How to Make DIY Fairy Jar Terrariums

Here is the DIY tutorial based on the provided transcript.

I made these fairy jars as gifts, and they turned out way cuter than I expected. Basically, they’re little terrariums inside a mason jar, but instead of dirt and plants, you use stamped images, moss, and fake flowers. The best part is you can switch out the theme—I used fairies, but gnomes or a little mushroom house would work just as well.

The first thing you need is the right jar. I bought mine at the craft store. Look for jars that have writing on only one side and are smooth on the other. That way, the text isn't blocking your view into the scene. For the bigger one, make sure you get a wide-mouth jar.

What You'll Need

• Mason jars (smooth on one side)
• Styrofoam balls (must fit inside the jar)
• Dried moss (I got mine at Michaels)
• Stamped and colored images (I used Fairy Friends and Gleeful Gardens sets)
• Black licorice ink (or any dark ink for stamping)
• Colored pencils
• Toothpicks
• Floral wire (silver or gold)
• Fake flowers and greenery (small sprays)
• Hot glue gun
• Serrated knife (kitchen knife works)
• Wire cutters or scissors
• Needle-nose pliers
• Sharpie

Step 1: Prep the Styrofoam Base

Your scene is going to sit on the jar's lid, upside down. That means the Styrofoam needs to be flat on the bottom and small enough to fit inside the jar with a gap around it.

Set the Styrofoam ball into the jar and trace around it with a sharpie. That gives you a cut line. You need some space because the moss will add thickness.

Use a serrated kitchen knife to cut the bottom of the ball flat so it sits flush on the lid. Then trim around the sides so it fits inside with a little room to spare. It doesn't need to be perfect—it's getting completely covered in moss.

Step 2: Glue the Base to the Lid

Put a blob of hot glue on the flat part of the Styrofoam and press it onto the inside of the lid. If your jar was sitting upright, this would be hanging from the top. If the foam is too tall for the jar, just pop it off and shave some more off the bottom.

Step 3: Cover the Foam with Moss

This is messy. The moss is dried and crumbly, so you might want to do this outside. I stayed at my desk and got dirt everywhere.

Tear the moss into pieces that fit over the foam. Put hot glue on top of the Styrofoam and press the moss down. Work your way around, tacking the edges down with glue. If you have a gap, just tear a small piece and patch it in. Because it's real moss, you can't see the seams.

You want to cover all the white foam unless you're going for a snow effect.

Step 4: Attach Images to Toothpicks and Wire

This is the key part—everything needs a stick to stand up or a wire to float.

For ground-level images like houses or standing fairies, put a little hot glue on a toothpick and press it onto the back of the image. If you're worried about seeing the toothpick, you can sandwich it between the image and a plain white die-cut, but once you add flowers and other stuff, you don't notice it.

For shorter things like mushrooms, break a toothpick in half with wire cutters or scissors.

For flying fairies, use floral wire. Straighten a piece, wrap it tightly around a pencil to make a coil, then slide it off. Put hot glue on the back of the fairy and lay the coil into the glue. Let it dry. The coil makes it sturdier and looks nicer than a straight wire.

Step 5: Arrange the Scene in the Jar Lid

Start placing your pieces into the moss on the lid. Don't crowd the jar—you want to see everything.

Put the house to one side, a standing fairy to the other, and a flying fairy above. For the background, use fake flower sprays. Break them apart into smaller pieces. If they're too tall for the jar, cut the stems shorter. If you cut off the stiff wire stem, add a toothpick to the bottom so you can stick it into the foam.

The red flowers I used had a hole in the bottom, so I just stuck a toothpick in there. Push everything into the foam. For the thin wire fairy, it bends easily, so use needle-nose pliers to push the wire in a little at a time, grabbing it right at the base.

Fill in any empty spots with mushrooms, more flowers, or the little greenery pieces that fell off the stems. Those look like grass.

Step 6: Put It in the Jar

Carefully lower the lid (with the scene attached) into the jar. Push everything in gently. It will be tight, but that's good—it keeps everything in place. The moss will squish down, so don't worry about breaking anything.

Push the lid down as far as it will go. You might need to pull off some loose moss that's keeping the lid from seating all the way. Make sure the lid goes on completely so the ring fits around it. Also, check that your scene is facing the smooth side of the jar, not the side with the writing, or you'll have to pull it out and spin it.

That's it. Screw the ring on and you're done. These are super fun to make and you can use any jar you have—the little one in the photo is just a jelly jar.