Now before you squeal with excitement as I did when I started this mini masterpiece, be warned that this isn't the easiest DIY project around. It can get quite fiddly and will take you a good few hours. But if you have the patience then you will be rewarded with the finest hanging planter in town.
What you will need:
- Natural light grey/cream string
- A glass milk bottle or vessel of choice
- Neon paint
- Scissors
- Weaving/tapestry needle
- Masking or washi tape
- Hair band or elastic band
- Ruler or measuring tape
1. Measure out 24 stretches of string (about 60cm long) and tie them at the top in a loose knot, or use masking tape to hold the tops together temporarily.
2. Use tape to collect the string at the bottom leaving about 10cm bellow it, and carefully insert your milk bottle or vessel to sit evenly amongst the string.
3. Stretch the hair band around everything so that it sits about half way up the milk bottle. I chose to add a bit of tape to hold it in place.
4. From the top knot, pull out every second piece of string so that it hangs down. Re-do the knot at the top, making sure all of the pieces of string are still even.
5. Collect the new pieces of string at the base using more tape.
6. Using a long piece of string, tie a tight knot just above the tape.
7. Remove the tape and wrap the string around the bunch, creating a 'wrapped' effect to make the top of the tassel nice and neat.
8. Tread your tapestry needle with about an arm's length of string.
9. Thread the string through, following exactly where the hair band sits, and pull it tight so that your string sits snugly underneath it.
10. After your first full circumference, tie the end of the string in a double knot before continuing around.
11. Continue to weave around and around, making sure you always weave the opposite to the stitch above. For example if the above stitch goes over, you should be weaving under. After each circumference use the end of the needle to push the string up so that its packed nice and tight against the string above it.
12. If you run out of string, thread your needle with another length of string and just count backwards a few vertical steps before starting again so there is a slight overlap.
13. Weave all the way around and under the bottom, pushing the string up each time so that its packed tight. When you reach the bottom and there is no room to weave any more, thread the needle down through your rapped tassel, pull it tight and trim it so that its the same length as the rest of the tassel.
14. Cut out the hair band and remove it. Tidy everything up as best you can.
15. Squeeze out a big blob of paint into a bowl and add a little water.
16. Mix the water and the paint, before adding a bit more water. There should be about 5cm of painty water.
17. Dip your hanger, with the glass bottle still in it into the painty water, so that the water comes half way up the woven area. Hang it suspended over the bowl so that if it drips, it doesn't make a mess. I hung mine on a cupboard handle in my kitchen, with the bowl on the kitchen bench.
18. Wait about 5 minutes and see if the string has picked up much colour.
19. Add a little more paint to the water and dip again, this time don't dip as far up the woven area.
20. Repeat this process until you get the desired effect. I ended up adding a little paint (that wasn't watered down) to the very bottom of the tassel using my fingers, while the string was still quite wet.
21. Make sure that the string isn't all stuck together before leaving your woven creation to dry over night.
22. Add a succulent (even a fake one like I did..) and enjoy! This tutorial will work for other vessels like small plant pots, and you could probably experiment with different kinds of twine.
I got a bit excited and used my left over painty water and string to make lots of mini tassels to hang on cupboard doors. Have fun!
Any questions or feedback, comment bellow. I'd love to hear how you get on! x
I became an expert terrarium architect and eventually my boyfriend’s house had no windowsill that wasn't covered in my contained creations. My genius plan was to get rich from selling them ready made or as a ‘DIY terrarium kits’ complete with everything you need to build your own mini moss world. With no luck on 
Not. One. Purchase. I hit rock bottom and tried to talk myself back from the edge by telling myself that obviously no one was ready for the trend yet but me… yes that’s right… I was way ahead of the game. Yes, my friends made fun of my crazy hobby but in the end I got my own back. EVERYONE got a terrarium or DIY kit fir their birthday and/or Christmas that year. A few years on and I have almost kicked the habit completely. It's a good thing too because the terrarium trend is finally in full swing and they are everywhere! In San Francisco they have totally got on board the T-train, and there isn’t a shop in Australia that could claim to be cool or quirky that doesn’t have at least one living arrangement in a jar. So now that I won't be considered quite as weird, and in one last ditch attempt to make all of those hours spent landscaping with a spoon almost worth it, I bring to you this DIY tutorial asking for only one thing in return... Be aware of the warning signs of terrarium addiction, and remember: “If you’re seeing green, you’re way too keen.” 
You will need… 1. Some stones or pebbles for the bottom layer. (Those of you who develop a serious addiction like I did will trespass on neighbours front gardens and driveways for these.) 2. A cute jar or glass vase. 3. Some soil, preferably new (not from the garden) unless you want all kinds of interesting weeds growing in your terrarium. 4. Some activated charcoal. Sounds strange, but this helps your terrarium stay healthy and alive for longer! 5. Some moss! You can collect moss from damp, cold places like walls or slopes. If you use a spoon or spatula to scrape it into a container it will stay intact. Alternatively you might want to plant some succulents or short grass seeds. 6. Decorations! These can be anything from clay mushrooms to mini animal ornaments. Use your creativity! Instructions… Step 1. Wash your stones well with tap water and create a layer of them in your jar no more than an inch high. Step 2. Tap the jar to settle the stones and use a spoon to push them down/arrange them. Step 3. Sprinkle little layer of charcoal to keep your mini ecosystem happy. Step 4. Now for a layer of soil – it should reach about half the height of your stones. Step 5. Sculpt your soil layer with stones or more soil so your landscape looks interesting (not flat). Push it down gently with the back of a spoon. Step 6. Trim your moss into sections and add it piece by piece. Press the edges down with a spoon. Don’t forget to clean any mud off the remaining jar walls. Step 7. Finally, add your decorations! Congratulations on creating your own wee world! Now to keep it healthy for as long as possible, read on… Top Terrarium Tips… - Sprinkle or ideally spray/spritz your terrarium with water once every week. - Keep your terrarium in a bright room but out of direct sunlight. - If condensation builds up inside your jar, loosen the lid until it clears up. 
As you know I'm all about presentation so you can imagine my excitement when I received a surprise gift of the cutest wooden mini succulent planters (or as I'm using them - egg cups!) made by 
Anyways, at risk of Easter arriving before I publish this post, here is the recipe! I hope you have as much fun as I did making them... Preparing Eggs 1. Gently tap the bottom of the egg onto the table or on the blunt end of a knife so that only a couple of small cracks appear. 2. Then use your fingers to carefully peel the shell away until you make a small hole (about 1cm in diameter). 3. Tip the egg white and yolk out into a clean bowl, shaking a little and using a implement if it doesn't come out. 4. Wash the gunk out of the egg using warm water from the tap. 5. Fill each egg shell up with very hot water and a pinch of salt. Leave to soak for at least an hour. 6. Rinse out with cold water and let each egg dry upside-down. The recipe will fill at least 8 eggs. I made 10 and had a little batter left over. I just collected my egg shells over a couple of days of breakfasts, and also there is one egg used in the recipe. 
Cake Ingredients 1 cup plain flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence 90g unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup 1 large egg Oil for greasing inside of each egg shell Decorating Ingredients Various food colouring I cup (or less) of icing sugar (alternatively get some fondant) Sprinkles - Bit of trivia: Australians call these 'Hundreds and Thousands'! Whatever else you feel like using! 
Method 1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 180°C. 2. Line a normal muffin tray with foil so that the eggs will sit happily in each space, OR be as lucky as I was and find a mini-muffin tray where they fit like a glove! 3. Grease the inside of each egg shell by adding a couple of drops of oil and spinning it around until the inside of the shell is coated. Be sure to pour out any excess oil. 4. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. 5. Stir together milk and vanilla in a cup. 6. Beat together the softened butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy (about 4 minutes.) 7. Add egg and beat until just combined. 8. Reduce speed to low, then add flour and milk mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour and mixing until just combined. 9. Put the mixture into an icing piper or, do what I did and put it into a large plastic bag and chop the corner off (to make a small hole.) 10. Pipe the mixture into the egg shells, only filling them about two thirds full, no more! The hope is that the cakes will rise and come out of the top a little. 11. Bake until the bits coming out of the top are pale golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in centres comes out clean (usually about 15-20 minutes.) 12. Put cakes eggs (still in shells) on a rack and cool. 13. When room temperature, remove the top overflow from each egg (and eat it!) then peel the shell of each cake egg carefully. 
Decorating I chose to do two different decorating styles. For the sprinkles eggs I made a wet icing sugar mixture, rolled the cake egg in the mixture until completely covered. I don't think there is a no mess way of doing this so I used my fingers! Wipe off the excess mixture before rolling the eggs in a dish of sprinkles. Just like crumbing a fish! 
For the other style of decoration I made a much more dry icing sugar mixture with a couple of drops of water and food colouring in it. It was dry enough that I could manipulate it in my hands but wet enough so that it didn't crumble. I used tooth picks to hold up the white bunny ears. If you aren't as patient (stubborn) as I am, I would recommend getting yourself some pre-made fondant to do this, as icing and water isn't as easy to manipulate. Be creative! Get yourself some edible glitter or cute shaped sprinkles. Oh and let me know how you get on! x 
