What to do when there is no news and the husband is out of town...

...why, make succulent terrariums of course!

I've been a bit itchy to make something lately. Those of you who know me, know that I am kinda crafty. I have big dreams and endless patience (sometimes) but only so-so talent. I come from crafty stock--my maternal grandmother was a Home Ec. teacher and my mom was always making toys for me when I was little--so I have the crafty gene just not the crafty talent. My efforts are always just a little bit...off. For example: I was going to knit baby hats for everyone. But then the first recipient said, "what is it?"...and well, a hat should be pretty easily identifiable at first glance don't you think? I did crochet a great baby blanket once...granted it was just 9 squares sewn together, but still, it LOOKED like a blanket and the little girl still uses it as a blanket so I'm proud of that one.

As I was saying...I've had the itch to make something...but I couldn't put my finger on it. And then I got this in my email. It's the March Schedule of Classes at ReForm School, a very cool crafty/eco-friendly/fun shop in Silver Lake (LA neighborhood, just east of us). We love ReForm School because it's where we bought this, our soon to be kid/s, very first toy:

But Kat, tell us more about the Terrariums! Why, of course. Since the Esquire had to go out of town tonight, I went to ReForm School and learned all about terrariums. Turns out they are super easy to make...

First you start with your supplies... clean, pretty gravel, clean sand, and some nice rocks. All this can be found where ever they sell supplies for fish tanks. You also need cactus soil, which you can buy at any nursery.

Then you need an assortment of succulents--all shapes and sizes are good

And of course you need the containers. Thrift shops are a good place to find clear glass bowls in different shapes. Don't forget the fun stuff... little plastic creatures to inhabit your new landscape.

You start with about an inch of gravel--this is for drainage, then about an inch of cactus soil. You want to press each layer down tight so the layers don't seep into each other.

Ok, at this point I was busy making my own terrarium, so the picture below is from ReForm School's flickr site (that is my hand though). After you lay down a layer of gravel and a layer of soil, then you put in your plants. It looks really nice when the plants are different heights and textures. After you have the plants all situated, you slowly add the sand (we used paper funnels to help us place the layer of sand smoothly on top).

Finally, add your creatures and viola--you are done! Here are some terrariums made in class tonight:

I like how the dinosaur and the giraffe are both peeping through the 'trees'

and then here's one I made...

I know, I know... once again my adoption blog is about anything BUT adoption... It's just that there IS NO NEWS. We are still just waiting. We've been on the wait list 6.5 months and probably have a few more months to go until we get The Call. So for now... I'm trying to focus on other things. Things I can control. I might not be able to control the adoption process but I can be Master and Commander of my own personal little landscape in a bowl! And I have to admit, that feels good.

xoxo-Kat

PS... if you live in LA, or happen to be visiting in LA sometime soon...I highly recommend you stop in at ReForm School in person... 3902 Sunset @ Hyperion... really, it's worth the trip!