His gift to her

My husband totally gets little girls and fairies. He constructed an outdoor fairy house with her a couple of years ago, and together their fascination with the fairy world has grown. (He's been known to visit crystal shops on secret missions.) When we were talking about what to do for the kids for Christmas, I mentioned that she would love an indoor fairy habitat. That was all. If there's one thing you should know about my husband is that he usually goes all out.... in everything. So this is Christmas morning (at 4:30ish, thanks to our four year old.) A fairy world awaited her in the living room. She was awed, as is everyone who sees it. I, myself, long to sit and play with it for hours. It is simply extraordinary fodder for the imagination.

I tried to take pictures of it for you, in case you feel inspired to make your own. Unfortunately, the pictures just don't do it justice. However, each is constructed on a wood pedestal, and each can be moved around so the configuration of the group can change. It is all coated in shellac, which is a fascinating natural substance made from bugs, worth reading up on in all your spare time.

He wired all of the Mountain Laurel branches with bonsai wire. The Laurel is cut live from our property. It should hopefully dry well, strengthened by the wire .

He also made tables, chairs, and beds out of wood rounds and Laurel. Each is carefully pieced, glued, and coated in shellac . (Below is a dog sled out of paddling foam, they made together on another occasion. I'm telling you, he gets little girls' imaginary worlds.)

I love walking through the room and seeing what new scenarios have evolved or which fairies are doing what. I imagine what scene may have been played out in her mind, or make up my own.

I was responsible only for dying a few play silks to use as hammocks. So easy in comparison to what he created. One of the things I've loved about this gift is that she took all the animals, fairies, wool roving, scraps of fabric, tiny boxes, etc. from around the house and created her fairy world. I guess what I mean is that it wasn't a gift given to her with all the parts included, it was something that she took and made into something uniquely fitted to her imagination.

I was wondering if these two owls were pairing up to provide us with some spring babies. Now wouldn't that be fun?

Now I'm going to start hinting around to him about a whole slew of fine furniture I'd like for the house. It's that, or he could start selling a few fairy habitats. Hmmm. Not a bad idea.