sunshine and dirt

my dear friend Amber, who is beautiful and inspiring in so many ways, was showing me around her little shop on etsy.com the other week. mostly there were her knitting projects and a few other crafty things, but I also noticed this jar full of plants. isn't it lovely? Amber studied horticulture and she knows everything about plants, which knowledge I must say I envy just a little bit.

one day, in a bout of excited curiosity, I asked her, "how do you make those?" and she proceeded to explain the process, the ingredients, and the maintenance of these beautiful little terrariums. so I decided to try it...
I made four altogether--small ones, because small jars were all I could get my hands on. I'm looking forward to seeing how they grow. it was so simple, and I had lots of mosses and little weed-type plants to choose from. for fun I threw in some random pebbles, coins, and pieces of old jewelery, to add character. this one has a Canadian penny.

I'm already looking around for bigger jars to make bigger terrariums. there's a clear glass container mum keeps her spaghetti and that I might just have to borrow indefinitely. and then maybe Amber can tell me what all these plants are that I randomly uprooted from our backyard and consigned to life in tiny little jars leftover from dad's elderberry jelly.

while I'm celebrating Amber, she was featured the other week on the "I made that" blog. that just about makes her famous, eh?