Years ago, when my eldest was small, there was a tree stump at the bottom of our garden.  I thought it would be magical to put a fairy door on it and pretend that fairies lived there.  My daughter left notes for the fairies (some suitably spoiled by the great British weather) and they replied in tiny writing.  The stump was soon forgotten as the winter set in and the bottom of the garden seemed such a long way to travel.

When we moved here we made a rudimentary attempt at creating a fairy garden in a planter.  The little ones saw this as a perfect opportunity to smother it in glitter leaving my eldest a little disappointed with the messy results.

The moment I saw the garden in our new house, I knew that the cluster of trees would make the perfect fairy garden.  When I suggested it to the girls they were very excited and we collected ideas, requested materials and made plans.

The fairy door was made from those mysterious small pieces of wood that come attached to a painting canvas.  A lentil was chosen for the door knob.

Next we collected small stones to make a pathway to the door.

We made gates from the same pieces of wood as the door and placed small sticks around the edge of the path to create a barrier.

Many of the materials were gifted by the Buy Nothing Group including the little bells we hung across the entrance, glass beads to make the stream, jam jar lids for table tops  and our very own fairy.

At a garage sale we found packs of miniature accessories for teddy bear collectors.  We decided to use them to make a tea room for the fairies.

The tables were made from jam jar lids and cardboard cylinders.

Corks were painted with nail varnish to make toadstool seats.

The embellishments were added to make a perfect fairy tea room.

One of the girls wanted to make a pool for the fairies, we found a pot, dug it into the ground and she added glitter and sequins.

The girls decided to use a wicker ring  as a fire pit and arranged twigs inside for the bonfire.

Next we added a stream made of glass beads and outlined the edges with pebbles.

Small flower pots created a boundary between the stream and the tea room and we sprinkled a few seeds on top.

During the winter we found a log in the firewood with a knot that looked like a door.  My eldest saved it to make a fairy house.  She carved windows with a pocket knife and stuck twigs along the edges with wood glue.  The roof was made from moss.

As  a finishing touch we added steps leading up to the house.

The fairies and elves seem very happy with their new habitat.