Yup, I’ve gotten sucked in to Pinterest again. This time it was in search of ideas for my ugly and suffering indoor plants. I’d like to boast that I have a green thumb, but the truth is I kill the hardiest of plants. So, when I saw images of gorgeous hanging terrariums, I groaned with envy. I have the perfect spot in my house for that, but there was no way I’d keep them alive with my track record.

After a few day of chewing over it in my mind, I decided to make a faux terrarium with paper mâché and $20 worth of stuff from Michael’s!

Rustic Hanging Terrariums DIY

Step 1: Find a design idea to inspire you – you can google hanging terrariums or find one on Pinterest – or, of course see images of my own creations.

Step 2: Collect materials. I used 3 latex balloons (use as many or few as you want, but I recommend an odd number) only slightly inflated, a recipe for paper mâché (half flour and half water) newspaper torn in 1 – 2 inch strips (enough for 3 – 4 layers on each balloon), moss from a craft store (or collect your own if you live near woods – which I do), packing peanuts (I’ll explain later), string, tacks, glue, brown paint, a screw for each pot, real or fake plants of your choosing. I’ve purchased real succulents here and they all turned out great.

Step 3: Assembly. Paper mâché the balloons leaving a hole for the flowers at the top (or paper mâché the whole balloon and cut the hole later). Let dry for a day. Paint the outsides brown and pop balloon then pull it out leaving the shell/pot. Glue moss to the outside of the pot. Wrap string around the pot at random then tie it off. Stuff pot with packing peanuts then stick your plants down into it to secure them. Use moss to hide the peanuts on top.

Now for the tricky part…

Step 4: Hanging the terrarium. I ended up pushing a long screw into the middle of the plants and tying the string to it then wrapping it around the tack and pushing it into the ceiling. The pots are fairly light, so the tack seemed to work for me. I’m sure there are many ways of hanging them… Find what’s best for you!

Voilà! A beautiful, inexpensive, and maintenance free terrarium that your friends and family will love!

Written by Jaimè Bell

Written by Jaimè Bell

My latest foray into DIY Christmas decorations is as a lovely rustic centerpiece for my dining table. I was surfing Pinterest (just using Christmas decor as keywords) when I found an image of a reclaimed wood trough with three mason jars containing votive candles trimmed around with pinecones and holly. I used this as inspiration for my centerpiece project.

How to Make a Rustic Christmas Table Centerpiece

Step one: find or make a trough.

If you don’t have a workshop in your garage and a handy husband like I do, you can always buy a wooden crate or box from a craft store that may work. I had my husband whip up a trough of scrap wood about 7x18x3 with a thick bottom and dark stain and a reclaimed look with chunky bolts that button up the sides.

To get the reclaimed look, you can beat up the wood with a hammer then wipe the dark stain off before it dries to make it look weathered.

Step two: mason jars.

Most people have mason jars in their pantry, but if you don’t, you can use any old jar… an empty coconut oil or jam jar would do fine. They don’t even have to match size or shape… Be eclectic! You can also buy empty jars at the grocery store. I put decorative ribbon around the jars, but you can add whatever you want. Instead of going out to buy ribbon, just look around your Christmas decor in your home to see if there is anything that you aren’t currently using or could up-cycle into this Christmas centerpiece.

You can fill them with sand as I did or with cranberries, or pebbles, or nothing except the votive candle. I used three mason jars, but you can use as many or as few as fits your box.

Step three: decorate!

This part was easy for me. There are so many options and you can spend as much or as little as you want. The cheapest option would be to find pinecones and branches in your own backyard if you can. I bought one pine branch at Joanne fabrics and two small branches of red berries. I used a few pinecones I found in my yard. I also included fir scented Sensi-sticks to make it smell like the real deal.

The great thing about this trough DIY table centerpiece is that you can redecorate it for many seasons: small gourds and leaves for fall, fake branch of cherry blossoms for spring, overflowing wildflowers for summer.