Any frugal fairy ideas?

These are simply adorable and I must try my hand at making one! LOL My mind is whirling with ideas, and I think I have several plants already that I could use as the plantings. My problem is, sadly, my budget won't allow me to buy any of those lovely fairies right now. Any suggestions for more inexpensive decorations I could use?

Thanks all! ^_^

I was wondering how the polymer clay would hold up outside in a miniature garden! You could mold it into anything (or body) you wanted. I have a few molds for the clay to make small doll faces and body parts, too.

That's a wonderful idea! My daughter would love making fairies for me, and I could probably get my son to make a frog or turtle. LOL Thank you!

I thought I'd make a few tiny things and see how they hold up in the weather. Most of my miniatures would be in the shade, so maybe it will work out alright not having to worry about the sun fading them.

I'm in the same boat needing to be frugal. I went to Walmart and bought two aquarium logs and stumps that will be perfect as an accent piece. I will cut off the plastic flowers attached to them though Also, a Christmas shop here in town sells themed ornaments that doesn't have a Christmasy look. I bought several mini gardening tools and teeny tiny pots. And what do you know, they had some small fairies as ornaments. All I did was cut off the hanging loop.

I am thinking of keeping my mini garden inside, so sun-fading won't be so much of a concern for me as will the items being waterproof. I found a couple of aquarium ornaments just now, and a saucer for a very large pot, so I think I'll start out using those as my first "practice" garden. With any luck, I'll have time to finish it today and can post a picture later. It won't be spectacular, but at least I can get some hands-on experience to try out a few ideas.

My daughter has several Charming Tales figurines. If she doesn't want them anymore, maybe she'll donate those to the cause! LOL I have a couple vinyl Eeyore figurines, too, if only I could find them...

Our Goodwill store has a few little figurines for sale that are starting to look pretty good, too, lol.

Goodwill! Greeeeaatt idea!

i remember having an American Girl book when the kids were little--it was a whole book on how to make miniature things out of stuff you have at home--i don't really remember any but it seems like we should be able to make some and not have to buy them all--i think fairy items could look good being a little rustic and handmade looking--

Check out some of the $ stores. They had tiny figures in holiday decorations and making new clothes or adding wings is easy. They sometimes also have cute doll house furniture or little dioramas you can take apart and use the pieces. You can find some little things for indoor gardens in the scrapbooking section of walmart or the craft store and allot of craft stores have unpainted doll furniture.

Great ideas! Thanks everyone! I'm forever popping into the Dollar Store for milk, so I'll look next time I'm in there. Handmade items would be very nice, too. We used to buy big boxes of popsicle sticks at the craft store for the kids to make things with when they were little.

I posted a picture of my first mini garden here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/867991/ Didn't want to clutter up this thread of good ideas with it. LOL

I was thinking about checking the fabric store for novelty buttons... I know I've seen lady bugs and frogs... who knows what others they might have... like the tool set buttons on the bottom of this page http://www.buttonqueen.com/buttons/boys_buttons.htm glued on to a little wooden work table...
or some fairy sized foods... http://www.buttonqueen.com/buttons/food_buttons.htm

or some tiny plant markers for the fairy's garden in the fairy garden?
http://www.buttondrawer.com/Buttons_ESGarcia.asp?SC_id=121&offset=25

This message was edited Jun 25, 2008 8:27 PM

I checked the prices of the polymer clay push molds to make my own little fairies and they are super expensive!!!!

I got a fence from the craft section of wally world and some pots @ michaels, I am making a sign w/ a shim and posicle stick and a table w/ some twigs that I have...I got a birdhouse thing from a discount store for $7 and amd going to paint it...then I got some fake flowers @ wally world that I can use as little tree like things...I think when you are broke, you have to get creative-I think for everything I have sepnt like $12 or so-including the house!!

i found tiny frogs, turtles, ladybugs, rabbits and garden tools at hobby lobby in the miniature doll house section. they're 50% off this week.

i found this gnomes at Jo Ann fabrics, i got 3 for $2.50 and 1 for $1.59.

belinda

I am sooooo going to hobby lobby TODAY!!!

I am impressed with this idea of making tile! This is a handmade pond, and she even tells how she/he made it. This would be very inexpensive, if you were inclined to copy the idea:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dollhouse-Miniature-Talavera-Style-Koi-Pond-Texas-Tiny_W0QQitemZ260245347495QQihZ016QQcategoryZ2461QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

My "Talavera-style" tiles are made with rolled plastic clay which is pressed through hardware cloth to achieve the look of hand-formed tiles and are then baked. After an initial glaze is applied, each tile is hand drawn and then sealed again. After they are glued to the surface, paint grout is applied where needed and further sealed. These tile works are joyful, spirited pieces and will not appeal to collectors seeking precision pieces. My pieces are to be enjoyed as collectables, and not intended as toys.

this was on ebay, too...

I think this could easily be made with one of thos loose packets of bricks...

I plan on trying one of these. I want to put a few koi in it,and then use 'pour on' with a drop of blue food coloring...

Are they small???I couln't figure out if they were real or fake fish??

yes, it is teeny...I provided the link, so you could look at the auction and read the whole thing

She made the tiles with hardware cloth...other people call it rabbit wire. It is tiny mesh screening material, but larger squares than typical window screens.

Sorry-I am @ work & can't access ebay, that is why I asked-THANKS!!:)

no problem! I guess that is a real compliment to the person that made it, that you didn't know if it was miniature, or not :0)

Zanymuse-
I took your recommendation, and looked at buttons. I found three packets of really cute ones, and already used two of the buttons on a mini garden dish I put together last night.

First I had picked up a package of resin doggies, so picked up these buttons for the "bones". They are even flat on the other side, not "buttony"

and here are the bones

I got this great set of tiny bugs: dragonflies, bees, and ladybugs

I tied bread bag twisty wires in the loop on the back of the button, and made these for my mini landscape

Here is the bee in situ(by the pink polka dot plant...guess the camera preferred to focus on the doggie, lol...)

They are a great tiny size!

This message was edited Jun 28, 2008 7:59 AM

and here is the dragonfly

I also picked up these cute tiny sunflowers, but haven't used them, yet...

These are extra tiny, and the perfect size, too

Thank you for that great idea!!

OMG-I LOVE IT!!! I got my swap things last night and I got some stuff for myself!! I am making stuff today-it is supposed to rain, so I can't be outside!!

seedpicker - That is soooo darn cute! Love your ideas! You ROCK!!!

seedpicker, you hit a mini goldmine with the button finds, they're really cute. I like the bread tie idea, and your tiny garden, too!

If anyone is intersted....

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/869868/

Buttons!! What a fabulous idea!! See, I knew y'all would have all these great ideas I'd never think of! I think we can make this a very affordable hobby!

Thanks to everyone for these great ideas! ^_^

And I was wondering why I bought all these cute buttons years ago! I have some trees, flower pots, and a few other assortments that I'm going to gather together. I had decided I couldn't do this as budget is way too tight, but now I'm getting back in the mood to do this. Thanks for all the great ideas.

seedpicker_TX, I'm glad you were able to find such a great assortment. I will be checking out our fabric store next time we go into town. With gas prices so high we are trying to make the trip just once every 4-6 weeks. Some of the buttons can really be a savings when you get several different "miniatures" in a set. The dragonfly and bee are perfect for the fairy garden.

Now I need to start working out some mountain cabins, fences, ponds, paths, mountains.....And get some wood to build a raised platform bed, get DH on board to build small train setup...find some money for the train, track, power supply, small fountain pump... Can ya tell I want to start large on my miniature project?