House of Hawthornes

Vintage. Thrifting. Gardening.

How To Make A Terrarium: The Quick & Easy Way

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Terrarium tutorial - vintage looking terrarium made out of glass cracker jar from Walmart


Back when I was in high school, 5 years ago give or take a century, terrariums were all the rage.

And they are all the rage again.

Cool. Groovy. The bee’s knees, I tell you!

Terrarium tutorial - vintage looking terrarium made out of glass cracker jar from Walmart

All you need to make your own DIY terrarium is:

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– a container
– gravel or small stones
– charcoal
– potting soil
– some small plants
– fun doodads to liven up the place

Terrarium tutorial - vintage looking terrarium made out of glass cracker jar from Walmart

I bought my Anchor Hocking cracker jar at Walmart for $5 and change. It comes in different sizes and this one is the large 1 gallon size (for those huge saltines, I suppose).

Terrarium tutorial - vintage looking terrarium made out of glass cracker jar from Walmart

I scuffed up the metal lid with sand paper and spray painted it to give it a more vintage look (I used Rustoleum’s Lagoon color).

I have bought these jars numerous times over the years and always paint the lids and then all of a sudden they look like they came straight out of the 50’s.

Terrarium tutorial - vintage looking terrarium made out of glass cracker jar from Walmart

I added roughly 1/2 inch of stones on the bottom, followed by 1 inch of charcoal and topped by 2 1/2 inches of potting soil.

Then I gingerly planted the plants, set my Adirondack chair and purple martin birdhouse up, misted the foliage with a little water and screwed on the lid.

Terrarium tutorial - vintage looking terrarium made out of glass cracker jar from Walmart

I don’t expect to have to water it again for a few weeks, if not a few months. A few years might be pushing it.

Wouldn’t these make a great Mother’s Day gift?

Terrarium tutorial - vintage looking terrarium made out of glass cracker jar from Walmart

Add a box of wine and a card and you’re all set.

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Comments

  2. I love those jars. Just the laugh I needed today with the “Box of wine” line! We had one in our fridge growing up, right next to the 2 gallon box of milk!

  3. Would it be poor form to just email this post to my daughter? Because that would seriously be awesome for Mother’s Day! “PS – Do not forget box of wine, but can skip card.” No? 😉

  8. Pam it’s adorable. I love it.

    great tip on painting the jar covers, I have a few of those jars haning around. Can’t wait to paint the lids a bright, cheerful red!

  14. I love the little chair and birdhouse. Terrariums are my in between winter and spring gardening. I think you gave me a great idea how to personalize my mother’s day tea cup plants. Have a great week. Alaina

  15. To answer the questions about my doodads – the mini Adirondack was one of those fairy garden pieces of furniture. The chair is resin and originally was brown, but I painted it white. And the purple martin house was one of those plant sticks that you’d decorate a plant with if you were giving it as a gift. It’s resin too and then I just clipped off the extra stick part to make it fit in the jar.

    I bought them both at a fancy garden center here in Columbus, but I would think any larger garden center would have similar pieces.

  18. I so remember making lots of them, then making macrame hangers for them and gave the out for any possible occasion.
    Everyone who got them were so sweet and never once said “No more please” 😉

  19. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!
    Oh I wish you could come to my house, so that we could do this project together cause somehow I know I would ruin it.
    I wish I was as crafty as you..

  20. I might just do this for my mom. Did you get the doodads at a garden center. I did think it was an old jar. Thanks for all the instructions.

  22. Adorable! I have old jars like yours that my family hates. I used them as cookie jars and the lids always got stuck so sneaking cookies was next to impossible. Maybe they’ll each get a new jar with a painted lid for Christmas. Great idea!

  27. Pam I love this! In fact I wanted to make a special birthday gift for a girlfriend this weekend and this is perfect. You’re so creative!
    Leslie (Gwen Moss)

  31. Adorable! This would be a fun project for me and my Granddaughters…they love helping in my garden and this would be an added bonus! Thanks for sharing!

  33. I love it with the little chair, very cute!
    I helped the kids make a dinosaur garden years ago that was similar & came out pretty good, then everything grew so much we couldn’t even see the dinosaurs – better than everything dying off though I suppose!

  34. My dad gave me a terrarium kit left from the 70s about 5 yrs ago. The plastic bulb was too big for my little house, (more than arm’s width around) so I took it to work. I work with adults w disabilities and we made it a group project. I went back & saw it ‘recently; they’d made it a finished wooden base (wheelchairs are heck on plastic when running into it) and it is showcased in the lobby! Now I want to make more!

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