Backyard Birthday - The Fairy and Gnome Party

Birthdays are supposed to celebrate the child right? So the child in question is my starting point when developing a theme for a birthday celebration. This year my oldest was really into fairies. We'd built all kinds of little fairy houses in the yard with tree blossoms all spring and she had been on countless make believe fairy adventures with little sister in the yard. It seemed only fitting to have a fairy-themed party. I envisioned tutus, glitter, and all things delightfully girly - a perfect reflection of this girly girl. There was one problem though: she wanted to invite boys from her class at school. I had to come up with a way to incorporate the boys, which took some creativity. So, after some thought, our fairy theme became a "fairy-gnome" theme and we came up with some fun for both genders to have.

I admit that this one was the most expensive party we've ever hosted, though it was still way more thrifty than you might imagine. Pulling it off on a small budget (less than $200) with so many details meant a lot of my personal time devoted to crafting, making lots of compromises on my "vision", and using repurposed materials or natural elements obtained for free wherever I could instead of buying stuff. In order to prevent being too overwhelmed I started on it in January, six months before the party. Yes, I said six months. That is a result of being realistic about myself and my other time commitments. I am a stay-at-home mom to a toddler and also go to school full time, so I gave myself PLENTY of time to get the crafting done. I set a goal to complete one or two party elements per month and just boxed them up and set them aside as I went. I borrowed ideas from pinterest left and right, tweaked them, and made them my own creations according to the supplies I had on hand or could afford. The best part of all this crafting was that the birthday girl, who was turning five, was able to do a lot of it with me -and she loved it! We had so much fun making all the stuff and even setting up the party together on the day of. She even said that she wants to set up her birthday parties from now on - awesome! :)

There were bunches of kids (20 maybe?) because many of my daughter's friends had younger siblings, which doubles the guest count automatically. So, to save a little more mullah, we held the party in the mid-morning and provided only punch, water, and cake. I had to let go of feeling like people "expect" a full buffet of snacks and juice boxes for kids and bank on the kids having a lot of fun to make up for it. But you know what? It was fine! I spent significantly less than most people spend for their kid and 10 friends to do the jumpy-place thing and every kid went home with an armful of great favors:

• a costume (tutu, wings, and wand for girls...gnome hat & beard for boys)
• a bag full of "treasures" from the fairy hunt (little glass gems and fairies I made)
• a bag of candy from the pinata
• a set of handmade gnomes with a little mushroom in a bag made from spare fabric I already had
• a fairy house which they decorated themselves
• a little container of "fairy dust" (though most of that was emptied in our yard lol!

Best of all we all had a LOT of fun, the kids got to run wild outside while breathing fresh air and exploring nature, and parents had plenty of opportunity to converse while kids played. So here are some pictures, I hope you like them!

I made wands using this tutorial. Then we tied them around a big tree to create a "wand tree". As our young guests arrived my daughter (pictured) led them to the tree so that they could select one for keeps.

The tutus were simple and added lots of flair for really very little cost. Tulle is cheap and I waited until it was on sale for half price, so it was really cheap. There are tutorials all over the web, you can take your pick, so I'll just say that I tied the tulle to a long ribbon instead of elastic so that they could  be size adjustable. Children chose their own upon arrival and each had a matching set of "wings" which were just a bit of elastic with some coordinating ribbon which could be worn on the arms for free movement. As with the wands, these were for keeps. *In the background you can see also the gnome hats and beards for the boys.

 

I made a bunch of little gnomes and hand-painted little mushrooms to give as the 'official favor' but had extras out for the kids to play with during the party as they wished. It was a BIG hit - especially with the boys, who had fun wedging the gnomes into the bark of the tree haha.

Here is the birthday girl's little sister (age 2) playing with the gnome village. I tried to create a balance between structured play and free play opportunities, since children have varying attention spans.

 

Here I am with birthday girl decorating her fairy house. My husband build 3 of these little tables and benches out of scrap wood and reclaimed lumber (pallets anyone?) and I preset them with the craft before the party so that kids could just engage when they were ready to. The houses were made of inexpensive poster board (you could use cardboard), twigs from the yard, and a bit of paint. I set out straw, moss, leaves, and other bits I gathered up from the yard for the kids to decorate them with.

 

On the left is one of the little fairies I made. They are nothing more than some little wooden bits from the craft store, craft feathers, pipe cleaners, some embroidery thread, and a bit of tulle (scraps from the tutus, waste not want not!) We stuck them to low branches in a little wooded area we have on the other side of our creek, scattered little 'gems' (glass floral beads) all over the place, and sent the kids on a "fairy hunt" to gather up as many as they could. They got to keep whatever they found. On the right is Miss Thang modeling one of the party hats I made using a tutorial I found here.

 

 

Pennant banners are so worth the investment in time. A couple of years ago I made two for my girls' room and we have used them over and over for birthdays, for Easter parties, even for stuff at her school. They are super easy to make and provide a lot of wow factor. This gift table was nothing more than a simple garden work table covered with a sheer drapery that I snagged at goodwill for less than $3. Inexpensive, repurposed, and beautiful - a great combo.

 

Aside from this there were a few details more that made this work. We cut the lawn really short a few days before to reduce mosquitos and we had a supply of repellants onhand with the costumes for arriving guests. We also combed our little wooded area to make sure it was free of poison ivy (if you live in TN and have even a few trees in your yard it is worth your time to learn to identify this plant!) We also dredged the creek for any debris (trash) that might have washed down to our part on the off chance that the kids would get adventurous and desire to go down and explore it. Twelve years in Girl Scouts as a youngster taught me to be prepared :) Also, since the big back yard is kinda far removed from our house we brought a supply of hand sanitizer and wipes down with us for cleaning up at cake time. We had a small first aid kit stashed under the table too - just in case. Taking time to think through the phases of the party and list out items you will need, then having them on-hand, really will serve you well and reduce your hostess stress.

 

Anyway, so that is how we turned our average Nashville backyard into a magical fairy land and made memories for all involved!

  

The Raised Garden Bed Tutorial

Sweet and simple, based on Lasagna Gardening, here it is:

Step one: pick a spot
Be sure to consider what you want to plant in the bed and its light requirements.  For example, tomatoes like it hot and sunny so a garden box in a shady corner won't do the trick.

Step two: build a frame
This can be as simple or fancy as you like.  The simple (cheap construction) seen in the picture below lasted about 2 seasons before the wood decayed.  It was untreated lumber though so, now that they have non-leaching types on the market, I suspect the same frame built with treated lumber would have lasted longer.

Step 3: Fill it up!

Cover the grass with cardboard.  Then lay down 1-2 inches of wet newspaper print (you can soak it in tote while you gather other supplies.)  The paper layers will kill off any grass/weeds and also make an enviting buffet for earth worms, who will migrate from other parts of the yard to feast and (as a result) till the soil under your bed for you!

Then begin layering your organic materials.  I used what was available to me for free:



 Multched leaves (from our two big maple trees)

Coffee grounds (free from your local Starbucks)

manure - the first year I purchased this product, which is really nice stuff, but in subsequent years I have been able to locate good citizens in the area who have horses.  They are kind enough to let me come and (without getting in the way of their work) gather up some barn litter which works really well.  If you are using barn litter try to get the stuff that has aged awhile as it can be quite acidic.

I also put in peat moss, lime, and wood ashes.  I always use leaf multch in between each of the other ingredients because we have so much of that material on hand.  Here's the finished beds:

There are several benefits to doing your gardening this way. 

• The mixture is very loose, light, and aerated - allowing plants to spread out their roots with ease and spend more energy on food production.
• You can plant in it the same day you build it - horray for a complete garden in about an hour!
• The layers will naturally decompose throughout the season, releasing valuable nutrients to your plants all summer long.
• You can easily control the soil pH and tailor it to the plants you desire to grow.
• Because you are essentially creating soil from scratch it is "clean", meaning there are no weed or grass seeds in it!  That means very little time spent weeding and more time spent enjoying your beautiful garden!
• Tilling destroys the topsoil and the habitats of many beneficial insects that will work hard for you if you let them.  Building on top of the ground preserves that resource and actually enhances it by providing shelter.  It's very eco-friendly :)

Don't be limited by rectangle frames - experiment!  With some creativity you will soon see opportunities for layered gardening everywhere.  Here are some other layered beds we made:

Mint in a narrow strip along the wall.
We planted this primarily as a shelter for frogs
in the hopes that they would come and help remove unwanted bugs.



my favorite: a teepee for the kids - healthy snacks always in reach!