One of the wonderful things about the internet is the way it’s allowed people to show off their hobbies and crafting skills. I have very little talent for crafting, but have always loved people who can build wonderful creations out of some toilet rolls, pipe cleaners, and a bit of tin foil.
Something I particularly love are nerdy terrariums. A terrarium, for those who don’t know, is a little environment filled with succulent plants. They’re perfect for homes that aren’t suited to full on plants or those without a garden, and even more perfect for nerds who like to add their own little twists, such as can be seen in these wonderful creations.
I’ve got plenty of little nerdy trinkets lying around and have wanted to try a terrarium for ages, so I took my Disney Fairies figurines, found a big ol’ jar, some soil, stones, and plants, and got to work.
First, I filled the big ol’ jar around a quarter full of soil, which it turns out, was my first mistake. The problem with doing this is that from the outside looking in, the focus doesn’t really fall on the lovely arrangement of plants and figures at the top of the soil mound – it falls on the soil mound itself. I really should have bought more rocks or a smaller jar and made the build up of soil more decorative. Sadly, I only realised that once I’d finished.
Once I’d messed up sorted the soil, I then added the plants and some grit and stones to create a little environment. This proved harder than expected. Even in a jar this big, I was working in a pretty small space, so organising everything and making sure none of the grit and soil got on the plants and that the white stones stayed as clean as they possibly could was a real challenge, and not one I was able to entirely meet.
Still, I pushed on, and managed to craft enough of an organised environment to start adding the fairies. The figurines came from Kinder Eggs a couple of years ago, so not only are they a great size, but they also have their own little bases. Making sure they stood up proved pretty simple then. The only problem was – again – finding the necessary room to fit all of them in without it seeming messy and cramped. Again, I didn’t entirely meet the challenge.
Still, I finished things off, and despite really glaring errors, I’m fairly happy with how it’s turned out.
I’ve got some similarly sized Disney Princess figurines and will be trying the same again with those. I’ll just have to be sure to a) Get a smaller jar and b) not just dump the soil in.
Kids Riding Bicycles 