Happy holidays to all, and Merry Christmas today to those who celebrate the event! As a non-holiday person I still enjoy the unity and good will that all the holidays can bring, so I wish you and yours the very best. Instead of Holiday talk, though, I thought I would do my first TIL EVER! This was my first time learning about terrariums and how to make your very own, which is easy to learn but difficult to master.

Twig.

We received a gift from Dylan's Mother for a class held at Twig, a brooklyn-based shop boasting a wide selection of terrariums, as well as all the supplies and garnish for said terrariums. In addition to classes for couples, they do large events and everything in between.

The space was creatively decorated, here were my first impressions of the store and its wares:

The place was magical, and the resident terrarium wizard John had us wait for a few minutes before sitting down to learn how to make this little glass world. For the class we each received a gift bag with the glass jar that we were going to transform, as well as after care instructions. I barely read those, being firmly engaged in the arts and craft project to come.

The Tools of the Trade

Once we had our jars opened and on the table, we were introduced to all the tools that would help us build our own little worlds inside glass. Existentially, I was very into this idea.

Rocks

Rocks form the foundation of our terrariums. The space that they create at the bottom of the jar serves a couple of purposes. First, it shows if any water is seeping through the upper layers (which can ruin your terrarium, as it is supposed to stay dry down there). Second, it looks beautiful and almost like the mantle of your terrarium world.

Dead Moss

Dead Moss helps prevent water from getting to the rocky core. In order to "activate" the moss for use, you must dip it into water, wring out that excess water and then place the dead moss in a "blanket" over the rocks at the bottom of the jar. This should insulate it from any water later on.

Bathing Dead Moss

More moss on the way in!

Dirt

As the rumor goes, some deity made dirt and "dirt don't hurt". This layer of dirt above the rocks is what ultimately prevents water from getting to the Dead Moss blanket you put over your rocks. One interesting note is that it's recommended to shape your hills or other land features during the dirt stage. While we were able to add rocks or any other decoration we wanted, it was repeated to us that every living thing must be touching the dirt itself.

Sheet Moss and Elbow Grease

The Sheet Moss serves as the "grass" of your terrarium and must also be touching the dirt you used earlier. We learned that one way to see if there is a problem is to look for yellowed areas on the Sheet Moss. Over time, those areas that are not in contact with the dirt will start to turn yellow.

Here was the progression of my Terrarium:

After care

The terrariums are pretty low maintenance, needing only a spritz from a water bottle every three weeks in order to survive. As for light, it is not recommended to keep terrariums in direct light because glass can amplify the sun and actually hurt your terrarium. Instead, position it somewhere that receives indirect light, even ambient sunlight is enough.

When we finished, our teacher had us pose to commemorate our first class!

Dylan decorated his with a Dino, while I went for the Giraffe. Side note: Giraffes were recently put on the endangered list. I know we all take those long necked bastards for granted, but we shouldn't because they may be gone tomorrow.

Here are our brand new Terrariums

Off to Wisconsin!

We're going to be heading out to WI for a few days to enjoy the frigid ice tundras. Hopefully, @papa-pepper and me will be able to meet up if he's still going to be in WI too! A Papa-Pepper sighting would definitely make this trip even more fun.

To everyone in Steemit-land, happy holidays!