crafting: haunted terrarium

I love October; it's probably my favorite month. (When I think of autumn, I imagine the mountains are a patchwork of reds, golds, dusky violets, and greens; taking walks at dusk and I don't mind that my hands and nose are cold because the air smells sweet of woodsmoke and I can hear crows chattering in the trees. Late at night, I stand on my front porch and watch the moon, bright like a white ship sailing through vast clouds upon a black sky pebbled with stars. I digress.) I also love Halloween, but not so much for ghouls and goblins aspect although it truly is a magical time. When I decorate my home for fall, I steer away from the glittery skulls and black feathery twiddlybits and take a bit more of a naturalistic approach. The best compliment I ever got for my autumn and Halloween decor was from my daughter when she came home from school, saw how I transformed the house, and said "Mom! It looks like a witch lives here!" To kick off this year's Halloween decor, I crafted this spooktacular terrarium, and OK, it's a little cutesy, but I like how it turned out so much, I thought, what the heck--I'll share it with you!

This is so easy-peasy. It literally took me about a half hour to put this together. If you scroll down to the bottom, I will tell you what I used.

1. Glass apothecary jar. This one was purchased at Michaels using a 40% coupon I clipped from the paper...so I got it for about $7.
2. The little clay owl bead was a gift from a former colleague. You can find them everywhere, though. If you do an Ebay search for "Peruvian Owl Bead" you're sure to find one!
3. The twigs I clipped from an obliging tree. I spray painted them black so they stand out more.
4. This bit of fencing I purchased years ago from a garden center; it's meant for a fairy garden. You can also find something similar at your local craft store--check the dollhouse aisle.
5. The tombstone I crafted from Sculpy clay. The clay cost about $1.50 and I still have TONS left over. If you don't feel like crafting your own, I found a really cute clay tombstone on Etsy, HERE.
6. The moss was dug up from my yard. I highly recommend you stay away from taking moss from the forests, and look in your own backyard for some. If you can't find any moss in your yard (did you check underneath the faucet for the hose?) you can purchase some HERE.

Have fun!

...