Backyard magic

Over the weekend, my sister gave me several new toadstool solar lights for my backyard gnome garden.  

I also found a pair of mini plastic flamingos at Shopco (rumor has it they are also available at Camping World and some Dollar Tree stores).

With all my new backyard accessories, the gnome house and all the plantings received a good spring cleaning.   Yes.  I might have taken some of these pictures in my pajamas. I realize I am a dork and it's a good thing that my gnome garden is in the backyard woods and that only a few birds and small creatures witnessed this photo shoot.  

I promise to try and catch up on blog reading.  May is my hectic month of faculty development and spring semester classes.  I haven't had much blogging time lately.  Don't give up on me!

A sweet little addition to the gnome house!

Spring has finally arrived at the gnome house!

 

Tucked among the trees and toadstools, I found a few napping gnomes.

It's so nice to see the return of tiny bits of green again.

The woods are waking up and blooms are also starting to appear on the small shrubs.

Back on this February post, I jokingly said that my gnome couple might be welcoming an addition to their family.

It was such a long cold winter and I'm sure there were a few cozy nights for this pair.

I'm happy to report that a tiny gnome baby has arrived (by the way of Oriental Trading company)!

Such a sweet baby.

Isn't this a magical season of new beginnings and discovery!  

Welcome spring, you've been missed!

Weathering the first outdoor Allegan Antique market of 2014!

Despite the insane crazy wind gusts and incredibly cold temps, my mother, sister and myself braved our first outdoor Allegan Antique market of 2014 on Sunday.   It was quite the adventure!!

 I'm being brave posting this group selfie.  We were so cold!!!  Emma's group selfie from Easter was much prettier.  hee hee.

I had summer on the brain when I picked up this salt water taffy tin.  

The tin has already found a new home in our beach-themed bathroom.

The Effanbee doll has made new friends in my craft room.

The miniature log cabins and maple syrup containers will be added my cabin collection.

I think my favorite purchase of the day were these camp stools.

The girls tested them out Sunday evening in our backyard Camp Toadstool.

I think they'll be perfect seating for roasting marshmallows. 

I hope you had a wonderful weekend having your special adventures. 

 

Love has come to the gnome house!

If you've followed my backyard gnome adventures, my gnome house and its resident has certainly been snowed in most of this winter. 

After getting the latest Oriental Trading Company catalog,  I decided that our male gnome needed a female friend to help keep him company. 

 Isn't she lovely?

My mother and sister have jokingly said that with such a long cold winter, I may need to be on the look out for a baby gnome in the near future.
 

 I hope your Valentine's Day is a lovely cozy one!

XOXO
 

My Christmas toadstool and gnome collection

I've shared this picture before.  It's one of my favorite Christmas pictures of my little sister and myself. 

If you look very closely in the picture, you can see that my sister and I are playing with Christmas gnomes. 

Perhaps this explains my continued obsession with toadstools, Christmas gnomes and German elves.

So wonderfully festive and magical.

Little houses made from toadstools.  What fun!  

There really is a feather tree underneath all the ornaments.  

Merry Christmas and Happy Weekend! 

PS. I f you haven't signed up for my Christmas miniature room box give-away, there's still time. 

Curb side pickup...

Chris came home with this in the back of the van.

It was marked as "free" and sitting on the side of the road near our neighborhood.

It's getting a makeover and will take up residence in our toadstool garden behind the tree house. 

 He's using leftover tree house supplies so that it will match the tree house.

I've been told to stay away from the garage because it's a surprise, but I couldn't help sneak a few pictures of my carpenters in action.



 A stone fireplace, miniature window boxes and lighting are on the construction checklist.

It's larger than a fairy-sized house, but Josie and I were discussing that it could be the perfect size for our clever gnomes.  Stay tuned for the big reveal.

My indoor magical forest...

Thanks to my blogging friends, my toadstool and gnome/elf ornament collection has grown significantly over this past year. 

The larger gnome/elf that you see in the right of the picture was something I picked up at the antique mall last May.  He was made in Germany in 1936.  

The felt elf was a gift from Elizabeth (Creative Breathing) last year.  Isn't he handsome?

The vintage ornament in the center of the tree was a gift from Renee (My Vintage Mending).

I made the acorn cap toadstools a few years ago and featured them on my blog here.

Leslie (Brookhalloween Lane) sent me and the girls several of these beaded toadstools.

Viv (Viv's Whimsy) made me this very special elf last year.

Corey sent me several of these vintage wooden toadstools last December.

I was in the mood to make a new wreath over the weekend and decided to design mine based on a gnome/toadstool theme.   Most of the supplies were from the Dollar Tree and my own crafting supplies.

Supplies:
Wreath form (Dollar tree)
Dried moss (Dollar Tree)
Pinecones (optional...we had some in the yard)
Hot glue gun
White glitter
Wooden furniture knobs (Hobby Lobby)
Red/White paint and brush
Ribbon
Gnome ornament (World Market)
Heart shape from decorative card stock optional
I started by painting the wooden knobs.  The stems are painted white and the tops are red.  The dots on the toadstool caps are done by dipping the the end of the paint brush onto white paint and pressing onto the toadstool caps.


I then glued the moss onto the center of the wreath and then glued the gnome, toadstools and pinecones onto the wreath.  Everything was covered a bit of white glue and dusted with white glitter.


Don't you just love Christmas magic?