatever will make your heart smile when you see your kiddos playing with it. If you have a few trees or structures nearby, it never hurts to string a bunch of fairy lights around to add to the magic.

Miniature Magic: Crafting a Fairy Garden Wreath for All Seasons

Why is everything so much more exciting in miniature form? I could lie and say that I like to make dollhouse things and fairy gardens because my girls love it, but the truth is that I love minis just as much (if not more!). This fairy garden wreath is an ode to all things mini, and it’s a craft that both you and your kids will enjoy creating! It’s true that I originally created it for fall, but it works just as well for spring with a few substitutions. First of all, decorate your galvanized metal tray with faux florals and greenery instead of wheat and sunflowers and it will instantly be perfect for spring. And the deer, tree, and fence are timeless and work for any season! Visit the post for a full list of supplies and step-by-step instructions. 

Create an Enchanting Container Fairy Garden with Your Kids

I love doing outdoor gardening projects with my girls, and I’m not sure if they or I enjoyed making this easy, adorable fairy garden more! We made this gradually over a few days. We made all our own props and used small, inexpensive annual flowers. Alyssum, pansies and carnations just felt right for this project. I liked their small scale and their price! I’ve seen sweet fairy gardens that have featured succulents and even herbs too, if they are more your thing. Gather up a supply of twigs, moss, leather, faux flowers and leaves and come get all the details on how we made our outdoor fairy garden. You can even use our pics as inspiration for your own magical creation!

Mini Fairy Garden in a Tin Gift

This is a project that was inspired by a visit to a local greenhouse. My daughters and I were rambling around looking at all the beautiful plants and garden accessories when we saw the cutest little fairy garden. I just knew that we had to make some little fairy homes as a project for spring!

With Mother’s Day coming up soon, I thought some mini fairy garden gifts would be a great way to make people feel appreciated. We rounded up a bunch of suitable supplies we had on hand, made some others, and came up with a couple of absolutely sweet DIY mini fairy gardens ideas in tins that will be a fun gift to give to moms for Mother’s Day this year! These would also make unique teacher’s gifts or gifts for friends too! Visit the full post for my tutorial on how to make your own fairy garden DIY. 

Make a Fairy Garden in a Thrifted Tea Cup

Spring is just around the corner, and I’m so excited to be ALMOST able to get out in my garden and start planting! I thought it would be fun to make the tiniest, cutest fairy garden in a thrifted tea cup. Even though the plants in this little garden aren’t real, they still remind me that spring is coming and we can plant real flowers soon! Let me share with you how to make this adorable fairy garden in a thrifted tea cup – it would make a fantastic gift or decor item for spring. And of course, if you can wait a little bit longer, you could always make this with REAL plants and set it on a rock in your actual flower garden as an interesting little feature. 

So, there you have it! All the general instructions (and real-life examples) you need to make your own little bit of fairy garden magic! I hope you take the plunge and celebrate spring in this special, creative way. If you make fairy gardens, I would love to see them! Tag me @thediymommy.

Happy crafting everyone!

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