Never Buy a Terrarium Again After Tackling This DIY
We’re in the thick of the terrarium heyday, and if you’re like me, you’ve drooled over all of the incredible shapes and sizes they come in. A single terrarium is cool on its own, but when you scatter several candle-filled ones down a table, it can be pretty breathtaking. Though terrariums are widely available nowadays from places like Etsy (and even your local hardware store), nothing beats the freedom of making your own. With a little practice with a soldering iron, you can make fun terrarium-inspired candle hurricanes in no time. Plus, hurricanes are the perfect decor for outdoor entertaining, so get excited about summer partying!
Customize the shapes of these hurricanes to meet your needs, and make as many as you need to fill a table without breaking the bank.
These hurricanes will make sure that pesky wind won’t blow out your candles at your next outdoor soiree.
Materials:
— soldering iron + solder
— glass tiles (we used 4 x 4 inch)
— mirrored tiles (we used 3 x 3 inch and 2 x 2 inch)
— tac
— copper tape (1/2 inch width)
— masking tape
Get your materials together and let’s get started!
Trim a piece of copper tape to 17 inches. Remove the backing and center it with the edge of the glass panel. If you mess up, you can always remove the tape and try again.
Continue along all edges of the glass panel, and then press the excess copper tape down to secure it in place. Repeat this step depending on what shape you’re going for.
We used tac to hold the glass tiles in place. Place two pieces at the base of the glass tile and press firmly to create a secure hold. Arrange the glass tiles according to the shape you’ve chosen, then use the masking tape to hold the top edges of the glass tiles in place.
Unwind and use about four inches of soldering wire at a time. Coat the tip of the soldering iron with solder.
Run the soldering iron down the seam between tiles, making sure to touch the tip of the iron with solder. It should melt on contact.
Repeat this along all of the seams. You can always clean up the solder by pressing the tip of the iron along the cooled solder to re-melt it.
To make a mirrored cube, repeat the process of taping copper tape along the edges of the mirrored tiles. Use the tac and masking tape to create a jig for your shape.
Solder all of the seams together.
To add a base, gently place a tile on top of your newly made square and solder it into place.
How easy is that? Now go nuts with different shapes!
Place candles and fresh flowers (be careful to arrange them so that no flowers catch on fire!) inside of these hurricanes and pepper snack dishes amongst them to create a casual yet classy table scape.
Al fresco dining at its finest.
