Broken Clay Pot Fairy Garden

Have some broken clay pots? Here is a beautiful way to give them a second life while creating a home for a fairy :)

For this project you need:
- clay pot (broken or in whole)
- earth
- moss
- small tree
- small plants
- aluminium strip 2 cm
- clay airdrying
- clay terracotta airdrying
- small glass jar
- watercolours
- toothpicks
- shashlik skewers
- ice cream sticks
- battery powered fairy lights
- florist's wire

Tools used:
- flex
- hot glue gun
- scissors

For this step you need your collected moss, the hanging plant and a tree branch or a very small tree.

a.
Plant the hanging plant.

b.
Plant your small tree or branch behind the place where the fairy house should be.

This step describes how to create 2 chairs and one table and a welcome sign out of the clay and watercolours.

a.
Collect one leaf that has approximately following measurements: 2 x 3 cm

b.
Roll out the clay 2mm thick.

c.
Lay the leaf onto the clay and cut out with an exacto knife. Repeat 3 times.

d.
Lay 2 of the clay leaves over an edge to dry.

e.
Lay the remaining leaf on a flat surface to dry.

f.
Create a small clay sign of approximately following size: 1,5 x 3 cm

Use a toothpick to write "Welcome" or your familyname or else, as you like on the wet clay and make 2 holes.

g.
In the process of the making of the clay leaves, there remains some clay most of the time. It is even better if it is already a bit dry. Sculpture 3 tree stups. One bigger and 2 of the same, smaller size. Use a toothpick to create the illusion of a bark. Set aside to dry.

h.
When dry use the watercolours to colour the clay as shown on the pictures. Let colour dry.

i.
Coat everything with mod podge. Set aside to dry.

j.
Glue the 3 small leaves onto the tree stumps to create 2 chairs and one table.

For this step you need the terracotta clay, the florist's wire, toothpicks and white acrylic colour.

a.
Cut 3 10cm long pieces of the florist's wire.

b.
Form each wire on a different height around a pencil.

c.
Turn them together as shown.

d.
Form spirals on the top and the bottom around a pencil or similar (as shown on the pictures).

e.
Form 3 small balls of terracotta clay and bush them over a pencil, smaller then in step 4.b. and push the clay balls over it to form small pots. Put these pots in the 3 loops of the pot stand when they are still wet.

f.
Form the terracotta clay around some small square container to create small square terracotta pots.

g.
Form realy tiny half-balls and put them on the toothpicks. Use white acrylic colour and a toothpick to add the white dots to create small mushrooms,

For this step you need the small glass jar and the
Use the small glass jar and the polymer clay ().

a.
Cover the glass in white clay.

b.
Use a cookie cutter (or make one yourself) to cut out the windows.

c.
Roll out the brown polymer clay and cut out a door. Use a toothpick to add some wooden details. Add the doorframe and the doorknob. Use a cookie cutter to cut out a pewphole.

d.
Use the brown clay to add window frames.

e.
Roll out the light green clay to cut out the grass. Do the same with the dark green clay. Assemble as shown on the pictures.

f.
Use the dark and light green clay to sculpture the tree as shown on the pictures. Use a toothpick to add the details.

g.
Use clay of you favorite colour to form the flowers. Roll out and use flower fondant cutter to cut out. Make small yellow clay balls for the flower seeds. Add to the tree and grass.

h.
Cover the lid in red clay. Cut out some white round circles.

For this step you need your fairy lights and the florist's wire and scissors to cut the wire.

a.
Cut a bunch of 5cm long pieces of the florist's wire. Bend them as shown.

b.
Lay the batterie part of the fairy light where you want to put your fairy house later.

c.
Start to install the lights at the edge of the pot. The lights should stand upright. Use the wire on the left and the right of each light to secure it in the earth.

d.
Work around the pot. At the end it would be perfect if some lights are still unused. They are wrapped around the tree.

For this step you need the terracotta clay and the aluminium ledger.

a.
Form small bricks of different sizes. Put aside while the next steps but don't let dry completely.

b.
Put the fairy house on it's final place.

c.
Put the aluminium ledge right and left of the door to the beginning of the stairs. Push it well into the earth.

d.
Push the still formable bricks in place as shown.

a.
Use the greater pieces of moss to cover the top level.

b.
Use the remaining moss to cover the steps. Use the mushrooms on the toothpicks to secure the moss.

Put everything in place as you prefer.

I like it very much to decorate the fairy garden specially for some occasion (helloween for example) or use it as a wedding gift - you can see on the photos that the tree was decoratet with butterflies made out of money (in this case € 5).