Holly, Author at My Stained Apron

Using Springerle Molds (and a giveaway!)

September 27, 2013 by Holly

My hubby knows me too well. It isn’t something sparkly, shiny, or even floral I want on a special occasion. No, not even diamonds are my hearts desire. If he wants to make me happy he knows all he has to do is pick out pretty much anything from House On The Hill. It’s a little system we have. 🙂
I love the intricate designs, and I am always amazed at what I find on their website.
The fun thing about these molds is you can use them to make lots of different things, not just the traditional springerle cookies. House on the Hill has a variety of recipes, which you can find on their recipe section here. You also get a free recipe booklet when you spend over $35 on their site (I’ve managed to get.. a couple). 🙂

If you can’t wait to try making something with springerle molds, today is your lucky day. Connie from House on the Hill sent me the “single acorn” mold to play with, and has another one for one of you! Details at the bottom of this post to enter!

This mold is perfect for fall, and I decided to make spicy gingerbread instead of springerle with it to start.
Tip: Usually you brush your mold with flour or powdered sugar, but for darker cookies like gingerbread lightly spray with non stick spray so they won’t have a floury appearance.

I also used it to make a cupcake topper using marshmallow fondant, and I got to thinking it would work well for bars of cake or dessert as well.

I used the baroque owl here, and LOVE how it looks.

To make, just roll out your marshmallow fondant (fairly thick, almost 1/2″).
Then brush your mold with powdered sugar or lightly spray with nonstick spray. Place the mold on the counter and a piece of fondant on top, then push into the mold. Use a rolling pin to roll over it if needed. Where the design is especially thick (like the acorn on the single acorn mold, or the body and head of the owl on the baroque owl) I added a piece of fondant to kind of fill in and support that deeper area.
Flip mold and fondant over and slowly separate. Cut excess off using a cutter or pinking wheel. I thought about adding some disco dust or coloring it, but I really loved the all white look on these.

I made some walnut cookies with the walnut mold my hubby bought for me last Christmas. This is so pretty paired with the acorn mold as well I thought.

Walnut Cookies

For the Cookies:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp dried orange zest (or fresh zest of 1 orange)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla

For the filling:
1 1/2 cups ground walnuts
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 T butter, softened
4 oz dark chocolate, melted
2 oz heavy cream

Make cookies: Whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and zest in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese until well combined. Gradually beat in sugar. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Add the flour mixture slowly and mix well. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill overnight.
Separate the dough into 4 sections and take one section out of the fridge at a time (the dough will come out of the mold easier if very cold). Brush walnut mold with confectioners sugar and press a ball of dough into mold. Scrape excess off back if needed. Use the point of a knife to help dough out of mold. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

Make filling: Mix all the filling ingredients together until well mixed. Place a teaspoon of filling on the back of a cookie and add another, pressing together lightly.

Recipe adapted from House on the Hill

And for a non-food project you can use an air dry clay, such as Paperclay (House on the Hill sells it here) with the mold. Stay away from Fimo, Sculpey, and such because they can take the finish off the mold.
After the clay was dry, I painted some with an antique gold paint (letting the paint be heavier in some areas, lighter in others, to highlight the details.)

I also painted some dark red, then after drying I highlighted with the antique gold paint. I glued them to loops of ribbon and they are my new favorite fall napkin rings!

Giveaway Rules: To enter, just leave a comment on this post (with your email so I can contact you if you win). One entry per person, U.S. Residents only. You can enter now until October 5th. Winner will be chosen at random and announced Monday October 7th on this post.
What would you make with this mold?

And the randomly chosen winner is…

Your 1 winners on “Using Springerle Molds (and a giveaway!)” are:

Andie M

Congrats Andie! I’ll be contacting you. 🙂

Walnut Cookies

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp dried orange zest (or fresh zest of 1 orange)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla

For the filling:

1 1/2 cups ground walnuts
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 T butter, softened
4 oz dark chocolate, melted
2 oz heavy cream

Instructions

Make cookies: Whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and zest in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese until well combined. Gradually beat in sugar. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Add the flour mixture slowly and mix well. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill overnight.

Separate the dough into 4 sections and take one section out of the fridge at a time (the dough will come out of the mold easier if very cold). Brush walnut mold with confectioners sugar and press a ball of dough into mold. Scrape excess off back if needed. Use the point of a knife to help dough out of mold. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

Make filling: Mix all the filling ingredients together until well mixed. Place a teaspoon of filling on the back of a cookie and add another, pressing together lightly.

https://mystainedapron.com/using-springerle-molds-and-a-giveaway/

Filed Under: Cookies, Favorite Things & Places, Giveaways / Reviews

Smoked Pulled Pork

September 26, 2013 by Holly

I know it’s fall now, but we’re still trying to get in as much grilling and smoking as we can before it gets too cold. 🙂
I had some pork butt left over from making sausages and we decided to try smoking it. It was so easy, and delicious!
The leftovers got put to good use, in some baked beans, and I can think of lots of other things this would be great in as well.

SMOKED PULLED PORK
5 lbs boneless pork butt
Pineapple juice (or apple would work too)
BBQ Sauce, for serving

RUB:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
1 T Coleman’s mustard
2 T kosher salt
1 T black pepper
2 T garlic powder
2 T onion powder
1 T chili powder

Inject pineapple juice into pork. Every time you inject, only pull the needle out halfway, then push it in another direction and inject again. So at each injection site you should actually inject 2 or 3 times.
Combine the rub ingredients in a bowl, and liberally rub on all sides of the pork.
Hot smoke for at least 3 to 4 hours. Place in a pan and cover with a lid or foil and bake at 300 degrees for 3 more hours, or until pork falls apart easily. The point is to cook it long enough to break down the connective tissue so it will just fall apart.

We served it tossed with some barbecue sauce on buns, topped with coleslaw.

VARIATION: I used the leftovers to make baked beans, I made my recipe, found here, except I replaced the bacon and ham with pork.

Smoked Pulled Pork

Ingredients

5 lbs boneless pork butt
Pineapple juice (or apple would work too)
BBQ Sauce, for serving

RUB:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
1 T Coleman's mustard
2 T kosher salt
1 T black pepper
2 T garlic powder
2 T onion powder
1 T chili powder

Instructions

Combine the rub ingredients in a bowl, and liberally rub on all sides of the pork.

Hot smoke for at least 3 to 4 hours. Place in a pan and cover with a lid or foil and bake at 300 degrees for 3 more hours, or until pork falls apart easily. The point is to cook it long enough to break down the connective tissue so it will just fall apart.

https://mystainedapron.com/smoked-pulled-pork/

Filed Under: Freezer, Pork

Mashed Acorn Squash

September 24, 2013 by Holly

I heart fall. Pumpkins, squash, leaves, even the rain. Here in the Pacific Northwest that is just part of life, and if you don’t like it… well, maybe you should move. Because you’ll be miserable all the time. 🙂
Me and my girls actually enjoy the rain more than the sunshine so it works out well for us. 🙂
I love finding new ways to cook and serve squash. It’s such an inexpensive food, and I love it, but a little variety always helps. We really enjoyed this, and I am looking forward to trying other flavor variations, all though I’m sure this one will remain a favorite. Brown sugar and squash just go so well together.
I served it with these fantastic brussel sprouts and they were perfect.
Happy ~~rain season!~~ Fall!

MASHED ACORN SQUASH
2 acorn squash
1/4 cup sour cream
2 T brown sugar, plus extra for serving if desired

Halve squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds.
Spray or oil a 9 by 13 inch pyrex pan and place cut side down in pan.
Roast at 450 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until easily pierced with a paring knife. (If you are baking something else at a lower temperature, it will be fine, but will take longer).
Scrape out the flesh, then add sour cream and brown sugar. Mash to desired consistency, sprinkle with additional brown sugar if desired.

Recipe slightly adapted from Everyday Food

Mashed Acorn Squash

Ingredients

2 acorn squash
1/4 cup sour cream
2 T brown sugar, plus extra for serving if desired

Instructions

Halve squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds.

Spray or oil a 9 by 13 inch pyrex pan and place cut side down in pan.

Roast at 450 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until easily pierced with a paring knife. (If you are baking something else at a lower temperature, it will be fine, but will take longer).

Scrape out the flesh, then add sour cream and brown sugar. Mash to desired consistency, sprinkle with additional brown sugar if desired.

https://mystainedapron.com/mashed-acorn-squash/

Filed Under: Side Dishes

Cabbage Rolls

September 17, 2013 by Holly

You might think this is a typo and be searching for the tomato sauce in the ingredients… but you won’t find it. These are a more traditional cabbage roll, and I have to say I really prefer them this way. Tomato sauce tends to make the cabbage a little slimy in my opinion too.
Think of them like tasty meatballs wrapped in cabbage leaves.
And of course bacon doesn’t hurt too. 😉

CABBAGE ROLLS
1 large or 2 smaller cabbage heads
1/4 cup cider vinegar
kosher salt
1/2 lb bacon
1 1/2 cups chicken stock

For Filling:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 large white onion, chopped
2 eggs
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp ground celery seed
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Bring a large pot of water to a boil with the salt and cider vinegar. Add the cabbage and boil for 15-25 minutes until leaves are tender. After 5-8 minutes I use tongs to peel away outer leaves as soon as they will easily peel back with ripping so the inner leaves will soften better. Remove from water as soon as tender.
Meanwhile, mix together all the filling ingredients.
Line a 9 by 13 inch pan with cabbage leaves and set aside.
Using one or two cabbage leaves (depending on size), place a scoop of filling (I usually do about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of filling per roll, but you can make them smaller or bigger) in the middle and fold bottom up, then sides, then roll the rest of the way to enclose. Place on tray and repeat until done.
Cook bacon until crisp, reserving drippings. Chop bacon and set aside.
In hot drippings, sear the cabbage rolls on both sides then place in lined pan.
When done searing them all, add chicken stock and stir to deglaze the pan. (Basically, you just want to get up all the yummy bits in the bottom of the pan. 🙂 )
Pour sauce over cabbage rolls and sprinkle with reserved bacon.
Top with more cabbage leaves or foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on size of rolls.

Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients

1 large or 2 smaller cabbage heads
1/4 cup cider vinegar
kosher salt
1/2 lb bacon
1 1/2 cups chicken stock

For Filling:

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 large white onion, chopped
2 eggs
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp ground celery seed
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Instructions

Meanwhile, mix together all the filling ingredients.

Line a 9 by 13 inch pan with cabbage leaves and set aside.

Using one or two cabbage leaves (depending on size), place a scoop of filling (I usually do about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of filling per roll, but you can make them smaller or bigger) in the middle and fold bottom up, then sides, then roll the rest of the way to enclose. Place on tray and repeat until done.

Cook bacon until crisp, reserving drippings. Chop bacon and set aside.

In hot drippings, sear the cabbage rolls on both sides then place in lined pan.

When done searing them all, add chicken stock and stir to deglaze the pan. (Basically, you just want to get up all the yummy bits in the bottom of the pan. 🙂 )

Pour sauce over cabbage rolls and sprinkle with reserved bacon.

Top with more cabbage leaves or foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on size of rolls.

https://mystainedapron.com/cabbage-rolls/

Filed Under: Beef, German, Pork

Queso Dip

September 6, 2013 by Holly

My hubby loves queso dip. But he can’t do spicy versions. So I was excited to come across a recipe in a Cook’s Country magazine to make him a homemade version. Because let’s face it. Is homemade anything ever NOT better anyways?! (If you disagree I’m just going to ignore that you said that…)
The Monterey Jack and Colby work really well here and melt nicely, but you could substitute cheddar or a combination of other cheeses as well.

QUESO DIP
8 oz Monterey jack cheese, shredded (2 cups)
4 oz Colby cheese, shredded (1 cup)
2 T oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained*
1 T chopped canned green chilies*
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
2 T water
salt and pepper to taste

Place the cheeses and 1 T of the oil in a blender and set aside.
Heat the remaining 1 T oil in a pan over medium high heat and add the onions. Cook until softened and add garlic. Cook until garlic is fragrant and add tomatoes and chilies. Cook until heated through, then trasfer to a bowl.
Add evaporated milk and water to pot and bring to a boil. Pour into blender and process till smooth. Add to bowl with tomato mixture and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Let sit for a few minutes to thicken.
Serve with tortilla chips. (Reheat in the microwave it gets too cold too.)

*You can use a (10 oz) can Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies in place of the canned diced tomatoes and green chilies, I just never have them on hand. You can also add some canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce for a spicier dip.

Recipe slightly adapted from Cook’s Country

Queso Dip

Ingredients

8 oz Monterey jack cheese, shredded (2 cups)
4 oz Colby cheese, shredded (1 cup)
2 T oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained*
1 T chopped canned green chilies*
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
2 T water
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Place the cheeses and 1 T of the oil in a blender and set aside.

Heat the remaining 1 T oil in a pan over medium high heat and add the onions. Cook until softened and add garlic. Cook until garlic is fragrant and add tomatoes and chilies. Cook until heated through, then transfer to a bowl.

Add evaporated milk and water to pot and bring to a boil. Pour into blender and process till smooth. Add to bowl with tomato mixture and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Let sit for a few minutes to thicken.

Serve with tortilla chips. (Reheat in the microwave it gets too cold too.)

https://mystainedapron.com/queso-dip/

Filed Under: Appetizers / Dips / Snacks, Mexican

Pink Cake

September 3, 2013 by Holly

I was cleaning out my “draft” folder and came across this picture from my daughter’s birthday a couple years ago that never seemed to get posted.
It makes me happy though, her favorite color, pink. If you have a pink lover, you should make this cake! It certainly made her smile.
I cheated and made 2 white cake mixes up, coloring one a light pink and the other a darker pink. Then I baked 2 (8 inch) round cakes from each mix.
Whipped cream for the filling and pink buttercream with tiny heart sprinkles to finish it off. Easy peasy… and pink. 🙂

Filed Under: Cake / Cake Pops

Crack Brownies

August 21, 2013 by Holly

I know, what a name. I tried to think of a new name for these, but alas I came up blank. So “crack brownies” they shall remain. These are super rich, and we like them best cold. Brownies, topped with Reese’s, marshmallows, and peanuts, then topped with a peanut buttery-chocolaty rice krispy treat. Pretty much anything with Reese’s peanut butter cups in them is going to be delicious, right?
I gave a large container filled with these to my hubby to take to work today and his coworkers didn’t seem to have a problem cleaning it out before he left for the day. 🙂

CRACK BROWNIES
1 pan brownies (9 by 13 inch pan)
2/3 cup roasted and salted peanuts
1 1/4 cup Reese’s peanut butter cups, chopped (I just used the mini ones and left whole)
2 1/4 cups mini marshmallows
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
2 cups Crispy Rice cereal

Make brownies of choice, from scratch or a box, as long as it’s a 9 by 13 inch pan. (unfrosted)
After baking, top with peanuts, Reese’s, and marshmallows. You can use a little more or less of each of these, you just want to make sure they each pretty well cover the brownies in a layer so all the pieces get some of each.
Bake at 350 for 5-8 minutes, to soften the marshmallows and chocolate.
Put the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat on high in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until melted. (stir every 30 seconds or so).
Stir in the cereal until well mixed, then top the brownies, spreading to coat evenly. Chill for at least an hour or more.

Crack Brownies

Ingredients

1 pan brownies (9 by 13 inch pan)
2/3 cup roasted and salted peanuts
1 1/4 cup Reese's peanut butter cups, chopped (I just used the mini ones and left whole)
2 1/4 cups mini marshmallows
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
2 cups Crispy Rice cereal

Instructions

Make brownies of choice, from scratch or a box, as long as it's a 9 by 13 inch pan. (unfrosted)

After baking, top with peanuts, Reese's, and marshmallows. You can use a little more or less of each of these, you just want to make sure they each pretty well cover the brownies in a layer so all the pieces get some of each.

Bake at 350 for 5-8 minutes, to soften the marshmallows and chocolate.

Put the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat on high in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until melted. (stir every 30 seconds or so).

Stir in the cereal until well mixed, then top the brownies, spreading to coat evenly. Chill for at least an hour or more.

https://mystainedapron.com/crack-brownies/

Filed Under: Brownies / Bars

DIY Dining Room “Built-Ins”

August 12, 2013 by Holly

I finished these some time ago but never posted pictures… and I’m pretty happy about them still. 🙂
I have the spot at our table that faces this wall in our dining room. Every meal I would look at this wall and hate how cluttered it was. There was an antique buffet under the window (In not so great condition and also didn’t store hardly anything). The corner shelf unit (which again didn’t store much for the room it took). And then my china hutch. It was an excellent find at $35 which I had meant to refinish.. but never did. 🙂 I didn’t mind it, but it never fit the space well. It seemed i always had a couple baskets of things on top of the buffet that just didn’t have a home.
THE BEFORE:

In my mind an idea developed and I just knew I would have to make it myself for it to turn out how I wanted. I really wanted the look of some built-in cabinets, without them actually being built in. In the end I made 2 cabinets for each side of the window, then a long skinny buffet to go between them.
THE AFTER:

I made the cabinets from 3/4 inch plywood and used some screen molding trim on all edges (I dislike edge banding). I was fortunate enough to find some doors at IKEA in the “as-is” room for $5 per set of 2! That took that off my plate. I also bought some baskets at IKEA for linens, and made 2 open shelves, one for the baskets and another for a few special things to display.
I sealed the cabinets with shellac first, then painted them using Annie Sloan pure white. (I didn’t bother painting the inside of the cabinets since they are now sealed with shellac and won’t be seen). The insides of the open shelves I painted with louis blue for a little color, and used a glaze made from annie sloan wax on some trim around the edges of the open shelves in the back.
The trim on the bottom is with just the louis blue painted on, the middle is with the dark glaze, then the top is after I wiped off the excess dark glaze.

For the buffet I kind of made it up as I went along, building the frame first, then adding a couple planks of pine for the top.

I ended up painting it all with pure white except for the top which I used a couple stains on until I liked it. 🙂

My dad was an expert carpenter so I can’t help but see all the flaws in things I build… but I’m just happy with getting this done and I know my dad would love that I made them by myself and figured it out. 🙂

Filed Under: Woodworking

Fairy Party

August 1, 2013 by Holly

This was such a magical little party. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of little girls so happy. I think this will remain one of my favorite parties we’ve ever had, just because how happy they all were! The food was very simple, and just perfect. The girls loved everything.

MENU:
-Strawberries dipped in pink candy melts, drizzled with white chocolate and sprinkles.
-Gummy butterflies
-Candy buttons and flowers
-“Fairy Wands” and “Butterflies (Made using candy melts and sprinkles)

-“Fairy Bread” Basically sprinkles on bread 🙂 You can use butter, cream cheese, whatever to spread on bread and then cover with sprinkles. I used some frosting left over from the cake and cut into butterflies.

-“Toadstools” I made 2 kinds. One using miniature marshmallows and candy buttons, using a dab of frosting to glue. The other using string cheese (cut into chunks) and topped with a cherry tomato half, using cream cheese to glue.

For drinks we had “sparkling flower nectar”.. or a 2 liter of 7 up mixed with a bottle of cranberry juice. 🙂

And “Fairy Milk”. (Strawberry milk). I put paper butterflies on the straws and served in mini milk bottles.

For the cake I made 2 small tiers, with a cupcake for the fairy house. I decorated with marshmallow fondant and candy flowers, and fairies from a fairy toob.

We also made some cupcakes, topping with a tiny fairy house made from marshmallow fondant as well. These were super easy, just rolled a log of fondant, cut into chunks and cut out flower shapes for the roofs and rectangles for the doors. And of course some flower sprinkles to finish off 🙂

We got lucky with some dry weather, so I decorated our back patio. I used some spare sheer curtains on our awning and hung a grapevine wreath from the top and tied some tulle pom poms to that. I strung some pink tulle around and some butterfly garlands.

For the butterfly garlands, I cut tons of butterflies with my Silhouette Cameo in lots of colors…

Then I sandwiched 2 butterflies and sewed them together, running my thread between each set. These were super cute, and because I used thread they looked like they were flying. Only downside is… they got tangled super easy too. Maybe ribbon would be a better choice.

I made each girl a little flower wreath and some fairy wings. For the fairy wings I sewed 2 wing shapes together out of a shimmery fabric and enclosed some wire in the edge. I attached some elastic bands to go around their arms.

For the flower wreaths I hand sewed silk flowers to wide ribbon, then enclosed the ribbon around a loop of wire, and added some long ribbons to trail down the back.

As soon as all the guests arrived, they put on their wreaths and wings and took some snacks outside to eat.

I knew this would be a popular thing, but i had NOOO IDEA how fast they would flock when I said it was time to make fairy gardens! First, I put out paints and brushes and each girl got a little birdhouse to paint.

My little Lucy with her masterpiece 🙂

After they were painted, I brought out trays with things to fill the fairies garden.
They each got a terra cotta saucer to put their fairy garden in, and we had silk flowers, clay toadstools, rocks with “welcome fairies” written on them, bark, moss, little plastic hearts, shells, pretty much whatever else I found in our craft supplies I thought they would like. 🙂

When the girls left they each took home their fairy garden, wings, flower wreaths, and they each picked a fairy from the fairy toob we had used for decorating to put in their garden.
If you need more fairy garden ideas, you can see my post here on our indoor fairy garden and DIY accessories.

Filed Under: Parties

Indoor Fairy Garden

July 29, 2013 by Holly

If you have little girls in your household, chances are, you’ve heard of fairy gardens. There was NO question what kind of party my 6 year old, Lucy wanted this year. I’ll be sharing the party this week, so check back!
Pinterest is full of lots of ideas for fairy gardens, and while they are sooo cute, they can also be a little spendy. You can buy lots of things for your fairy garden in craft stores or online, but it can add up quick. We were at a local craft store, Craft Warehouse, and picked a few things up they had on sale, but I realized a couple things:
1. We live in Washington state. If we put this stuff outside in a flower pot, it would be ruined.
2. My 6 year old would want it in the house anyways.
3. I could spend over $100 on fairy garden stuff without blinking an eye.

So, we made a few carefully thought out choices of what to buy and what to make ourselves. (Partly because of what was on sale cheap) 🙂
First, the fence. I knew I had lots of wire, paint, and wooden popsicle sticks of different sizes at home, and figured we could make it ourselves. So we did.
I used standard sized popsicle sticks, and also some short ones (they were 2 1/2″ long.)

Using some craft wire I twisted inbetween each short popsicle stick like this:

When I had the sizes I wanted I hot glued them to base sticks.

Then we had to have an arbor. 🙂
I used some regular sized and some more shorter ones for this. Make a top and 2 sides in desired sizes by hot glueing together:
Now it’s missing something… maybe a gate?

That will work.
Use wire to attach the door on one side so it can open and close.

I used some soft pink spray paint I had, then finished it with a glitter spray coat.

We HAD to have a little tree, and luckily we had some clippings in the yard from a pear tree we took out. I drilled a hole in a little piece of 1 by 3 and wedged it in. Then it got the glitter spray. 🙂 For the bunting, I used some striped twine and washi tape, and the tire swing is just a big washer I found in the garage and colored black with a permanent marker. I used some twine to tie it to the tree.

We used some rocks to write “welcome fairies” on, and of course you could finish them with glitter coat if you wanted to as well.

We made our own toadstools using an oven bake clay (fimo or sculpey are fine) then brushed on a glitter clear coat when they were done.

We finished it with some items we had purchased, like this little red wagon, filled with some shells from the craft box.

And this wagon filled with some silk flowers my little one found in my sewing room.

We couldn’t resist this little metal house, and it was super cheap on sale, but you could also paint or decoupage a mini birdhouse.

Everything else was little things we had on hand, some different mosses, marbles, wooden pots for a dollhouse, etc. My mom bought them a little birdbath and fairy statue at Craft Warehouse to finish it off. We put it all inside a wooden box I had (I think a toy or game had come in it, I always save these for craft projects). You could also use a terra cotta pot saucer or tray.
Look around your garden shed and craft room, you might be surprised what you have on hand that would work!

Filed Under: Crafts / Sewing

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