Tiny miniature indoor Fairy Garden that’s perfect for Spring! A tiny little bunny is nestled inside a beautiful white cage surrounded by beautiful spring flowers and plants.
I know I’m late getting this Spring Craft posted! If I can figure out how to squeeze another 10 hours into every day I’ll be good! Goodness, me! I’m so sorry.
By now you know my love of “miniatures” and “fairy gardens”! Last week I was at JoAnn’s looking for some “craft paper” (wink, wink…that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!) …when I spotted their darling miniature Easter items on an end cap. I’m convinced these tiny little items of delight have gigantic powerful magnets imbedded inside! That’s the only explanation I can come up with for being pulled halfway across the store towards them. (I even dropped the cute roll of Valentine ribbon I was clutching!)
It was love at first sight. I was picking up everything Oohing and Ahhing. Then I looked at the price tag and quickly set them back down…begrudgingly! Oh, well… back to the task at hand…”paper”. In order to get to the paper though it’s important I go up and down every aisle in the store just in case they may have moved it. (One can never be too safe.) As I happened upon the next aisle I saw a darling little bird-cage… and WHAM… just like that I knew I had found a way to create a miniature spring fairy garden for a fraction of the cost. (I love a deal! Bargain is my middle name!)
Everything was on sale! Yep! Even the miniature Spring pieces. Total cost was about $23 for the entire project.(Read below for tips on how to save even more!)
I absolutely L.O.V.E. how it turned out! I think it’s my new favorite “Spring/Easter” decor item. I couldn’t even wait to put it out on my entry table. It looks so darling with all my Valentine items.
If you’ve got a glue gun, or as I like to call it… “The fingertip burning tool from *&$#”, and a pair of scissors, you’re good to go! So, let’s talk supplies. You will need…
Supplies Needed
3 Spring/Easter miniatures
1 square of green felt and a black marker
1 Spring pick with small flowers
1 small bird-cage
Glue sticks
Glue gun
Scissors
Wire cutters
Lay your piece of felt on a flat surface or table-top. Remove the top of the bird-cage from the base. Lay the base “face” down on the felt and trace around it with a black marker.
Cut the marked square out on the inside of the trace lines. Lay it inside the base of the cage to see that it will fit. If it is too big to lay flat, trim and refit till it fits inside the square easily and lies flat.
Take your special “finger burning tool”, aka: a glue gun, and lay down a thin bead of hot glue around the outside edge and middle of the base. You want your felt to be securely glued down because you will be gluing the garden items directly on top of it.
Quickly lay your cut felt down, being careful not to burn yourself, and press down flat. Set base aside for now.
Next it’s time to create the “fake” grass base for your “Spring Floral Trees”. This will allow you to have a base to glue them to the felt bottom of the bird-cage.
Cut five felt strips 1 inch wide and 3 inches long. Obviously, it can look like you were drinking at the time you cut out the strips! (goodness me that is bad cutting!) The point being, they don’t have to be perfectly straight.
Next lay a bead of hot glue right down the middle of the felt strip.
TIP: This is where “burning” may take place. So a little tip I use…lick your fingers before you fold it in half OR have a wet sponge on hand, so you can wet your fingertips. This reduces swearing ! Oops… I mean…burning your fingertips.
Quickly fold the felt strip in half and squeeze it together. You do NOT want the glue to go all the way up to the edges! The glue is to hold the fabric folded in half. Your two long edges should be loose and easy to open.
Next take a pair of sharp scissors and cut small little fringe “grass blades” along the length of the felt strip. After cutting run your finger up and down across the cuts to “fluff” the blades of grass out. You will need to make five of these grass strips.
You always want “odd” numbers when doing landscape scenes. You’ll notice I have 3 Easter miniatures. 5 Floral Trees. It balances out the scene better. The same holds true when landscaping outdoors. Just another little tip I learned from a landscaping friend.
Next take your floral spring pick and separate it into different groups, or trees. Using your wire cutters cut each section apart about a half-inch from the base of the first flower at the bottom of the stem.
Using your wire cutters, cut each section apart, about a half-inch from the base of the first flower at the bottom of the stem. Don’t cut more than an inch higher than the lowest flower or berry.
Place a bead of glue at the base of each stem.
Take one of your strips of felt “grass” and place the end on top of the bead of glue. Carefully hold it in place until it has dried and is stuck to the base of the floral stem. Begin to gently roll it around the stem, gluing it in place as you go. (This maybe where you start to swear. Just sayin’….lol)
Be sure to keep the bottom as level as possible. This is going to be the base for your spring tree so that you can glue it to the bottom of the bird-cage. Be sure to repeat this same process for each tree you will be placing in your miniature spring garden.
Once you have finished all your tree bases it’s time for the fun part! Setting up your miniature garden. Start out by placing your 3 miniature Easter/Spring items on the base where you think you want them to go. Try to place them toward the center of the cage. You want to leave your outer edges open for your trees keeping in mind the top of the cage needs to sit flat on the base. You may want to rearrange them several times before you get it looking exactly how you want it. Once you have your items where you want them glue them down with the hot glue gun.
Next you are going to glue down your flowering spring trees. Hold the trees where you think you want them to go and then step back and make sure you like the way it looks. Be sure they are not hiding your favorite miniatures. Be sure the top of the cage can still fit and that the branches can peek out of the top of the cage. Like vines growing up and out. Also be sure the cage will sit flat on the base.
Once you are sure where you want the tree’s to go place a drop of glue and glue the base of your trees down to the base of the cage.
Repeat the process until you have all your beautiful spring floral’s glued down and in place. Be sure to hold them in place until the glue has set. Fluff out the branches and twist and turn things carefully so that it looks exactly how you want it to look.
Once you have everything in glued down replace the top of the bird-cage and gently pull the longer tree stems out through the top and wind them around the bars of the cage.
That’s it! You are done! You’ve created your very own miniature Spring Indoor Garden! Wasn’t that simple and so much fun?
It’s like taking a peek into the “Secret Garden” with Peter Rabbit!
I’m almost embarrassed to say how many times a day I walk past it and just stop to take a peek!
I love how easy and fun this craft was to do. It took about 30 minutes, start to finish.
TIP: I’m sure if you shopped around at the dollar store, your craft drawer, and thrift stores you could cut the cost of this craft down even more. I know you could!
Wouldn’t this be a fun neighbor gift to give for the Easter Holiday? Dropping one-off to a shut-in or a Mommy friend who needs a pick me up! What a bundle of sunshine for someone special.
So there you have it my friend! The first “Spring” craft of the year! I hope you love this craft as much as I do. I know it will look as beautiful and “happy” in your home as it looks in mine!
I had so much creating this decor item. I forgot how much I love to craft and create things for my home. I’ve been so busy in the kitchen lately. I’m glad I took my detour at the craft store last week, and found this little bird-cage, and had a moment of inspiration. Even if I did have a couple little burns using that evil glue gun…lol… I still had so much fun making this craft.
Let me know if you have any questions or requests for other spring craft ideas. The glue gun is locked and loaded. Ready to burn another finger on any given day! Happy Monday! Happy Crafting and Creating!
Hugs from Nest to Yours,
