Wow, that server move was (is) bad. I’m terribly sorry for inconveniencing anyone. Everything, I think, is back to normal, except the shop, where you can look but not actually purchase anything. Good times. It’s being looked at right now, so hopefully that will be resolved soon. For the health of my stomach lining, let’s hope it is.

To keep my mind off my troubles this weekend, I made some terrariums. Odd choice, since caring for plants isn’t my strong suit and I usually end up feeling terrible when I throw their lifeless corpses in the trash, but it was worth a shot. A friend turned me on to these terrariums made by Paula Hayes and that was it. This is all her fault!

*see them all in my Flickr set*

*an inspiring terrarium from Ann Wood*

My containers were all found around the house (my granola and teabags had to find new homes) and the moss was all dug up in the yard and the woods and beaches where Mr. HelloYarn takes Shambles at the weekend. The only purchases were some activated charcoal from the pet store (it’s for aquariums) and a couple of small plants. I’m no expert in this, but I can tell you how I made these. They’re still alive after 3 whole days, so maybe I even did it properly.

Choose plants that like the same treatment. Since I wanted moss, I chose ferns to go with it. Put some stones in the bottom of your container for drainage, then a layer of activated charcoal on top. The charcoal will prevent cooties (scientific term) from growing in the still water. Layer some sphagnum moss to keep the soil from getting down into the rocks and muddying the water, then put the soil on top. Put your plants in, and, if you like, cover the soil with moss. Water thoroughly. If you make a covered terrarium, you won’t have to water it much. If you don’t, you won’t need to water like crazy, since there’s no drainage, but you might have to mist, depending on what plants you chose. My open one has moss and a fern in it, so I’ve been misting it a lot and it’s not dead yet!