I don’t know about you, but my kids love to craft ALL THE TIME! And mostly the crafts they make end up in a box never to be seen again. This summer I made it my goal to create projects with my kids that will actually end up on display in the house, so we are venturing outside the traditional and creating more decor projects. My kids loved making these DIY alcohol ink swirled terrariums and I loved that they are pretty enough to have on display!
Now tell me you wouldn’t love to have these in your home!
Supplies to make your own DIY alcohol ink terrarium:
- Glass Terrariums
- Alcohol Inks
- Gold Paint Pen (optional)
- Plastic Gloves
- Faux Succulents
- Decorative Rocks
Begin by turning your terrarium over and placing it on a protected surface (wax paper works best). Next, put on the plastic gloves and let your kids take turns dripping different colored inks over the bottom of the terrarium.
The more ink you drip, the better the coverage.
Once you have a good coverage of the terrarium, let the ink dry for about 30 minutes to an hour. Once dry, you can use the gold paint pen to add flacks of gold splatters and paint the rim.
Finally, let the kids add in the decorative rocks and faux succulents.
I love how the kids DIY alcohol ink swirled terrariums looked different, but by using the same colors for each, they coordinate well. Not only that, but now they get to actually see their works of art in the house! If you have never experimented with alcohol inks, I highly recommend getting a few to play around with. I promise you will soon get addicted. We sure did, and now we have mirrors, coasters, and terrariums all decorated with these colorful swirls! Just be sure to use gloves, because we didn’t at first and our hands were stained for several days!
More Project Ideas
Make Your Own Easy Succulent Terrarium
DIY Succulent Pumpkin Centerpiece
Make Your Own DIY Soap Dioramas
Simple DIY Spring Pallet Sign
Farmhouse Style DIY Succulent Planter Box
Color Blocked Cement Succulent Planter
Family Craft Idea: Love Tokens & Hug Tins
Sprinkle Easter Egg Ornament
DIY Terrarium Wedding Ring Box
DIY Woven Wall Hanging (with a Kids Loom!)
Kara is the owner and designer of Kailo Chic. She loves all things bright, colorful, and patterned. Kara also loves interior design, DIY projects, designing new accessories, gardening, and cooking. A Kailo Chic Life features all of these passions.
FYI — you can use rubbing alcohol on a paper towel to get alcohol ink off your skin. You don’t want to alarm any cashiers with your “diseased” hands!
Hmmmm……I think I’ll dribble some into a small jar and see what happens. It might make a pretty vase.
Kara, these are beautiful, and what a fun craft idea! They are like tiny plant-filled galaxies
Just an update – I tried this out and it turned out beautiful! However, I had to do many coats for the ink to actually show up (your colors looked so vibrant and bright – mine were very very subtle, but I also used a different color palette although it was the same brand of alcohol ink). I had to do 4 coats for the ink to actually become aesthetically pleasing, so it was about 10 minutes of drying inbetween coats. In the end, with the gold rim and specks, the piece finally popped! It was a gift and my friend loved it. Thank you for the idea.