Miniature Gardens

My grandchildren & I made our fairy gardens.

 I suppose I should not call them all fairy gardens though. This one made by my oldest grandson is a miniature farm garden,complete with greenhouse, growing grass and grazing cows.

 Now here is a fairy garden our granddaughter made.

 This garden even has a name,'Fairy Heaven Gardens'.

 This granddaughter made her own little fairy garden too.

 The fairy looks quite comfy sitting back in her little chair ,enjoying her own garden.

Although our youngest grandson enjoys playing with his sisters' fairy toys, he preferred to make himself a Truck Garden. He thinks the best places of all are filled with piles of dirt and rocks for trucks to work in.

Life around here got pretty busy, requiring me to be away from the gardens, so the fairies and Mrs. Little postponed their garden party just for me. So much to do in the gardens to prepare, so many berries to pick, herbs to harvest,and weeds...WEEDS! Life in the summer is always very busy, but fun too.I hope you're enjoying your summer, and not spending too much time indoors at the computer. Go outside and make a miniature garden , enjoy tea with the fairies, the children, or by yourself as you sit in the shade and remember all your blessings.

TeaTime Tuesday With Mrs. Little & Friends

It's Teatime Tuesday and I've missed my Tuesday teas.Since the weather has remained a steady cloudy / rainy, and cool, in the high 50's to the low 60's, I decided I would brainstorm with Mrs. Little and two of her friends to plan a fairy garden party. Surely the weather will warm up soon, and a party in the garden is something to look forward to.Above is a new tiny tea-set my friend Judy gave to me to share with the Little family.

This little tea set is perfect for the Littles as you can see. Mrs. Little's fairy friends, Lily and Lilac, are using teacups that are slightly larger, much more appropriate for them. Mama Cat and one of her kittens have come to the table to find out about the fairy garden party too.

Lilac is reaching for the delicious cake Mrs. Little prepared ahead of time for this little planning party.

Lily is dictating to me the list of supplies I will need to assemble so 4 of my grandchildren and I can make just the right miniature gardens for the upcoming party.

Mama Cat returns to the Little's bed to contemplate the upcoming party and she is hoping there will be catnip tea and some very tiny mice.

Thank-you Judy for this little tea set. About the tea set,there is a sticker on the bottom of the tray . The only legible thing on the silver label is " N.J." I am assuming they are the abbreviations for the state of New Jersey. There are no other marks  of any kind on any of the little pieces of china.The tiny roses are a favorite of Mrs. Little, and she adores the gold rimmed china.She believes this little tea set adds elegance to her humble china hutch home.

I have several miniature tea sets and all are of different sizes thus enabling me to serve tea to the Bear family, the Little family, and the fairies without any of my little friends having to deal with cups and saucers they are unable to comfortably handle.My little friends assure me they enjoy tea with me no matter the size of the cups, but one does like to make friends and family comfortable and welcome and I like to know they appreciate tea with me enough to come back for more.Please join us next Tuesday when I will share the Fairy Garden Party in the miniature gardens our grandchildren and I will have made just for this occasion.

Please join the ladies listed below for Tea Time Tuesday :

1. Artful Affirmations *
2. Martha's favorites *
3. Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor * 
4. Rose Chintz Cottage *
5. A Delightsome Life *

"Why not seize the pleasure at once? How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation?" Jane Austin

So, make a pot of tea and a sandwich, head outside, and breathe in the scents, sounds, and sights of summer as you sit back and enjoy the simple blessings you already possess. No fancy garden, porch, or tea accessories needed, just simple thankfulness and appreciation.

A Fairy Garden & A Happy Birthday

This is our #2 Granddaughter, also known as KN. She is 8 years old now and we got to spend her birthday evening with her , eating the dinner of her choice and enjoying the birthday cake she chose. She is a lot of fun and of course, as her grandparents, we're just crazy about her, and all our other grandchildren too. One of my special times with KN came when she was 3 years old, and this is the occasion when I learned so much about her character and gifts, and it was one of my many very precious and memorable times with her.... KN was 3, yes three years old and showing great interest in flowers and gardening. She and I decided to make a Fairy Garden together. Early in the spring I took her shopping at the local nursery for HER choice of flowers. Believe me, KN has strong opinions ( I found out then) about what she likes and we chose only what SHE wanted to plant. After all, this was to be her Fairy Garden! Here ( above ) she poses for me holding one of her choices. When we got home she immediately got to work decorating her planter with stickers I had bought for her. She filled the big pink plastic tub with soil and then we laid out the design. Really though, it was truly ALL her design for she did not care for the way I laid things out. I have to say, this little one at 3 had a better grasp of design than I. Her plant and garden arrangement beat mine all to pieces, and I just watched as she removed and rearranged my intended lay-out. ( Well, it was her garden after all) Above, KN waters her Fairy Garden. This is a picture of KN touching up the Fairy Garden to enter it in a community fair. What I learned about her when she was 3 years old is that she is very self-confidant, thinks outside the box when it comes to creativity, is a lot of fun...and that I won't go wrong if I seek her advice for creative design in almost anything!She is now a few years older and that is still my impression of her..and she also loves me and her Poppa to pieces! KN and I can spend hours together quietly, while each of us works on our own project. All I will do is lay out paints, paper, fibers, glue. glitter, beads, etc., and she gets busy crafting whatever her imagination conceives, while I am free to work along-side her on my own projects. This is a special and FUN time.

Happy Birthday precious Granddaughter! "There are fairies at the bottom of our garden. It's not so very, very far away. You pass the gardener's shed and you just keep straight ahead, I do so hope they've really come to stay. There's a little wood with moss in it and beetles,and a little stream that quietly runs through. You wouldn't think they'd dare come merry-making there~Well they do. (Rose Fyleman)