Acquired Tastes

s you grow older do you ever find your tastes changing? There are funny things that have since become loves of mine that a few years back I wouldn’t have blinked an eye at before. Namely blueberries. As a kid I hated blueberries, not because I thought they tasted bad but because everyone used to go on about how wonderful they were and when I tried them they tasted like nothing, needless to say they were a big disappointment. Now, they rank with some of my favorite foods. Go figure.

A living wall at Flora Grubb

Another one of these things that took me a while to truly appreciate are succulents. Now I’m loving the exotic, other-worldy, almost alien look of cacti, succulents and air plants. I’ve fallen in love with the living art walls and centerpieces I’ve seen from Flora Grubb and Sunset magazine.

A terrarium I covet from litill.com

I’m also digging the revival of terrariums. And I’ve seen some really awesome ones. I love the lush mossy secret garden type terrariums as well as these great Dr. Seussian ones from Lítill that really take the idea to a completely different level. But most of us can’t really afford to spend $500 decorating your home with one of these.

So I decided to try my hand at making my own versions:

Making the succulent centerpiece was super easy. I found these great wooden boxes in the outdoor section from IKEA. Then I got pumice (for drainage) and cactus potting mix as well as an assortment of 2″ succulents from my local nursery.

The terrarium took a little more work. One of the pieces I really admired from the more expensive versions were the little “brick” retaining walls. I’m not sure what lítill uses for theirs but I chose FIMO clay which I purchased at Michael’s as well as the white floral sand and the fishbowl-type container I put it in. The purple reindeer moss and the air plant came from the nursery. The bright blue stones were another IKEA purchase in the floral section. And the yellow craspedia I found online at Nettleton Hollow. If I ever make any more of these I plan on using some more interesting dried floral elements like painted bell cups and lotus pods.

Do you have a project you’ve recreated on the cheap? Or something you’d love to make more affordable but haven’t yet? What is it? Do tell!