Handmade Terrarium

Last november I did a great terrarium workshop with Loof Terrariums where I learnt how to plant up a lovely teardrop shaped terrarium. I was really pleased with it but I wondered if it would be possible to make my own glass shell instead of using a ready made one (also they're quite expensive and not sure about where they come from, ethically etc). I vaguely remember doing some soldering at school a long time ago! I did learn how to cut glass when I did my Fused Glass houseplants panel, so I was confident about cutting the glass. I bought a template from Etsy as I didn't want to spend ages figuring out the shape, it wasn't very expensive. 

After I had cut out all the glass panels (it helps if you have quite a few to do and then you can use the glass more economically) I wrapped the copper tape around all of the edges. This is what will hold the construction together once soldered. as this is what the solder sticks to. After that it was a matter of soldering it all together. I had already practiced on a cube shaped terrarium, this one has a lot more pieces so it took a while to get them all correct. I watched some helpful videos on youtube beforehand. 

After cleaning and polishing it was the fun part- adding the plants! I bought one of these and the other 2 were from splitting up plants I already had. I bought the pebbles, moss and charcoal from etsy as well, in a kit. Really pleased with the result and I have another one to plant up too.

Half constructed

Fully constructed and half soldered

Fully soldered

Nice and polished

Planted up and added seaside pebbles