2010 July 18 « That Crafty Bear

Lightbulb Cactus

I hollowed out a light bulb and put a cactus in it! I got the idea from the Hipster Home http://thehipsterho.me/2010/01/how-to-make-a-tiny-terrarium-in-a-light-bulb/

Peeling away the layers of the light bulb.

Breaking the inner glass with a screwdriver.

SAFETY FIRST!

Look mom! A filament!

Dangerous mess. A lot of pointy glass and metal.

Filling the bulb with dirt.

Construction paper funnel.

Trying to arrange the cactus, chopstick style.

I resorted to a wire hook left over from a bunch of fake flowers (flower pens!) This worked better than the wood skewers.

One good push on top of its head to get it to sit right in the dirt.

It’s kind of hard to see now because the dirt stuck to all its little needles when I was trying to arrange it. In a few days it’ll be solid enough in the dirt for me to poke at it a little to knock off some of the dirt.

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July 18, 2010

Terrariums

Terrariums are kind of like little bio-domes. They’re made with jars or jugs that have a small opening at the top. The plant creates its own little humid environment to live in. Bigger terrariums (in Alhambra water bottles, etc.) have been known to sometimes get misty and produce condensation, not unlike a rainforest. The best plant to use in a terrarium is called a Tillandsia, or Air Plant. Air Plants gather their nutrients from the air, rather than from soil. This is ideal for terrariums because you can use sand or pebbles in the jar and avoid pesky problems like mold and bugs. I ordered my Air Plants from a website called AirPlantCity.com. I placed my plants in some cool old jars I found in my mom’s kitchen.

My supplies. Three jars (a honey jar, an old milk bottle, and a pickle jar shaped like a barrel) sand/pebbles, three air plants, and some moss that I ended up not using.