Painted Border Stone Art Decor For Backyard Fairy Garden

Did you rush to the going-out-of-business sales for Joann’s like I did?  

I didn’t go to the sale the first week, so when I went the second week of the sale, most of the items I wanted were already gone. I figured that was what I was going to find. 

However, even though the acrylic paint aisle shelves were mainly empty, I did find some small bottles of outdoor paint from FolkArt paints that were perfect for my outdoor decor ideas. Finding them was the one item I needed to make this simple DIY project for painted border art decor for our backyard fairy garden.

This post contains affiliate links, which help support this blog at no additional cost to you if you purchase anything through these links. 

 

 

This post is part of the monthly Creative Craft Blog Hop that I co-host with Sara of Birdz Of A Feather’s blog. 

I have included links to the talented bloggers participating in the blog hop this month at the end of this post. 

 

 

 

 

 

It all started with the need to protect the fairy garden houses.

Last summer, I created my very first fairy garden for my grandkids.

It was their favorite part of our garden decorations, but they mostly wanted to fill their pockets with the blue glass beads representing water in a pond and the smallest fairy statues.  

But do you know who loved the fairy garden the most?

My dogs. Especially our German Shepherd, Recon.

Because of his thieving antics last year, I needed to find a low border wall solution to install around the fairy garden to keep him out.

 

 

 

Maintaining the fairy garden was a daily activity.

Recon fully believed that every small house was purposely placed in our outdoor space for him to knock over every day, and occasionally hide in another part of the backyard. 

Not sure if he really wanted to chew them or if he was just bored and wanted attention.  But his interest in those houses was contagious, and the other two dogs became just as fascinated by the fairy garden as he was.  We won’t discuss the smelly contributions they occasionally left behind.

 

 

 

As the struggle continued throughout the summer months, my husband suggested putting up a small fence around the perimeter of the tree trunk fairy garden to keep the dogs out. 

However, our grandchildren are still very small. If we install a low fence around the fairy garden, they won’t be able to play in it. 

A solution was found in a photo for an easy DIY project for concrete garden bed edgers painted with decorative houses and other garden accents.  

Since the edgers are available at our local Home Depot, and I currently have several bottles of outdoor acrylic paint to use up, the idea seems like a good solution. 

 

 

Start with a base coat

This project started in early March, so the only concrete edgers available were from last year’s stock of red-colored ones.  To cover the red color, I had to paint the entire concrete border stones in a base coat of paint in either dark brown, gray, or green.  

 

 

I started with five border edge stones for this creative garden art project. If these keep the dogs out of the fairy garden, more may be added.

The fun part began after the base coat had dried for a few hours.

 

 

The free-style painted design on each concrete border is unique and colorful in its own creative way.  

One features three tiny fairy houses with a curved roof and painted trees between them. 

Another one is connected condo-style fairy houses built side by side.

A third border stone is all large mushrooms growing among small flowers.

The fourth stone is miniature mushroom fairy houses with doors and windows.

The fifth concrete edger is a fantasy-inspired hobbit fairy house covered in vines and flowers and featuring a round door. 

Using my creative imagination, I painted the decorative details and color combinations that seemed to flow and change as I worked on them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want outdoor garden decor ideas that add character, fairy gardens are a great way to add a pop of color with acrylic paints.

This is not a quick project that can be completed in one afternoon. Every new detail required drying time between each painted layer.

I didn’t have time to work on these every day in my busy schedule, so the designs slowly evolved and were finally completed in a two-week window.

I don’t consider these a work of art, but the bright colors are a fun way to personalize garden decorations.  I’m also pretty sure the grandkids are going to love them. 

 

Pin For Later

Waiting on the weather…

In our area, the weather isn’t done with rains and cold days, so I have not been able to spray on a waterproof sealant over these border stones, or get the fairy garden cleaned up to install them around the tree trunk. 

To photograph the finished designs for this post, I took advantage of a sunny day to display each border art decoration in other garden beds.

 

 

To see how this fairy garden evolved last year, please visit my posts on the Old Tree Stump Fairy Garden, my first DIY fairy house made from a coffee mug, and the accessories made from nature.   

 

 

 

 

The fairy garden houses and other outdoor decorations are still packed in boxes for the winter months. But this was one of those outdoor projects I have been looking forward to completing for this year’s warmer season. 

I plan to recreate the fairy garden area in the next few weeks. I will add these new painted borders and some bright string lights and invite the grandkids over to rediscover the perfect spot in our backyard for their imaginations to grow. 

 

Now, I invite you to visit and enjoy the other talented bloggers’ projects below in this month’s Creative Craft Hop.