On March 16 and 17, Veggipalooza attracted quite the crowd of "green thumbs" to browse nearly 300 home-garden friendly plants for sale. I managed to buy a few types of tomatoes and beans but it was a hard decision. I passed up Clint Eastwood's tomatoes but will hopefully try them next year. I'd also like to thank my best friend for accompanying me on this day trip.
They say a picture can say a thousand words - it's a shame I can't trade some of those words for a smell because this picture here smells delicious! We're prepping for the Fall Festival here in the garden.
The scarecrows are keeping a look out, making sure no critters come and mess with the food before it's ready. They are also great whistlers!
These cuties begged to help with the food prep and it's their first year. They're so excited!
Pumpkin - the fairy - sits between some of the harvest, examining a small pumpkin, trying to decide what recipe would best suit it.
On May 14, 2016, I attended a Fairy Garden Festival in Redlands. This was the second annual show which cut me to the bone; how did I not know about it the first year!? There were so many vendors with such beautiful and creative things; there was a raffle, there was a fairy garden contest and even a class where participants were taken step by step through creating their own fairy garden. I took so many pictures and put together a slideshow of them, but I'd like to feature a few below.
Grace Bagwell, Potter from Diamond Bar, displays her ceramic creations.
Grace, creator of A Glazin' Grace, had a slew of adorable, hand-crafted ceramic fairy houses and I was able to get my hands on a one-of-a-kind piece, seen here on the left. If you'd like to contact Grace, her email is gbagwell318@gmail.com and her phone number is 909-576-3894.
This artist offered some woodwork houses, some metal work accessories and some even more impressive metal artwork which I failed to photograph (you can't blame Grandma for being focused on fairy-sized things). Unfortunately I forgot to grab a business card from this vendor, but you can see them on display here. I purchased these two metal decorations that are currently in my garden.
www.etsy.com/shop/WillyWimbles
Willy Wimbles is a business venture headed by local artist Denise Brown. Their booth had so many fairy items for sale, including houses, furniture, fairies and even jewelry that features fairies. One thing that made this vendor stand out was a sign that informed customers that every purchase made would add a donation to a charity. Her etsy store boasts a few different charities they donate to, including "New Day Foster Homes, and Love Without Boundaries, both of which are geared specifically toward Special Needs kids in China. We also donate to The Drop Box in Seoul, South Korea and Half The Sky in China." I purchased a bed to use in my future gardens at home and noticed a few of her items being used during the fairy garden class that day.
Lois Jones had a booth with an assortment of small ceramic containers. On the very far right you can see a sea foam green cone-shaped ceramic container which was used by a participant in the fairy garden class (and which I don't think I was able to capture a picture of and am very upset about it but felt it needed to be mentioned). If you'd like to contact Lois her contact numbers are 714-534-5681 and 949-463-3013.
This booth was hidden at the end of a row of vendors but I'm glad I made sure to check it out. Not only are these hand-made houses tiny and adorable, they were extremely affordable! I purchased two of the smaller ones to use during the fairy garden class for my granddaughter and I and only spent $5. There were larger houses and some with decorative silverware wind chimes but all were well priced. Unfortunately, I was unable to get contact information from this artist.
Miss Dorothy's Glass Garden Art was another local artist with a wonderfully unique craft on display. In this particular piece she used a porcelain fairy garden decoration as the focus and if I had seen it just a little sooner, my husband would have been upset with the money I spent. Unfortunately, someone else bought it before me and my husband remains the normal amount of grumpy. If you'd like to contact Dorothy Lewis, her phone number is 909-793-2725 and email is missdorothys@msn.com.
Pixie Village Cottages by Dennis Patterson
I was absolutely smitten with the large display of hand-crafted fairy houses created by Dennis Patterson from Hemet. They are advertised as Pixie Village Cottages and for the artwork they sell, the value is astonishing. I've seen similar pieces online for twice the price so I'm happy to know that Mr. Patterson is local (because I can't imagine what shipping would cost on something like this). I know what my next large purchase for my garden will be but it's quite some time away. If you'd like to view the cottages they offer, visit their website at pixievillagecottages.com, or contact them via email at pixievillagecottages@gmail.com or by phone at 951-440-2731. I could have taken a million pictures of this booth alone, but the handful I did take are in the slideshow below.
Finally, after exploring all the booths outside, I discovered some wonderful pieces inside the lovely building, including this First Place fairy garden display. I really like this piece, especially because it shows that you can repurpose a broken pot (which I've seen quite a bit of online and intend to try myself at some point) and has a nice array of colors.
I took many pictures, of course, so here are the rest, presented to you as a slideshow.
Queen AmberLynn and the princess sent two of their message fairies up to Mountain Lakes to invite King Edward and Queen Marlissa to the Winter Festival. Message fairies are very small and very fast, perfect for communicating with other fairy communities. Fairies do not have cell phones, you know?
It didn't take them long to arrive at Mountain Lakes. They flew in through the tiny entrance and greeted the King and Queen, telling them about the Winter Festival and inviting them to join. They were both very happy to accept the invitation.
The King and Queen gave orders to their head guard, Pico, to watch the entrance to their land while they were gone, planning to make the trip for a few days.
The King and Queen prepared their magical reindeer for the journey before saying goodbye to their community. In a flash, the reindeer took off, flying almost as fast as the messenger faeries.
They all arrived with joyful greetings and both King Edward and Queen Marlissa were very surprised by all the changes they noticed in the fairy garden since their last visit 14 months ago. While talking with Queen AmberLynn they learned that she will have new housing soon - a decision that had been put on the back burner until the rest of her community were taken care of - which she projects will be completed in April, just in time for the 2015 Magic Onion Fairy Contest.
Before decorating for the Winter Festival the fairies cleaned up the Queen's Courtyard, in anticipation of her return.
The Tree of Wisdom looks at the new park area, full of colorful decorations.
A train set circles around the shiny Christmas tree with presents strewn about.
Two of the Fairy Council members, Diana (on the left) and Alvina, introduce the community to their new winter guests. Geraldine (left) and Happy the Snowman wave to the crowd while Gerald sniffs around, exploring the winter scene.
The winter guests enjoy each others company while the rest of the community continues to make final preparations for the Festival.
Queen AmberLynn has finally made her appearance. Oh how lovely she is!
The Queen addresses her court. Her daughter, Princess Jezelle, attempts to listen in as Casper, in costume, does his best to get her attention.
These three fairies, dressed as witches, gossip about Casper's attempt to woo the Princess.
It seems that Bitsy is the center of attention on this end of the party as multiple boys in costume try to chat her up. Rose, Tink and Sammy continue to whip up snacks for the guests.
Andy, released from time out, reflects on his actions after the kerfuffle with Shay.
The festivities extend into the evening. As the sun sets, a bonfire is in the works and I leave the fairies to their celebration.
The Fairy Council - Alvina, Radella and Diana (L to R) - gathers to discuss the Halloween Festival which lasts throughout the month of October.
It was decided that Andy would be in charge of the festival decorations. Here he is with his crew, setting up for the festivities.
The first guests have arrived. You may not recognized them in their costumes but they are the inseparable pair of Bobby and Sue!
With all his hard work out of the way, Andy can enjoy the festival. He is introduced to Shay, a new scarecrow in the garden. It looks like they are hitting it off.
A pumpkin tried his luck, asking Samm to dance. It looks like she is having none of it. Poor guy.
Uh-oh! It seems that Andy has been misbehaving and is put in time out, guarded by Tink and Rose. Perhaps things didn't go so well with Shay?
The Queen's pumpkin has arrived! This must mean the Queen will make her entrance soon.
On May 14, 2016, I attended a Fairy Garden Festival in Redlands. This was the second annual show which cut me to the bone; how did I not know about it the first year!? There were so many vendors with such beautiful and creative things; there was a raffle, there was a fairy garden contest and even a class where participants were taken step by step through creating their own fairy garden. I took so many pictures and put together a slideshow of them, but I'd like to feature a few below.
Grace, creator of A Glazin' Grace, had a slew of adorable, hand-crafted ceramic fairy houses and I was able to get my hands on a one-of-a-kind piece, seen here on the left. If you'd like to contact Grace, her email is gbagwell318@gmail.com and her phone number is 909-576-3894.
Willy Wimbles is a business venture headed by local artist Denise Brown. Their booth had so many fairy items for sale, including houses, furniture, fairies and even jewelry that features fairies. One thing that made this vendor stand out was a sign that informed customers that every purchase made would add a donation to a charity. Her etsy store boasts a few different charities they donate to, including "New Day Foster Homes, and Love Without Boundaries, both of which are geared specifically toward Special Needs kids in China. We also donate to The Drop Box in Seoul, South Korea and Half The Sky in China." I purchased a bed to use in my future gardens at home and noticed a few of her items being used during the fairy garden class that day.
