AIR PLANTS + DIY PODS

Late one night a few weeks ago, I was amazon-ing for some fabric spray paint for the office chairs, and ended up adding some “air plants” to the order. Here’s what resulted from this very random impulse buy!:

But let’s backtrack to when I was totally clueless… Air plants? I had never heard of this. I needed to get my googling on: Air plants do not need soil because water and nutrients are absorbed through their leaves. (Good– because I have recently repotted and sadly killed two house plants.) Air plants love bright and indirect sunlight. (Good– because I wanted something to rest on the shallow windowsill above the kitchen sink; and the plants would get their desired lighting from that location.) Air plants sounded awesome. So, I placed the order around 1:00 AM and dreamt of the delivery of our glorious air plants. (Confession: I did wake up that morning and question the rational of ordering a pack of five plants through the mail; but it was already done, and they are so cute!)

They arrived in a small box. Within the small box were five small paper bags, each containing a different species of air plant.

Since they all basically looked the same (except for the “ionionantha” with the reddish tint to its leaves), I didn’t document what each plant was called. Now we needed a home for the lil’ guys. From online research, it seems like many people place them in terrariums, but you just have to make sure there are a few open sources for air. These babies are so versatile– they can even hang upside-down or be pegged into a wall!

Since the windowsill was too shallow for any terrarium, I needed to go a different direction. I just wanted something simple and clean… and white (as to showcase each plant in all its mini magnificence.) Then I remembered I had sculpey clay! (You can get sculpy at any hobby store, but always check online for coupons– Michaels usually has 40% off a single purchase. I also go for the oven-bake clay because otherwise it dries out easy.) After playing around a bit, I ended-up doing the following for our mini planters:

1. Ration out similar sized balls of clay. (I needed five.)

2. Firmly press your thumb in the middle of each ball to create pocket for your plant.

3. Smooth sides with your finger to achieve desired texture.

4. Bake on parchment paper and as directed on sculpey clay directions. (Mine baked at 250 degrees for 35 minutes.)

They cooled on the baking sheet overnight and then I placed them in their individual pods the next morning– so fun! We also soon realized that our family of five were huge fans of Black Eyed Peas…

I love how the leaves cast shadows on the white planters. For watering, I plan to remove them from their pods once a week, spritz them with water, and then place them back in their homes.

Did you already know what an air plant was? If so, I might just need to hop back on over to amazon and see if I’m missing out on anything else!