Pinterest Challenge Winter Edition 2013: DIY Terrarium

I've been slacking on the blog this week - there's just so much going on.  Track season started and we had our first day of practice on Monday and then I had a job interview on Tuesday at my husband's high school so I've been a little preoccupied, but I did manage to take part in The Pinterest Challenge Winter Edition!

Boy, did I need the motivation to get going on some projects.  Currently, I've racked up nearly 2800 pins.  That's a whole lot of inspiration, DIY, recipe and craft photos!  Last year during the Pinterest Challenge Winter Edition I was all about the coming of spring and made a Tin Can Man that still hangs in our yard.  Well, this year is no different.  I'm counting down the days until the rains depart and the sun takes up a semi-permanent residence.

Rather than getting my green thumb on outdoors I decided to bring the greenery indoors with a few DIY terrariums.

I was inspired by projects like this and this and was pleasantly surprised at the ease of the project once I finally got my butt to the store to purchase the plants and glass containers.  I scored three beautiful glass containers from the Goodwill in Bellevue, Wa while I was visiting my sister.


The containers can either be open or closed (with lids) - the closed containers will typically need little care as they create little ecosystems of their own.  If things are looking wilty and rough, remove the lid and water gently - a turkey baster works great for this.

To make your own, you'll need:

• pea gravel
• sand (or crushed charcoal)
• potting soil
• plants 
• some type of container

First give the container and good washing and let dry.

Next, layer the container with pea gravel, sand (or charcoal) and potting soil (in that order).  I had each of these things on-hand from different outdoor projects like our pea gravel walkway and our window boxes. You can use a funnel to help fill containers with narrow openings, which I attempted but the opening in the bottom of the funnel was too small and things were going too slowly for this impatient lady.  I just used a spoon to pour it in which left a huge mess after I was done....nothing a vacuum cleaner couldn't clean up!

Once the soil is in place you can start placing the plants.  It is important to put plants that thrive in similar conditions together.  I picked up a few dry environment plants like a cactus and different succulents and starting placing them without any real plan in mind.  For those pesky narrow openings, a pair of chopsticks (or in my case, skewers) come in handy to aid in placing plants.

Continue placing plants until you're happy with the results.  I made two dry and sunny condition terrariums and had a bunch leftover that I just potted.  Then I made a third terrarium with a few shade loving plants picked from our back yard - a fern and moss.

To add a little quirk and personality, I placed a plastic kangaroo in the large terrarium.  Speaking of the large terrarium, apparently there was some moisture in the soil because it is evaporating and fogging up the seeded glass.

I love the results and the fact that it was a quick project but I'm a bit worried that my black thumb will strike again and all of my work will be for naught.  I have been known to kill a cactus or two....or many.

So what projects have you been putting off?