Have a few rogue seashells floating around the house after family trips to the beach this summer? Display them, along with some vibrant succulents, in a new way: beach-themed terrariums. These little beauties are a nice way to contain all of that summer fun in a way that is less painful than the inevitable shards of shells at the bottom of the beach bag.
You can display the terrariums in clear glass containers, or you can go one step further and create a frosted sea glass effect using Mod Podge and food coloring. Either way, this easy craft is an enjoyable summer wrap-up project to fill an afternoon with your kids or grandkids while reminiscing over days at the beach.
Materials:
-Glass containers invarious sizes
-Mod Podge
-Food coloring
-Seashells (If you didn’t make it to the beach this summer, you can always purchase seashells at a craft store.)
-Sand (also available at the craft store)
-Succulents; live, plastic or air plants
-Glass beads, shell fragments or any other decorative element you’d like to include
Instructions: For the sea glass effect
1. Clean the glass containers well, ensuring that the inside is free of dirt and dust particles.
2. Make a mixture of Mod Podge and water in a small bowl. The mixture should be one part Mod Podge to one part water. For the three terrariums pictured, 1/4 cup Mod Podge and 1/4 cup of water were used. Stir until the mixture becomes a thin paste.
3. Add in food coloring as desired. If you want a subtle coloring, use two drops of blue food coloring and one drop of green food coloring. Know that the final color of the glass will be lighter and less dramatic than the color of the paste.
4. Pour a small about of paste into one of the glass containers and swirl it around until the glass is evenly coated. This is best achieved by letting the excess paste run off into the small bowl it was originally in while rotating the glass container in a circular motion.
5. Place the glass containers upside down on a drying rack with newspaper underneath and allow to dry for about 45 minutes.
6. Once dry, clean the rims of any drip residue and bake at 225 degrees F, right side up on a baking sheet, for one hour.
7. If, after the glass has baked and cooled, you’d like to make color adjustments, you can do so with food coloring and paper towels. Rub the inside of the glass with a small amount of food coloring on a paper towel, using water to dilute the color as necessary. You may rub yours with varying degrees of blue, green and yellow food coloring to achieve differentiated colors.
For the terrariums
8. Choose materials for the bottom layer of the terrarium. It can be all sand, all shells or a mixture of shells and sand. Fill the bottom quarter of the terrarium with the chosen layer.
9. Arrange shells and succulents as desired. If the arrangement is not going as planned, take the shells and succulents out, shake the sand back and forth to reset the smooth surface and start over.
Note: If using live succulents, be sure to place the root ball and soil in the terrarium along with the plant, then cover with sand.
10. Display the completed terrariums with candles, extra shells or other summer beach mementos.
Text, styling and photography by Beka Watts
