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DIY Wall Garden Favors
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DIY Wall Garden Favors

April 12

We’re approaching the end of our DIY wedding favor series, but I guarantee you will love our last picks as much as the first ones. These vertical terrarium wedding favors make great gifts because they don’t take any room, and are extremely easy to maintain. Who wouldn’t want to bring a little bit of the outdoors to their home or office?

– Gravel (can be found at any pet store in the aquarium section)
– Air plants, cactus or succulents (you will need a small amount of potting soil if not using air plants)
– Moss
– spray paint
– magnetic metal tins (from here or here, you just need to slap magnetic tape on the back!)
– Dremel tool
– painter’s tape
– E6000 glue

Cover your tins with painter’s tape before you begin spray painting the inside of them. Spray tins with 3-4 light coats until they have are opaque in solid white. While your tins are drying, remove the acrylic top from all lids by putting a small amount of pressure with your hands to pop them off. Measure the diameter and mark a line with a permanent marker. Using the diamond cutter tip of your Dremel tool, slice all acrylic lids in halves (you can also try different shapes or drill holes). Lightly sand the edges using a sander tip of your Dremel tool.

See Also
couple portrait at Kona Beach
A Vibrant Destination Wedding on Kona Beach in Blue & Gold

Place acrylic tops back in the metal frame of the caps and glue both pieces. We also recommend dabbing the edges of the tins with a q-tip with glue to seal the lids to prevent the weight from the gravel popping out of the containers. It took one wall terrarium to splash gravel all over the floor for us to figure that out 🙂

Once your tins are dry from spray paint, remove tape and wash tins with water and soap. Close all tins, now with open front lids. Add gravel, misty moss and air plants. If you prefer building a closed terrarium and skipping cutting the lids, you will need activated charcoal, which can be found in the aquarium section at any pet store. Air plants won’t work well in closed containers, so you may want to switch to ferns and small leafy plants.

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  • These are simply stunning. Not to mention creative! Thank you for sharing!

  • These are very very clever! I would have never thought of this! I was thinking maybe instead of putting them together maybe make a kit with everything and instructions? Thank you for sharing! I love it!

  • What a fantastic idea! Thank you for sharing these instructions. I’ve been looking for some wall decor — I think I’ve found a winner!

  • i am so crazy about this idea! i have a half globe hanging fish tank that i wanted to turn into a terrarium, but i never thought about hanging terrariums as wedding favors before, brilliant!

  • Air plants need to be misted or submerged in water every once in a while. I have an ex who had one in college, and he would run in under water every month or so.

  • Oh I LOVE this! I’ve always wanted one of those miniature bromiliads but didn’t have any idea where to grow it so I could really enjoy it. This gives me a very good reason to clean off my refrigerator!
    Now where can I find a miniature orchid! And what a great gift idea for a teacher or co-worker. It would brighten up the front of any filing cabinet!

  • Jan,

    I bought the mini air plants from a recommendation from this bride (https://ruffledblog.com/diy-lightbulb-terrarium-place-cards/). I wrote in the instructions to send me the smallest plants they had (1-2 inches wide). When you receive the plants, they include a print out on how to care of them. They recommend misting or watering these plants twice a week.

  • I created something similar a year ago but the plants died. 🙁
    Can somebody tell me what is the lifecycle of these terrariums? They won’t obviously keep growing for life. So how do you maintain the size and life of these plants? Help!

  • That is the coolest thing I’ve seen in a while…

    That would be a great project to do with kids!

  • How did you transport these so they stayed intact?

  • This is a really neat and easy project. I could spruce up the filing cabinets at work!

  • If you would like to stick them on a wall, paint your wall with magnetic paint. With matching colors, nobody will know why things stick to your walls!

  • Paul, that’s a good idea, though I am not sure if the magnetic paint would be strong enough to hold the weight of the tins. Not that they are super heavy, but it’s worth a try.

  • I am always on the lookout for fun ideas to share at my works craft-Christmas party, fast, easy and fun are some of the most important factors. I think I will give these out as kits and send them home with my co-workers! Thank you for posting!

  • Thanks for sharing! Looks like fabulous green idea for small space apartments!

  • These are so cute! Any tips for handing on walls rather than a fridge? My fridge never gets any light on it.

  • Gillian,

    To install these tins on the wall you can screw small metal plates, found at any harwadware store.

    Hope this helps!

  • Love it!
    What kind of Moss did you use? And where did you get it?

    Thanks a lot, I look forward to building my own.

    • I purchased moss from a craft store, so I’m not sure? I bought it at Michael’s.

      Hope this helps!

  • Absolutely amazing idea and I intend on getting started on this as soon a possible but I was wondering what is the species of plant that is in the terrarium in the last image as it looks rather nice. Also is that black gravel in the third last picture actually charcoal and is the moss used sphagnum moss?

  • I have just notice that it does say at the bottom of the article that charcoal is needed if you do not cut the lid, but is there any benefit to using charcoal if the lid is not cut?

  • Such a great idea!! I made these for a few friends for Christmas and they absolutely loved them. Definitely a creative and unique gift that looks great on the fridge or in and office.

  • these are so neat! these would be really cool on a wall! you could use velcro comands to be able to take them down for care! love love love this! =)

  • That’s really cute and I will definitely be trying that soon. Just one question: I’m confused as to how big it is… can you give me an estimate of the diameter of the tin?
    Write on! 🙂

  • Love this idea! I just remodeled my bathroom and would love to add some greenery to it. However, the bathroom is small and there isn’t much wall or counter space. I’m thinking of sticking them to a window just using another magnet on the outside of the window. Thanks for the inspiration!!!

  • Genius! I actually have an empty tin from chocolate treats that I’d like to use. Can’t wait to try this!

  • I love these! I wonder if there is a reason for painting the inside of the pots white? Or is this decorational? Activiated Charcoal is supposed to help keep things “clean” in a terrarium I think. I have some in our closed lid, but there is still green in the soil, although not on the glass.

  • I am thinking in the main bathroom. Perfect with the moisture from the shower and sink. Also some in the kitchen. Thanks for the great idea.

  • An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a friend who was conducting a little research on this. And he in fact ordered me dinner because I found it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending the time to discuss this subject here on your web site.

  • I LOVE THIS. SO cute and perfect for my bathroom and office. Thanks for sharing! I’ve just discovered your blog and it’s amazing btw. Looking forward to coming back for more 🙂

  • What a lovely wedding idea! I’ll be linking to it on our DIY Wedding Ideas pinboard. Check it out at pinterest.com/homedepot.

    – Chante

  • Very interesting and looks like fun to make going to try a few of these thankyou

  • I love this idea. I sit next to a fridge at work n use as my wall. But the pictures I put on the fridge looks messy now this is a great idea instead thanks for the idea.

  • It looks great I’d like to try to grow a wall garden, but can’t find the magnetic metal tins. Where can I locate these?

  • Awesome idea! I’m planning on setting it to use in the near future :D.

    But, I would prefer keeping the containers closed. You mentioned activated charcoal, does this then provide for the oxygen? Could you tell me a little more about the requirements/specifics for the closed-off counterpart?

    Also, if you could mention more plants which would survive under these circumstances, you would help me out a lot!!

    Greets. Cheese

  • Fantastic Idea……………………………..
    Thanks for sharing……………………….

  • They make these real handy spice holders that would work great for this. They are metal round with magnet already on the back. Has holes for shaking out or pouring the spices, so you wouldn’t even have to cut the front. Just a thought.

  • These are so cute! I don’t own a dremel tool though. Would I be able to use an x-acto knife and just sand paper?

  • IKEA sells these exact magnet cases for the fridge. But the lid would still need to cut in half

  • Where can I find tiny air plants or succulents for this project?

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