Happy Earth Day!

If you’re like me and have a slight obsession with kombucha, you probably have at least a few empty bottles at your place. I often up-cycle the bottles to use for storing dressings or smoothies, or as vases, but my favorite way to re-use them is to create terrariums! Treat yourself to some Clearly Kombucha, and save the bottle to make this cute craft.

I wanted my bottle terrarium to be horizontal, which meant turning the bottle on its side. I went outside and searched for a branch that could serve to secure the bottle to keep it from rolling around (pictured below). I did some experimenting and found that a branch with a Y-shape is the best for this function. But if you want to make a vertical terrarium, there’s no need to find a branch.

You will need:

• 1 empty Clearly Kombucha bottle, rinsed and dried, with the label taken off
• a small Y-shaped branch, if using
• ~4 oz small rocks/gravel (you can also use aquarium gravel)
• activated charcoal (found at most garden shops or Home Depot)
• soil, at least 1/4 cup
• small plants for terrariums–use plants that like moist conditions. I used club moss (Selaginella kraussiana) and baby’s tears (soleirolia soleirolii).
• reindeer moss (available at most craft stores)
• crystals or other ornaments (optional–just for decoration)
• air plants (aka: tillandsia! Optional, for decorating the branch)
• chopsticks and a spoon that is small enough to fit through the kombucha bottle opening (you may need to tape the spoon to a chopstick so it’s long enough)

I took step-by-step photos, but scroll down to read the directions associated with each step!

Directions:

1. Pour about four ounces of gravel/small rocks into the bottle. Turn the bottle on its side. Stabilize it with some tape if you need to while you’re working.
2. Using your spoon, distribute a thin layer of activated charcoal on top of the gravel layer.
3. Add a layer of soil on top of the charcoal layer (using the spoon to smooth things out). I distributed about 1/4 cup of soil.
4. Break off some of the club moss, with its soil and roots still intact, and gently push it through the bottle opening with your fingers. From there, use a chopstick to push the plant where you want it to go.
5. Use the spoon to place a crystal in the terrarium. With a chopstick, I pushed some reindeer moss in as well. If the crystal seems loose, anchor it a bit with some reindeer moss and/or soil.
6. Continue adding club moss (or your plant of choice), crystals, and moss in this manner until you are about 3/4 through the bottle.
7. I saved my baby’s tears plant for last because I wanted the delightful tendrils to spill out of the bottle opening (resulting in an open terrarium instead of a closed one). Gently push the plant through the opening with your fingers and use a chopstick to adjust it to your liking.

Now find a spot for your terrarium and set it up with the branch, if using! I decorated my branch with reindeer moss and air plants. The finished look is slightly rustic/wild, yet modern–basically my aesthetic goals.

To care for your terrarium, place it in a bright area (but not direct sunlight) and spray the inside of the bottle with water every couple weeks–be sure not to overwater! Terrariums are mostly self-sustaining so you can neglect them until you notice the soil looks a little dry. For more detailed information about terrarium care, including care for different types of plants, check out this site.

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted on here, but I couldn’t let Earth Day go by without posting some fun green content. This is my first DIY post on this blog, one of many, I am sure. I hope you enjoyed it–please let me know your thoughts in a comment!

A huge thank you to Clearly Kombucha for sponsoring this post and making this beautiful project possible! A note to my readers: I will only work with brands I believe in, and I would never do sponsored posts for products I don’t personally believe in. All opinions are my own.