Greeting The New Year With Open Arms

Myleene pulled me aside this afternoon to say she was ready for her New Year photoshoot. Last year she had a photoshoot with the theme 'swinging in the new year' and I vaguely recall mentioning that we should do it again this year. Well, she remembered very vibrantly and was animate about it.

This year she is perched atop a Christmas ornament just underneath a crystalized mistletoe. Her arms are spread out with welcoming arms for the coming New Year ... or a kiss - she won't complain. We here at Grandma's Fairy Garden hope you and yours have had a wonderful holiday and will have a safe and happy New Year.

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Winter Non-Festival, Oops

As the days lingered, the Elves realized that there was a lot less activity in the community than last year. The packs of customers who constantly filled the store last year were no where to be found. Finally, the elves discovered that due to the huge celebration to commemorate the King's Return, year-end holiday celebration funding was cut short. The majority of the community members were out of town but here you can see three fairies gorging themselves on sweets. Simone on the left, Julip on the right and sweet Ivy in the middle who seems to be suffering from a toothache from all that candy.

Myleene is very photogenic and shows off her holiday decorations.

Myleene's home looks quite festive.

The trees in Woodland Grove are frosted over, giving a natural looking decor.

New to Woodland Grove but not to the community, Loopy (left) and Zoe-Zoe decided to move their home for a new view.

These Frosted Ferns are gorgeous and festive.

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Fairy Garden Class - Terrarium, Home Edition

Terrarium Essentials; container, potting mix, pebbles, charcoal and potted plant(s). Optional; coffee filter, moss, decor

Add pebbles to the container. Pebbles will allow water to drain to the bottom of your container without drowning your plant. Your best bet is dark colored pebbles. This will keep your terrarium pretty when soil undoubtedly finds its way down to the bottom.

If you'd like to use moss, now is the time to use it. You can find moss in many different styles to add texture and color.

Next, I placed a coffee filter atop the moss. Why, you ask? Please, scroll down.

On top of the coffee filter is charcoal. I'd done some research online that suggested this method keeps odor from lingering. The coffee filter keeps the charcoal from dispersing down through the moss while still allowing water to pass through to its final destination amongst the pebbles.

Nearly done, I've added potting mix. If you are planning on planting succulents/cactus, you will need to use a potting mix specific for them since it allows more water to pass through (unlike the potting mix I'll be using).

Finally, plant those lovely flora in your potting soil. Slow-growing, ground cover, miniature or dwarf plants are good for terrariums. You want a plant that won't outgrow this container too quickly.

And here is our finished product! I've added some white pebbles to add to the festive winter scene. This container has a lid that traps moisture in which may fog up the glass but also means less watering (be careful not to over water). The pebble layer at the bottom really helps to remind you when a terrarium needs water or is being watered too much. To avoid mineral build up, be sure to use distilled water. You also might want to carefully wipe any remnants of watering from your container to prevent water spots.

Here is the same container with the snowman swapped out for a dainty little table and tea set. Be sure not to put any terrarium in direct sunlight. Just like a parked car on a hot day, things heat up real quick!

As you can see, terrariums are easy to start, easy to keep up with and easy to switch out decor with the changing seasons! Feel free to let me know how your terrarium turned out.

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The Elves Cottage

Last year the elves were the last to show up for the Winter Festival but when I stepped out into my Fairy Garden earlier this week, I saw that they decided to be the first to arrive this year!

They've spruced up their area a bit and have created a more welcoming space, complete with candy seats and a candy-lined pathway.

These trees are also a new addition to this area in the hopes that they can block the cold winter winds from fairies who come to visit the sweets shop.

The colorful candy-lined pathway was a good idea, but they might have to think about repaving it with something else because the ice is very slippery. It is a little silly to see the elves glide around.

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Local Happenings: Festive Fairy Garden Class

During our winter holiday Fairy Garden Class back in November we had over 30 participants. Everyone had a great time making fairy gardens and socializing. We also had a few people try their hand at a terrarium, something new I wanted to offer to the class. As much as there is support for this event, I unfortunately have to share with My Fairy Folks that the Sunshine Growers Nursery will be unable to host these events until sometime in the Summer - the exact date has not been decided. 

Fairy Garden Class, November 2015

I realize this might be a bit disheartening so I have decided to try and ease the heartache by publishing fairy garden class material (examples, pointers, how-to's, etc.) on my YouTube channel in the following months. If you have yet to subscribe, now would be a good time to do so. Oh look, a handy little link to my YouTube Channel.

I would like to reach out to you, My Fairy Folks, to see if you know any local business that would be willing to sponsor our Fairy Garden Class during the Spring months. I also would like to know what themes you'd like to see at our next class. And as always, if you have any questions about Fairy Gardens in general, please contact me. If you have not yet signed up for the Fairy Class email list, please email grandmasefg@gmail.com.

Here are a few featured photos taken during the class, followed by a slideshow. I tried to get a picture of every work of art. Thank you all for attending.

This lovely Winter scene is going places! What an inspired container.

Possibilities are endless when you use a large container.

This terrarium was my personal favorite, especially because of the magnetic hummingbird. If anyone knows where I can find such a thing, I'd appreciate the information.

There is quite a lot going on in this festive scene depicting a family of snow people.

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Floral Show Entry and Placement

On November 7th I submitted two entries into a flower show. A few weeks before that, I happened upon a flyer for this event to be held in the beautiful and historic Kendall Place nestled on the Plymouth Village Campus in Redlands. A woman who works in my building, whom I often discuss gardening with, kindly shared with me a clipping from the local paper spotlighting the event. I'd never entered a competition like this but figured I'd give it a go; it could open the door to another facet of gardening that I had yet to explore.

Outside of the building, garden enthusiasts socialize and browse the many related vendor booths.

I decided to enter two pieces that qualified for different categories; Miniature Garden Exhibit in the theme of "Fanciful Fairy Garden" and Combination Planting, sub-category Terrarium. I had never worked on a terrarium before but the category caught my eye and, again, figured I'd give it a go. There were many rules and restrictions to abide by, but come time for me to take in my entries, both pieces had met all the requirements.

My entry in the Fanciful Fairy Garden category

My entry for the terrarium category

There were many beautiful pieces spread throughout the building that ranged from single cut roses  ("1 stem with 3 sets of 5 leaves" was the requirement for this category), eatables, container grown foliage as well as table setting designs. They even had a youth category for students grades K-6. I enjoyed speaking with other garden enthusiasts and saw inspiration in the other exhibits.


You are probably wondering how I did, right? Well, My Fairy Folks, both of my pieces placed! I really had no competitive intention to win, I simply wanted to enter the show to see what it was like and get familiar with it, but each of my entries won second place. For my Fanciful Fairy Garden entry, the judge commented: "Very well done. You're all in scale except white rock which is a bit out of scale with other components."

My second place ribbon for "Fanciful Fairy Garden"

My second place ribbon for the terrarium category

Overall, it was all pretty surprising! I had two entries, each placed and each got second place. Not bad for Grandma's first time! I am eager to enter the show next year and will keep my eyes and ears open in hopes of spotting other local shows. I would like to try my hand at a tiny floral vase - I thought they were very cute (possibly because I'm so used to everything being tiny for my fairies).

I've put together a slideshow of the many other photos I took. Unfortunately there was so much to see, I couldn't capture it all. Check them out below.

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One year as a YouTuber!

On November 6, 2014, with the help of my grandson, I put my very first fairy garden video on YouTube. I joined YouTube to rebel against my granddaughter who had my blog posts on a strict six-picture-maximum diet. I had noticed other fairy garden videos on YouTube that had beautiful music in the background and had begun to take videos myself with my iPad. Knowing that my grandson had experience with recording video and adding all sorts of special effects and music, I went to him for help. 

Uploads are slow going but my grandson is a very busy young man, working and going to school and still making time for his grandmother's passion without one complaint. As of today, the YouTube channel has 24 videos with 475 views. In an effort to get more views, I am getting brave and plan to talk in them. From silent films to talkies! I'm revolutionizing my YouTube channel. I also plan to do fairy garden tutorials in hopes that I can reach out to people who would like to attend but can't make it to my local fairy garden classes. I've done blog posts about repurposing items but I would also like to make videos.

As always, I'd love to learn what My Fairy Folks would like to see on my YouTube channel. My goal is to double my YouTube subscribers and views by year two and I'd much rather make videos that my viewers want to see. 

If you haven't already, check out my YouTube channel and be sure to like my videos and subscribe.

PLEASE COME VISIT MY FAIRY PAGE

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grandmasefg@gmail.com

Grandma'sEFG YouTube Channel