The Grandmother of the Fairy Gardens!

Friends, do I have a treat in store for you today! And this is purely thanks to the kindness of a reader, Pam P., who recently sent me an email and shared photos of some of the fairy gardens she and her grandchildren have made this summer. When I asked whether I might share them here, she graciously said yes, and I hope you'll be as inspired by her ideas as I was! Here is Pam's own fairy garden. 

 I love that her fairy is holding a teapot, and you'll also note that adorable table with two teacups and saucers sitting at the center of the vignette! (And those tiny mushrooms—adorable!)

Here is Pam's granddaughter Lainey, 14, with her fairy garden composed in a beautiful ruffled container and sporting several levels of interest. I had not considered elevating a feature within a fairy garden, but what a great idea!

And here is a more detailed shot of Lainey's garden. "We made the little table for the cup and saucer out of rocks and jewelry-making pieces," Pam said. Brilliant!

Eleven-year-old Saralynn made a fairy garden as well, and I'm so impressed that all three ladies made quite different styles of fairy garden. Pam searched thrift stores for bowls,  she said, but the lovely fairy came from Pike's! (It had not dawned on me to search an actual nursery for fairy garden supplies. But of course!)

For this scene, Pam said, the tiny cups and saucers on that darling little table and chairs are actually *jewelry charms* from Michaels!

And while grandson Carter isn't pictured (and probably wouldn't want to be featured on a tea blog!), Pam did share the "man cave" he made, which I thought was a terrific twist on this idea, and one some of you may wish to keep in mind if you have young grandsons or nephews who might like to make one of these. She said Carter's container is a pot his dad uses when camping, and the "ladder" on the side is made out of Lincoln logs!

After being inspired by Pam, I visited both Michaels and JoAnn over the weekend (and Hobby Lobby is on the list as well), and I'm going to start with a fall-themed fairy garden and try to update it seasonally. Here are my takeaways after reading Pam's advice and checking out the local stores:

— Shop thrift stores for unusual containers for fairy gardens.

— "Nature provides beautiful items for decorating them as well." White rocks and river rocks work nicely, she said.

— At Michaels, the fairy items and the miniatures are on opposite sides of the store, Pam pointed out, so  check out both.

— Pam noted that fairy garden items sometimes get discounted. At the Fayetteville Michaels, she found some fairy garden items for 70 percent off! (And I noticed on Saturday that JoAnn had fall fairy garden items at 50 percent off already.)

I hope to have my fall-themed, tea-themed fairy garden up and in business within the next week or two, so stay tuned. And special thanks to Pam for sharing all these great photos and ideas!