I love terrariums and own several that I have made but I'm always admiring those made by others. Someday I'll purchase a few special ones but for now I'm just playing around with some old glass containers I have laying around.
I have several pickle jars, I hate getting rid of glass. Pickle jars though, seriously the lids do not lose that pickled scent so I didn't want to create a living terrarium in one of them with the original lid but I do like the green on the lid so I decided I'd make a dried terrarium.
The hardest part was figuring out what I'd use as the plant. I had a container of grass growing for some green in my room but it had become dry so I stopped watering completely. Now this was just grass seed for the lawn that I grew, let it die naturally so it kept that green color. Adding it to the jar was simple. I pulled it all up in one handful, shook the loose soil off, stuck in the jar with some rock I had laying around for a more natural look.
Pickle jar lids always stink in my experience and I've yet to find a way to get the smell out, including ripping out the rubber seal. To remove the seal I used a craft knife, managed to peel part of it away and went slowly pulling it piece by piece. Now this step isn't necessary, I just used this lid because it was handy but you could just use the lid as is.
Besides the grass and the rocks around the bottom to hide the bare soil, I used a flat slab of stone, glued a fake pearl to it using hot glue to present it as the mermaid's treasure.
This has got to be my favorite picture of the terrarium.
A closer look at the detailing of the mermaid treasure, the grass,
stone slab and rocks placed around the bottom of the jar.
Mermaids hold a special place in my heart originating from imagination and childhood dreams I'll never outgrow. I made a little salt dough mermaid a while back. I colored her with markers before sculpting her and dusted her with some powdered glitter makeup which actually stuck really well.
Salt dough, it's a fun dough for kids to play with, for making thin ornaments or very tiny little sculptures. It takes a long time to fully dry even if the outside is hard and dry, the inside is still damp. In my experience you'll want to leave your creations out and don't store them in airtight containers or you'll probably find mold on them, especially if you're like me and make the mistake of making too large of a sculpture.
Also I find that it doesn't dry perfectly, cracks and imperfections from drying. Maybe my recipe is flawed so if anyone has a recipe for salt dough they love, I'm interested in trying it out.
Disclaimer; A terrarium might not seem like much but it's a world contained within glass, a place of imagination, life and beauty. Create your own or buy one you really love. Give them as gifts or keep them for yourself. You can put a dry terrarium anywhere, they don't need any light or water but the living terrariums require more care. Choose the right type you need for the right spot in your house. I could see a terrarium like this sitting up on a bookshelf next to some favorite books or candles.
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