Upcycled Watering Can & Tunnel Book

If you've been following my projects, you know that I love to make fairy houses.  I think the combination of architecture and whimsy must appeal to me.  I knew when the Graphic 45 Fairie Dust paper came out that there would be another fairy house- it just took me awhile to decide what it would be and work up the design.

I also love to make tunnel books, so that's what I made to go inside the watering can. 

I'm calling the project  the Upcycled Watering Can, because the little fairies have found an old watering can and remodeled it to make a nice home.

The Watering Can

The watering can is about 12" tall at the top of the sprinkler head, and is positioned on a 10" x 12" base. 

It is nestled in a garden full of flowers and mushrooms.

The main part of the watering can is big enough to hold a 5x7 mini album inside.  That's where the tunnel book is hiding.

There are large windows and a door on the front and three windows on the back.

The spout has two small windows on either side.

The handle is an upcycled toilet tissue tube.

The window frames were made with a Cottage Kutz window die and the panes were cut with a Sizzix window die.

The top windows on the front side have window boxes made from Graphic 45 Shabby Chic Door Pulls.

Little flowers made with a Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die are planted in the boxes.

In front of the door there is a little stoop, and a path made of chipboard paving stones.

Around the base of the watering can there is grass, and multi-colored stones.

The grass was made with a Lawn Fawn die and the stones were colored with alcohol inks.

The watering can sits in a landscape filled with lots of flowers.

I used two different Tim Holtz dies- Small Tattered Florals and Tiny Tattered Florals to make all the flowers.

Some of the flowers have wood skewer stems, and the smaller ones have toothpick stems.

I made three sizes of mushrooms from various wood pieces, including checkers and spools.

I painted them to match the other colors in the project.

Here's a view of the project from above.

You can see the "holes" in the sprinkler head.

The top of the watering can comes off to access the tunnel book.









The Fairie Dust Tunnel Book

I decided to do a tunnel book for the mini album that goes inside the Upcycled Watering Can.  But there are so many wonderful images in the Graphic 45 Fairie Dust collection that I had to make three different scenes.

(and I almost got in trouble because it is a very snug fit inside
the watering can!).

The front of the book features two of the paper collection's ephemera cards.


It also has a chipboard element that hides the magnetic closure.

The book has a lot of depth because the main back section has three panels and each of the front sections has two panels.

All together, it is a little over 2" thick, 5" tall and 7" wide.

Here is a closeup of the main back section.

There is a chipboard frame in front with a line of grass and some leaves in the top corner.

The first panel has some fairies sitting in the grass and another fairy on the right sitting on a mushroom.

The second panel has a group pf mushrooms on the left and more fairies resting in the grass.

The third panel has even more mushrooms and fairies.

All of the images were cut from the Graphic 45 Fairie Dust Ephemera Cards.

Here's a closeup of the left front section.

Just like the main section, there is a chipboard frame in front with a line of grass and some leaves in the top corner.

These are the two panels that create this scene.

And here is the right front section.

Just like the other two sections, the frame has grass and leaves attaches to it.

There are two panels that create this scene as well.










...and that completes the Upcycled Watering Can and Fairie Dust Tunnel Book project.

If you'd like to take a three-dimensional tour of the project, there's a link to the YouTube video below.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing this project – it was a lot of fun to design and make.  If you are interested in making it yourself, stay tuned – the construction videos, and material & cutting guide will soon be available.

Thanks for visiting... and Happy Crafting!!
April

YouTube Video:  Upcycled Watering Can & Fairie Dust Tunnel Book