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hey everyone and welcome back to episode
5 of howto terrarium this is a very
special episode as this terrarium is
truly unique I'll show you how to make
what I've decided to call a ship and a
bottle terrarium of course there's no
ship going in this bottle but the
overall style and look of this terrarium
is inspired to look like you guessed it
a ship in a bottle unlike other
terrariums that we have done this one is
going into the expert category for a few
reasons working in a space such as a
bottle is much more difficult than what
I've shown you thus far this is because
the opening is small yet the container
itself is relative atively large to
accomplish this you will need some
specific tools patience and a steady
hand that being said anyone can make a
terrarium like this it's just a little
bit more difficult than what we've done
thus
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far you don't need anything too
extravagant for this terrarium build we
will need a few scraps of wood stain
polyurethane sand paper and wood
glue
silicone long tweezers or
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tongs gravel and
mesh a suitable
substrate suitable
plants twigs and other natural
accessories and a suitable
container let's begin by constructing
our terrarium stand obviously yours will
differ from mine according
therefore I'll explain how I made mine
and you can tweak this procedure to fit
your vision here's a basic blueprint
that I did before making my measurements
it features two main elements a
baseboard and two posts used to support
the bottle set the bottle next to what
will become the baseboard use a sketch
similar to mine to reference the angle
of the bottle next to the board now mark
the board and cut it to size again place
the bottle next to the baseboard in
order to estimate the length of each
post after determining what is
appropriate measure the distance from
the bottle to the baseboard now Mark the
boards and cut them to
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size next measure and mark the center of
the
baseboard from the center point measure
out half the width of the posts on
either
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side now place the post on the base to
determine how far they should be
attached from the ends measure and mark
the base and use the post to finalize
the marks finally erase some of the
lines now put a dab of wood glue on the
baseboard and firmly press the posts
into place then lightly clamp the post
to the base measure the distance between
your posts and cut a board to this
length clamp it in between them without
using glue now firmly tighten all of the
clamps use a damp rag or paper towel to
wipe off any excess glue let it dry for
a few hours and then remov the
clamps I suggest give giving your stand
a light sanding with some fine sandpaper
also if you have a router now is the
time to give the stand a beveled Edge
now we going to make a small divot on
the top of each post I was going to use
a Dremel but I realized that some people
don't have them therefore I'm using some
coarse sandpaper after on a spare PVC
pipe depending on the type of wood you
shouldn't have to sand very much to
achieve the right impression make sure
to sand the same downward angle on both
posts now let's test it out as you you
can see my bottle stays in place without
even holding it here you can get a
better look of how the divots should
look they're very subtle but enough to
hold the bottle in place finally let's
complete the stand I applied two coats
of my preferred stain provincial 211 it
really brings out the Grain and has a
sophisticated look about it as you can
see I made a rack using foam and Nails
this is so that I can efficiently stain
all the sides of the stand at once don't
worry if the underside of the stand has
imperfections we won't see it it shortly
now add some polyurethane I really like
it to look thick and shiny therefore I
added about five layers the same look
can be achieved Easier by using epoxy
the next part however is optional after
drying you can cut a piece of felt to
the dimensions of the underside of the
stand this will keep it from sliding
around but mainly adds a nice touch I'm
attaching it using rubber cement I
always put it on both surfaces let it
dry completely and then Bond them
together so now your completed Terin
stand should look something like this I
know it was a little bit of work but
trust me it's so worth it now let's
attach the bottle using some silicone I
suggest using a color that will blend
well with the stand I have 100% brown
silicone here after putting two generous
dabs onto the posts roll out some
masking tape and place your stand over
them now gently lower your bottle into
place if you get any silicone on your
hands or mess up when lowering the
bottle just wipe off the sil with a dry
paper towel and try again use the tape
to keep the bottle in place as you see
here now get something to lean the
bottle on so that it doesn't slide off
the stand let your Silicone dry
overnight or slightly longer and then
remove the
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tape if you want go back and scrap RP
off any excess silicone be sure not to
cut into the seal
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though as always we are going to add a
false bottom to this terrarium let's
begin with the gravel I was putting it
inside sideways to begin with but I
found that it was easier with the bottle
standing up afterwards lightly shake
your bottle to get the gravel evenly
dispersed after adding the gravel we
going to put in the mesh I've mine
pre-cut to fit right into the bottle to
get it in I simply folded the mesh in
half and stuffed it into the bottle's
opening I then used my tweezers to feed
it through and put it into position next
I used a few pieces of gravel to keep it
in place don't worry if your mesh isn't
completely touching the gravel the
substrate will do the trick
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shortly now let's add the substrate
follow the link to see how to make it
for yourself since the soil is largely
composed of spagna moss it can be fed
through in pieces my best advice is to
just stuff it through the opening and
use your tweezers to move it around as
you see here after getting a good amount
of substrate into your bottle you can
use your tweezers to form it in place
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finally clear the bottle's neck of any
debris so that we can easily feed our
plants
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through now for the last and hardest
step we're going to add the plants and
decorations to our terrarium when doing
this it is easiest to start at the very
end of the bottle and work your way back
to to the opening it's always a good
idea to Envision or sketch how your
terrarium will look before starting so
you end up with something that you will
like simply use your tweezers and other
tools to get the plants where you need
them of course that's easier said than
done especially when you're working with
long tweezers
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oh
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by this point I was almost done
Landscaping so I decided to clean the
container and water it at the same time
simply do a few spray so that the water
spreads over the glass while at the same
time removing any excess debris if
necessary you can remove any excess
water by slightly tilting your bottle so
that it pours out of the opening be
careful when doing this though as you
might ruin your whole terrarium
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n
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as with most of my terrariums I like to
add springtails that's what you see me
doing here they will eat any mold that
will pop up and help keep the terrarium
clean overall
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