Terrariums

While my son was away at camp, my daughter had a couple of weeks of "only child" status.  She's the baby of our family, so it's rare for her to have solo time with me.  She really embraced the time!  At one point she commented, "Mom, I could soooo be an only child." (close to the end of Jack's camp she did change her tune and admit she missed him, but it took some time for this to happen)

 During our "together time," we went over to a friend's house to see a pair of new wall sconces she ordered for her living room.  While there, she showed us a birthday present she received from her sister-in-law.  

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Can you see the tiny little sheep in there!  Well, it's the cutest thing I've seen in a while.  This beautiful creation is from Twig Terrariums and they have quite a selection. . .

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It's difficult to see, but that's an artist painting at his easel.  Here's a closer look.

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Don't you just love the river!

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In addition to the ones from Twig, there are so many other amazing examples of these pretty little ecosystems.  I love this one - it looks like a tiny village on a cake stand!

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This one is in an extra tall vase - I think those are pitcher plants (also known as monkey cups) and are commonly seen in boggy areas.  They are also carnivorous!  Very interesting.

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Look at the whimsical mushrooms in this one!  

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I just love the wooden "cork" in this beautifully designed terrarium.  

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Even a cloche can be used to create a terrarium.  

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So, needless to say, my daughter and I were so struck by the unique gift my friend received we decided to make our own! This was such a fun afternoon activity for the two of us.   If you have some time, you really should consider this DIY project - super easy.

Here's what we used to make our terrariums.

Moss from our backyard.  It was growing on the edges of our brick patio where it's shaded for most of the day.

A couple of bags of rocks.  This was the only thing we had to purchase.  These are necessary as a base layer to keep the moss from getting too soggy. 

Glass beads - these can be used to create a small river in the middle of your terrarium.

Tiny horses (less than 1" high) - We found these in the bottom of her toy box (not kidding).  My daughter horseback rides during the school year and LOVES anything related to horses - so these were the perfect addition to our terrariums.  

  

 Here are our results!  We made two of them.

This one is a large square glass container.

We also made this one in a smaller rectangular container. 

Notice the small violet (aka weed) with the light lavender blooms.  This little weed never thought it would have it so good!

I had two of these containers, so we used the second one as a lid to retain moisture.

I think it's a fun and interesting conversation piece.  By the way, that's lamby (our dog's favorite toy) you see behind the sofa!  Didn't feel the need to clean up before I took this picture.  Sorry!

Terrariums are way more popular than I realized.  Look at these used for summer table settings.

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I also love them grouped as a collection - tons of impact. 

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If you like the idea of these and want to make your own, here is a great site for some affordable apothecary jars.  As for the tiny horses, our toy box is empty!  You're on your own there.

I hope your summer is going great and you are squeezing every ounce of enjoyment out of it.  That is our goal this summer! M.