If you are looking for a beautiful glass decoration that you can even make yourself, this idea is probably just right for you. Take an afternoon and use decorative sand to make such interesting decorations. It's not a new technique, but it's being rediscovered by many people, so it's worth giving it a try. In addition, it is not uncommon for a few beautiful plants to be added to the classic these days. But how can you decorate glasses with sand? This is easier than it seems at first glance. We have some instructions and ideas that you can follow to decorate your home with the beautiful decorations in the glass. Or maybe you are looking for an original gift idea? Then you may have found exactly the right one.
Decorating glasses with sand – how does it work?
Basically, this decoration with glass, sand and plants involves alternating layers of sand in different colors to create interesting patterns. If you would like to decorate glasses with sand, you can use decorative sand in bright colors, but also natural sand, which also occurs in nature in a wide variety of shades. So if you have a collection of sand from different beaches from vacation, you can finally find a use for it. Colored sand can be purchased at craft stores or online and can be perfectly colored to match the rest of your home decorations. Professionals can even sprinkle the decorative sand in such a way that beautiful patterns and even entire motifs are created. You're welcome to try it, but we recommend a simple layering pattern to start with.
Succulents for decoration with sand in a glass
As already mentioned, some plants are now often added to the decoration made of glass and sand. Succulents and... are particularly popularAir plants, also called tillandsias, as they are easy to maintain. Basically, the craft sand is used to beautifully hide the actual pot of the plant. Below we will show you instructions on how to make such a decoration yourself. If you want to decorate glasses with sand, you will need:
- Seeds for any succulents or already grown succulents
- a small flower pot (a cup from an egg box is also suitable)
- a peat tablet
- colored sand in three colors
- a glass vase that is larger than the flower pot
- Moos
- a pipette
- a long spoon
- a piece of paper
You can decorate several glasses at once, as they look particularly interesting in groups. The peat tablet is first dipped in water, where it has to soak for about 30 minutes. As soon as the potting soil obtained in this way is completely soft, wring out as much water as possible and fill the flower pot with it. Now you can either spread some seeds on it or plant finished plants in it. Seeds germinate after about a week. You can go ahead and decorate the glasses with sand or you can wait until the seeds germinate or the plants have grown.
No matter what you choose, the next step is to fill the decorative glass vase with a few layers of sand. Alternate the colors so that the layers are well distinguished from each other. Of course, you can decide for yourself how wide these layers should be. Perfection isn't important either. The more uneven the layers become, the more interesting the composition of decorative sand in different colors becomes. How many first layers you need basically depends on what kind of container you use and how high it is or at what height you want the succulents. If you are satisfied with the height, you can place the succulents and pot straight on the sand. Then you can move on to the next step and decorate the glasses with sand.
For this you now need the sheet of paper and the spoon. The paper is used to protect the succulents from the sand. With the spoon you can pour the sand into the glass more precisely. Again, alternate the colors regularly. Little by little you will hide the small pot in the glass with the decorative sand.
Continue like this until the sand almost covers the entire pot. You can now use the moss to decorate additionally and, for example, cover bare spots on the sand. Be careful not to move the sand too much and ruin the beautiful layers. From now on you can use the pipette to water the succulents precisely without wetting the sand. Every few days is sufficient. Do not place the decoration in direct sun. If you had fun, you can decorate a few more glasses with sand and then give them away or put them in other rooms.
The idea is perfect if you want to decorate particularly large glasses. Then you can combine even more plants and create more elaborate arrangements. With a shish kebab skewer you can also make interesting patterns yourself like in the picture above. If you want to decorate glasses with sand in this way, first make a few layers and then insert the skewer into the sand. You press one color into the bottom one, which is very effective.
Combine sand and gravel
Once you have filled the glass with the sand and decorated it, you can also add a layer of gravel to finish it off. In this way, the decoration in the glass appears more exotic and desert-like. This is also a nice idea if you want to plant cacti and decorate them with decorative sand. But succulents also look beautiful in this type of glass decoration. If you have bought a succulent, you can display it as it is in a glass without having to repot it.
Depending on how high your container is, you can start with a few layers of sand to raise the plant slightly. As soon as the plant is in the glass, use a piece of paper again to avoid accidentally sprinkling the sand on it. Paper is also very handy if you want to precisely sprinkle sand into specific areas but don't have a suitable spoon. Then you can form a funnel out of the paper.
In this example, the way the layers are layered is also very interesting. Not only simple layers were designed, but also small hills. While you are scattering the decorative sand, you should always take a look at the progress every now and then. Look at the layers from the side of the glass, where the sand will be visible later. This will allow you to better assess and determine where perhaps some sand is missing and where you should continue with a different color.
The finish is a layer of gravel. To ensure that there is still enough space for this, you should complete the sand in good time. Depending on the size of the pebbles, leave a gap between the sand and the edge of the pot of the succulent or the selected plant. It's better to leave a little more space than too little. Larger gaps can be quickly filled with stones, but sand and gravel that have already been scattered cannot be removed so easily.
Dye your own sand
If you don't want to buy colored sand, you don't have to. You can take sand from the beach or others and just dye it yourself. This also gives you the opportunity to create a wide variety of shades and get exactly the color you imagine. So if you can't find what you're looking for in the store, just do it yourself. All you need is the following things:
- Sand
- sealable plastic bags or boxes
- food coloring
- Water
Fill a bag halfway with sand and then add a few drops of paint and some water. Seal the bag and begin twisting, massaging and shaking to mix everything together well. The exact amount of color cannot be mentioned as it depends on what shade you want. If the result is too strong for you, you can use additional sand to get a paler color. However, if it is too pale for you, add a little more color. So you just have to experiment. You can then create wonderful decorations with the finished DIY decorative sand.
Combine with air plants
Air plants are even more practical for this type of planter. These do not have to be planted in soil, but are simply placed on the sand and get the necessary nutrients from the air and moisture by spraying them with water every now and then. This means you can concentrate entirely on the design with decorative sand and don't have to protect the plant extra.
Decorate glasses in one color
Of course, monochrome creations are also permitted. If you buy decorative sand in a color that you particularly like and that you absolutely want to use individually, then this is definitely allowed. Either way, the fact that you used decorative sand instead of normal soil is impressive enough and it creates an interesting decoration.
Colored gravel instead of craft sand
Colorful gravel is a typical accessory in the area of aquariums. So you can easily find it in a suitable store and use it in the same way as sand. Or how about combining the two to play with not only the colors but also the textures? Be sure to experiment and don't miss out on any idea. Every result will be literally unique!
Gift ideas
As we mentioned earlier, this one isDIY decoration makes a wonderful gift. Not only big plant lovers will be happy about this, because with an easy-care air plant, succulent or cactus, even those who are actually not that successful with caring for plants can enjoy the gift. And if necessary, you can simply leave the plant out and either just decorate the glasses with sand or use other decorations such as shells, larger stones, beads, corals and the like. Artificial plants also look great and couldn't be easier to care for. Nowadays they are also of good quality and hardly differ from a real plant or flower. Glasses with sand are also very suitable as lanterns. So you are welcome to put candles in there too.
For a child's birthday
Bring old drawers back to life - 12 great DIY ideas!
Often when you sort out old furniture, you ask yourself whether you could still use some of it in some way. Old drawers, for example, can be perfectly converted into many practical pieces of furniture. You can find lots of brilliant ideas and DIY instructions for wall shelves made from old drawers here!
Not only adults have fun with this craft idea. Children also like to let their imagination run wild and just as they like to play with paints or play dough, sand is also an interesting material. Colorful sand in a glass is particularly impressive for the little ones, which is why particularly strong colors are a good idea for them. Whether on a rainy afternoon orActivities at a child's birthday party– Children are guaranteed to have fun. And the children can then take the finished works of art home with them after the party as a souvenir and a small gift.
