One of our book fairies in Saskatchewan, Canada, has created the most wonderful Little Free Library! Tiffany has kindly shared her story here.
Creating a library in Saskatchewan
Written by Tiffany Dawn Lester
Here I will share how I became a Book Fairy and ended up making this Little Free Library that will be placed on 8th avenue in front of Community of Christ in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
My name is Tiffany and I enjoy reading, child development, and artistic/creative endeavors. I became a Book Fairy once I saw a little lady named Zoe posting on Instagram about hiding books around Regina and on her trips out of town. Zoe’s drive for creative ‘book drops’ as I soon learned they were called, is a huge inspiration for me, and so I thought that I’d better become a Book Fairy as well to help get literature into the hands of anyone who needs it.
Spreading the magic of the fairies
Another great experience about becoming a Book Fairy (besides spending even more time in every book-nook around) has been the ability to see the smiles and messages of people who have found books. As fairy-helpers, we obtain that wonderful gift and feeling of giving every time we set out to do our work. Getting to see the reactions and joy that finding books brings to others is a huge added bonus.
Once I joined Zoe on fluttering across Regina with some books, it was hard to miss the beautiful and sometimes very intricate Little Free Libraries scattered across town. Soon the temptation was too much, and I consulted my father, Gregg, on how to go about building one for The Community of Christ. He thought it was a wonderful idea and agreed to help as long as we made one for our house too. Pretty soon we were measuring, cutting, jig sawing, shingling, and priming.
All that glitters…
All of this was done in the summer of 2018. It took until May 1st for me to get exactly how I wanted to paint it in my head. The spiral on the front I designed is based off of the spire for The Community of Christ Church Temple in Independence, Missouri, USA. Getting the gold paint to adhere to what was supposed to be primer was the next challenge. 10 coats later and I still wasn’t completely satisfied, however I also wasn’t going to make it 20, so I decided to stop right there.
Since the box is for the church I wanted it to be personalized to them, but I also wanted to add in a homage to The Book Fairies for coming into my life and having the great idea to spread the love of reading to everyone no matter their economical or financial situation. Of course everyone knows that fairies are magical, but they also need places to stay! A little fairy house and window were added in case a fairy visits and needs somewhere to rest.
A final lick of paint?
After more months of thinking about the final product, I decided to paint Zoe as a fairy on the side with rainbow hair to represent the acceptance of humanity and childlike whimsy that is still in each of us as we grow into our wings.
Thank you Tiffany for sharing this amazing story! We are blown away by the time and effort that went into this Little Free Library, and the finished product is beautiful! We cannot wait to see updates of incoming and outgoing books on The Book Fairies Saskatchewan instagram.
Do you have a bookish story to share?
The Book Fairies love to hear from book lovers around the world! If you have a story to share, whether or not it’s related to book fairying, please email bookfairyemail@gmail.com and you might be featured here!
Would you like to join the book fairies?
One of the joys of The Book Fairies is that anyone can be a book fairy. Anyone. All you need is a pack of official stickers (yup they are here), a pile of books you have finished and want to pass on, maybe some ribbon and a little patience as your stickers make their way to you! Then you can explore your local area (you’ll be amazed at what you find when you’re looking for the perfect place to leave a book!) and hide books for others to find.