Showing posts with label Mushroom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mushroom. Show all posts

Friday, March 1, 2019

Food Garden Friday - Healthy Breakfast


It's Friday and time for an update of my food garden! I used some leftover greens from my garden and some from my fridge to make myself a quick, healthy breakfast.



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Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Painting and Prepping for a New Look


I'd like to share with My Fairy Folks a story about how these two characters came to look so full of life.


In late 2017 I found this male fairy at Parkview Nursery in Riverside (this photo was pulled from a different post but shows the fairy best). Unfortunately his face was a little expressionless so I would try not to get too close in photos. A few months ago I came across a similar male fairy in a canoe at the same nursery and decided to purchase it. This wouldn't be the first time I've used two different figurines to play the role of the same character; I've also done this with some Disney character miniatures.


This gnome on a mushroom was gifted to me earlier this year by one of My Fairy Folks. I could tell that he was in need of a repaint. When I spotted a blue shirt, red hat gnome in a canoe recently, I knew this was a perfect opportunity for a canoe race scene. I had two characters that would be represented by four miniatures. But first, I needed to get new paint on the pieces.


In the few years I've been doing this fairy garden blog, I've been able to meet some very talented folks and am happy to call most of them My Fairy Folks. I reached out to one in particular who I was told does wonderful work with painting miniatures. I asked if she could add a face to my two leading characters and she was happy to help. When they were returned to me, I was very impressed with how they came out! 


Not only did she add personality to their blank faces, but she also repainted texture and clothes so that each character truly looked like their match. While the boy fairy was a bit easier since they came from the same miniature designer, the gnome required a bit more effort and finesse. I'm so very grateful for her work and friendship. I am pleased to know that there are people out there that stand behind giving new life to old things.

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Thursday, June 21, 2018

Garden A Day Challenge - Day 21, Living in a Mushroom



This scene has an array of rock/pebble sizes that create a rugged landscape and a few live plants surrounding a mushroom house.


The person who lives here has an empty mailbox (that you may have missed at first glace due to it being tucked away) and a wheelbarrow ready for the next job.

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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Fairy How-To: How To Grow A House

    There are many interesting and fascinating things about Fairies that most people do not know. Just like any other culture, Fairies do things a little different than most people which lead me to begin this Fairy How-To segment.

Housing - we humans have many issues when it comes to housing and it can be very costly to keep up with maintenance and relocation. Fairies do not have much of a problem with housing, mainly because they grow their own from the ground with fairy magic. Many times fairies will make themselves at home in a tree, gourd, and even fruits and vegetables. Today we will focus on a small house, perfect for the single fairy, made from a mushroom.

Not all fairies grow houses. Just like humans, there are certain fairies who are trained in one craft. Here in our community the Master Gardener has been training Cricket and PattyCake, two of his newest apprentices. After over a year of training, the two are comfortable enough with their craft to show me the process of growing a mushroom house.

STEP 1: We begin with fertile soil by adding nutrients from a compost pile. So far, so normal - but then it takes a turn for the magical; crystals are added to the soil which will bestow strength and insulation to the walls of the typically squishy fungus. These crystals are said to have been passed down throughout the centuries from one Master Gardener to the next. Both Cricket and PattyCake hope to achieve that title in the future.

Cricket, left, and PattyCake show the beginning stages of a mushroom house.

STEP 2: More magic, of course. Magical seeds of all varieties are created by master gardeners. Can you believe there is a seed for a mushroom? Seeds are very fertile and grow quickly so apprentices are taught to secure their seed satchels before each flight. It has been known, on occasion, to have a cluster of houses pop up overnight due to a clumsy gardner's apprentice. Unfortunately, this action is not easily overlooked when applying to be a master gardener and neither Cricket nor PattyCake have ever done this and always double check the security of their satchels.

After some time has passed and plenty of attention, more houses sprout.

STEP 3: Watering is very important. If you water too much, the house could become too big, too quickly and sink in the moist ground. If you don't water enough, it won't be large enough to live in and be labeled as a child's playhouse. There is only a certain window of time that a magical seed will be fruitful, so adding more water to a house that didn't grow big enough will do no good. Lack of water also risks the home not fully developing insulation.

The process of growing houses is a daily routine. No vacation time for these little apprentices.

STEP 4: Once the mushroom is deemed livable by the housing society, construction crews can begin work on installing a door, windows, internal walls, and all other necessary additions that make a mushroom a home. Pretty soon, these mushrooms will be inhabited by happy fairies or other creatures.

Finally, after a few months of daily attention, this mushroom's walls are sturdy enough to be considered a home. A door and window have been installed and the inside has been gutted out and ready to be decorated. PattyCake is very proud of a job well done.

PLEASE COME VISIT MY FAIRY PAGE
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