Aged Wall Art Terrarium

I saw a wall terrarium at Home Depot and was not convinced I liked it. I did love the idea of having one for my cubicle. You see, I have been on a mission to decorate those grey drab looking walls. I thought I could do better myself and use the colors I wanted. Here is my version of a wall terrarium. FYI: I am not a trained professional and this is trial by error. This is my version of a project I saw, but I do not know how they made it.  If you make one, please adjust and make it your own.

This is one of two I made. It is not the one from the tutorial.

Here are the supplies I used. The plants were bought at Home Depot and the supplies at Michaels.

• Small crate
• Frame - the opening must be smaller than the crate. It can also be the same size.
• Woodglue
• Paint - for the aged look use browns and greens for undertones.
• Paintbrushes
• Embellishments - I used wood veneers (love/bird) & white picket fence.
• Small Plants - there is a large selection at Home Depot.
• Water Sealant
• Hot glue
• Moss

Don't forget the moss! I bought this at Joann's.

First, I played with paint but it was not what I wanted. I will show you what I did later. Here, I used Elmer's Wood glue to glue the small crate and wood frame. BTW I did a lot of measuring at Michaels when I bought the crate and frame. Make sure the frame opening is smaller than the crate. I do not have the dimensions, but if you want them, please ask in the comment section.

I traced the area where I wanted to glue the frame to the crate. You want to leave more of a gap where the pots will sit (see left side of the frame).

Once you put them together, add something heavy to hold the two together. Let sit overnight to ensure the glue completely dries. My Cuttlebug is really heavy so I used it as a clamp. 

Color your wooden area (crate and frame) a golden brown (left picture). Then paint a thin layer of green (to simulate mold). Don't completely cover the brown. Let some of it come through the green painting. 

Don't forget to let dry between painting. Repeat with the blue paint. Make sure you paint a thin layer of blue and try to spread out the paint as thin as possible (with a completely dry brush) so that the brown and green come through the blue. 

 Once you are done painting, let dry thoroughly and seal. Please follow directions on the your water sealant spray bottle. Remember, I am not a professional, so please use caution when using any type of chemicals. READ the instructions completely!!! :)

Paint your decorative elements. 

Add your moss, plants, decorative elements and you are done! I glued the white picket fence on the inside, but I could have done it on the outside too. Please use your imagination and do what you want! These plants can be pulled out easily for watering, or you can slightly mist the moss for watering. I plan on using a water dauber to add water directly to the plants.

 

I hope this serves as inspiration. 
Thanks for reading!