jar terrariums!

   I couldn't stand it. The weather was too beautiful today. I know I am supposed to be swamped with school work, and stressing about getting it done in time, and with my standards. I know I should have vacuumed or scrubbed the toilet or made the bed...but I just couldn't think about it today. I was too excited by the sunshine on my day off!

   Yesterday, Eric and I picked up some potting soil as part of our errands so I could give all the house plants a little pick-me-up. I bought a couple of cute coleus and some sort of leather grass while at Raley's [they were two bucks and really needed some TLC]. We made our last stop the huge Snowline Hospice to look for some interesting jars to try to make some terrariums since I have been obsessing [I blogged about some here]. I ended up with four different shapes to play with, half with lids (for the mosses) and half that are just open (for plants that don't like it so moist).

So- we started the morning by checking out a house for sale that ended up being a disappointment. Afterward, we stopped by Stan's and got some bread baking tips [which is Eric's equivalent to my terrarium fascination]. When we got back home, I changed into my gardening clothes, and re-potted all of my poor indoor plants. They seemed pretty happy to be outdoors and pretend to be wild plants, but....Ive seen how they cope with real sunlight. No bueno.

Since I was already dirty, I decided it would be a good time to play with the new jars and see if I could make a couple of terrariums. Eric and I walked around the property to find some plants that might like a controlled environment in our house, in a jar, on our shelf away from the winter.

     I ended up with these two-I'm not real stoked on how the larger one with the wood lid turned out, but Ill see how it goes. At least its getting that healthy condensation, as you can see in the photos. I hope it just goes nuts in there and takes over!  I'm also trying to root this really neat flowering vine for a taller glass container we picked up. Maybe I could get it to grow up a stake in the jar like a tiny wisteria?
We managed to come across some really pretty tiny clover-esque moss, so we started with that. There is also some kind of shale rock formation near our home too- lots of cool stones!  Still keeping my eye out for little figurines to place in there [love the sheep on my previous terrarium post!]. For now, I just put in some mushrooms Eric and I made in a ceramics class a couple of years ago. Overall,  I am happy with my products, and wanting to bring some of my creative lady friends over to get their hands dirty in this unseasonable sunshine, and see what they come up with for their terrariums.


[Furthermore, I'm excited that Punxsutawney Phil predicted a short winter today, despite his record... I'm ready for springtime, so I'm a believer!]