Green Gift Ideas
A bouquet of flowers is always nice to receive…be it a special occasion or a peace offering. But after about a week, your pretty heart warming gift has died, there’s a mess on the table and your left with gooey stems and murky water.
These easy to make Aquaterriums will however, last and last….and last. Yeah, I know….Aquaterrium isn’t a real word; until now! I believe it is totally acceptable for one to make up new words as they see fit and add it to their own vocabulary. Just watch….I’m starting a trend here, you’ll see.
This is how this green gift idea all started. I am constantly dividing my existing plants as they outgrow their containers etc. I stuffed a Sansevieria ( aka Mother-in-laws-tongue…no joke! ) into a tall vase and threw some tumbled stones in with it for support….just until it put on roots so I could replant it.
That was 3 years ago!
My girlfriend Kelly mentioned one night at my house how she thought it was a clever idea….hmm, I see a blog post here. Here’s the thing; this plant is in the bathroom in a dark corner that barely get’s any natural light from the east facing window…..but it still…. lingers…. on.
This is the time of year I do my houseplant maintenance. Re-potting, dividing, aerating etc. Being that we are approaching Valentine’s Day I thought I would add a twist to these Aquaterriums ( see, the word grows on you…doesn’t it? ), and add a special secret message tucked inside a little glass bottle…..aww, now isn’t that just a perfect gift idea!
This project is great in ALL ways!
- It uses recycled bottles and jars
- Plants help clean the air
- You won’t forget to water it
- It’s a gift that lasts and lasts
- You get more plants from your old plants
- These are great for low light situations ( office desk for instance )
- and finally, because they are easy to make!
The pictures above show the other materials you might need to go get. The colored sand and little bottles were bought at Dollar store, the rest I had on hand.
After I wrote my message I rolled it up and placed in inside the little bottle and carefully dipped it into wax several times to coat. All I did was place a tealight candle on top of my diffuser and removed the wick once it was melted.
Let’s start with this wine bottle. I added sand, a few pebbles and a seashell that would fit through the top. I cleaned off all the soil from my Sansevieria cutting and slipped it into the bottle.
You’ll need to tap the bottle several times to release the bubbles. For decoration I added a simple wine bottle charm I made out of mini seashells and a cute heart shaped bead.
I turned an old condiment jar into a prefect heart warming gift by tying one of my little message bottles to the rim. I KNOW what your thinking right now….
“why didn’t she just put it in the water?”
I TRIED that! Bloggers would understand this; you start a project that in theory ( your brilliant creative mind ) will turn out like A….only it ends up like B. This is B, but it’s still a pretty darn good B!! The bottles once sealed with wax trap air and they float. So I chose not to put them in the water with the sand Aquaterriums ( this word has now been absorbed into your own vocabulary ).
I did manage to sink the other bottle into this square Aquaterrium ( seems like a normal word now huh ?) using a rock to hold it in place.
I need to show you the other side of this one. My sister Lisa sent me a card once that had a cute heart shaped rock in it. My little niece Ashley had found it and wanted to give it to me as a gift. Adorable!
Instead of putting the message IN a bottle, I used my wood burning tool to write it on a piece of driftwood and attached that to the neck of this great old bottle I’ve had forever. My mom made a terrarium inside this one when I was a little girl and I remember how much I loved that!
I still wanted to bury that bottle inside so I filled it with some sand, a cute little shell and water to make it sink. I love the look of it with all the sea glass I’ve collected over the years from our beaches here on the west coast.
If you want to give something like this to a special man in your life ( say for his dreary office ), use a geometrical shaped vase or jar and add a rock with a power word inscribed on it like this one.
*A quick note on Aquaterrium care instructions. All I do is put the container under a running tap of cool-ish water. Use as strong of stream as necessary to really aggitate the contents. For example: the Aquaterriums with rocks can handle a stronger stream than the sand ones. All those air bubbles help to oxgenate the water and loosen slimy deposits. I allow the water to overflow the container in the sink for a couple of minutes while l reach in and clean the glass around the rim to get rid of the dried water lines. About once a month I will add a drop of liquid plant food. That’s it!
So there you have another project of mine that’s sweet enough for Valentine’s Day but not so pink that you couldn’t give it or enjoy it year round. Here’s a love letter pillow project you might like too.
BTW…..Those pink ‘rocks’ in the picture are my Rose Quartz crystals….I love my mineral kingdom collection. They aptly suit this project since they assist the Heart Chakra and vibrationally amplify love… hope you liked my green gift ideas.
Psst….aquaterrium, pass it on……