DIY Terrarium: Before & After

January 13, 2015

A couple of months ago at west elm I fell in love with their new wood and glass terrariums -- I had to get one! The base is natural wood and the top is handblown recycled glass melted against the base -- each one is completely one-of-a-kind so when I saw one that I loved I knew I had to scoop it up because who knows if I could of found another just like it.

I've never created my own terrarium before but I new I wanted to include unique succulents, rocks and sand. Succulents are great because they retain their moisture so they don't need to be watered as frequently as other house plants -- when the soil is dry to the touch you can water them which is about every 7-10 days. You really can do many different things with a terrarium but this is what I purchased to create the look I wanted:


- 1 small succulent 
- 1 medium size succulent
- 1 bag of potting soil 
- 1 small bag of white sand
- 1 small bag of small rocks


I was able to find my succulents at west elm, sand and rocks at Michael's, and potting soil at Home Depot. Click the links above for actual product.

1) To start, I filled the glass (just the bottom layer) with the rocks. 
2) I then added the sand (I ended up using the whole bag of rocks and sand but you don't have to use it all. I wanted my terrarium to fill up the inside so I used all of it.
3) Then I added just enough soil to plant the succulents on top. I pressed the soil down and made sure soil was all around each succulent to hold them in place. 
4) I added some water and DONE....





If you have made your own terrarium I'd love to see how it came out! It really is super easy and inexpensive. I splurged on my terrarium which ended up being around $50 but all of the materials came to around $25. Plus, Michael's always has coupons, too. 
Happy Terrarium Making :)




Xo,








1 comment

  1. I love this. Did you get the glass n wood at west elm. It is sooooo good !!!

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