DIY Faux Moss Terrariums

You can mix real greenery with some faux moss shapes

 and flowers to achieve a "fool the eye" terrarium. 

These terrariums won't last as long as a real one but

they do look good in vignettes or even as centerpieces.

The moss shapes (they look kind of like rocks covered 

with moss) are actually styrofoam covered with a 

green fuzzy product.  They can be used as vase fillers.

The ones I bought came from Dollar Tree...you get

about five moss shapes per pack there.

To keep the real greenery looking fresh you will need 

floral foam to stick it in.  Be sure to get the floral foam

that says for "Fresh" flowers not the silk flower foam.

The foam in the photo above also came from Dollar Tree.

You can also find floral foam for fresh flowers in 

the craft stores.  You only need a small amount for this 

project (unless you are making a lot of terrariums).

Soak the floral foam in water until it is 

fully saturated with water.

Gather some greenery.  Greenery from bushes is usually

pretty hardy.  The hardier your greenery, the longer your

terrarium will look nice and fresh.  This is pittisporum. 

You could use faux greenery too but real greenery is what

gives the terrariums their authentic look. 

You can use different types of containers for this project.

I have glass jars and some lids left over from the candy

table at my daughter's wedding so I am using some of those.

Cut the greenery so it will fit inside of your container.

Cut a piece of wet floral foam.  You want it to be large 

enough to support and keep the cut end of the greenery

wet but small enough to hide under the moss rocks. 

Push the cut end of the stem into but not through

the piece of wet floral foam. 

If the stem goes through the foam, either try pushing the

stem in another place on the foam or get a new piece.

If the cut end of the stem is not totally surrounded by

the wet foam it will dry out quickly.  These faux

terrariums should look nice for a week or so if your

greenery is hardy and you have it in the foam correctly.

Depending on the size of the bottom of your container,

you may be able to hide the floral foam with whole 

moss rocks.  On most of mine I had to cut the moss 

rock in half with a steak knife.  Well, also cutting the

moss rocks makes them go further in hiding the foam.

Beware of the white foam inside of the moss rock that is

exposed from cutting...it is a "giveaway" of the not real-ness.

One trick that I discovered in trying to hide the floral foam

is that you can use toothpicks to push through the moss 

rocks and into the wet foam.  That keeps the moss rock in

contact with the foam and gives you more control in hiding. 

You don't have to add flowers to your faux terrarium

but I think it adds some variety and interest.   I found 

a couple of stems that had small white flowers at Jo Ann's.

I cut the individual flower branches off the main stem

 leaving as much stem on them as possible. 

To save money I only used one little flower stem per

terrarium except in the Wardian box...it was long instead

of high.  I thought three little flower arrangements looked

cute in there.  The box had a bottom that hid the foam so

I did not use the moss rocks in it. 

This pretty "thing" (not sure what to call it) came from

Hobby Lobby.  I was running out of my favorite flowers

so I used some from the attic to save another trip to the store.

This plastic container looks more upscale with a fancy top.

You can add extra moss rocks if you have a taller

container...

Some of the apothecary jar tops that I wanted to 

use on the wider jars were too narrow so I got

a clear glass plate at Dollar Tree, put it over the 

opening, then put the nice topper on the plate. 

All together now...here are the  faux terrariums on the mantle...

The whites and greens in the terrariums go well with the 

print that has been turned into a faux painting.

Staying with the moss rock theme in that room (and using

faux florals with real greenery) is the coffee table arrangement.

A couple of months ago a strange sprout shot up out of a pot

within the "step-child" collection of houseplants that are not

really good enough to come back into the house (except when

the temperatures get below freezing the lot of them comes in.)

It turns out it was a fabulous orchid that I had forgotten about!

Well, THAT got to come back in the house.  

We enjoyed the flowers but then they "bloomed out".

  The leaves were still fine.  I added moss rocks to the pot

and faux orchids to the stems so the orchid lives on. 

On the end tables in that room tiny arrangements were made 

using only the moss rocks and the flowers...the containers

were too small to add floral foam and real greenery.

These are a quick and easy way to add some greenery and

freshness in your decor without a lot of time and money.

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