Geometric Glass Terrarium DIY

05.24.16

Geometric Glass Terrarium with plant

This geometric glass terrarium is probably one of my most ambitious DIY projects to date. I had never worked with glass before but figured, hey, how hard could it be? And it turns out…it’s extremely hard. So hard that I actually contemplated not posting this tutorial so that I wouldn’t inflict the pain and frustration of working with glass on anyone. But I worked hard on it, and I figured there are plenty of you out there who are much more talented at the glass game than I am.

I would recommend watching some tutorials on glass cutting and even reading about it before attempting this glass terrarium project. I would even practice cutting glass pieces before cutting out your shapes. Or, if you would rather stay away from glass altogether, I think acrylic sheets would work just as well.

My terrariums didn’t turn out quite as good as the ones you’d find at a home goods store, but I’m pretty proud of them. They make great air plant displays, or mini planters for succulents (just check to make sure they’re properly sealed).

You can find the tutorial for the Glass Terrarium below and the template is at the end of the post. And if you have any tips for cutting glass, please, please, please let me know!

Glass Terrarium centerpiece with air plant

You’ll need:

Tracing shapes onto glass and cutting with glass cutterDownload the template found at the end of the post. Feel free to scale it if you want it a little larger! Watch a thousand tutorials on how to cut glass, and cut out your shapes. I found it easier to separate the larger pieces of glass with my gloved hands, and smaller pieces with the ball end of the cutting tool.

Sanding edge of glass pieceStill reading? Great! Sand the edges of your beautifully cut-out shapes.

Tape pieces of glass to form geometric terrariumOn the bottom right corner of the templates I made a diagram for how to easily tape together the terrariums for gluing. Initially, you’ll want all the tape to be on the inside of the terrariums.

Apply glue to edges of taped terrarium shapeUse glue to seal every edge of your terrarium. You will have to do it in sections to allow the glue to dry. (And so your terrarium doesn’t get stuck to your workspace.)

Geometric Terrariums shaped with tapeLet your terrariums dry fully!

Remove tape from terrariumsCarefully remove the tape from the inside of the terrariums. This will be slightly more difficult on the smaller, thinner shapes so I used an X-acto knife to help the process along.

Add glue to the inside edges of the terrariumIf you want to use your terrariums as planters, it’s best to go back and seal the inside edges as well and let dry completely.

Add copper tape to edges of terrariumTo add the copper trim, measure out one edge of your terrarium and cut a piece of the copper foil. Remove the back and adhere the tape to the edge.

Terrarium lined with copper tapeRepeat previous step on every edge. Copper foil bonus? Hiding messy glue edges!

Glass TerrariumsNot bad, right guys? Right?! Ok, so the more complicated shapes are a little rough but if you had seen, or heard, me working on these, you would understand.

Geometric Glass Terrariums DecorThey work well on their own as a decor piece…

Glass Terrariums with plant and air plant…or you can use them as planters for small cacti!

Glass TerrariumsIf any brave souls out there actually attempt this project, I’d love to know! Good luck!!

Glass Terrariums

DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE