Brynne Delerson on Oct 26, 2015

When it comes to Halloween decorations, I’m not wild about the traditional orange and black color combination. Instead, I prefer to take a more subtle, nature-inspired approach.

This Halloween terrarium fits seamlessly with the rest of my home’s decor, while introducing a slightly creepy element that invites guests to lean in for a closer look!

I don’t live near the woods or have much of a garden, so I had to find all my greenery in the floral section of a local craft store. I was careful to search out the most realistic looking elements with a wild, scraggly flair. I wanted my terrarium to have a beautiful but dark and mysterious feel to it.

If you’re able to forage for natural supplies, you could also use live greenery and flowers to create this display - simply hide wet floral foam under the moss to hold the stems.

Finally, I found an old brass and glass light fixture at a secondhand shop to use as my container. I simply removed the hanging chain and electrical components and was left with the perfect geometric terrarium - it even has a little door!

Supplies

Large glass jar or enclosure

Potting soil

Sheet moss

Assorted greenery: sticks, ferns, flowers, seed pods - you will want a mixture of textures and sizes, but a restrained and moody color palette.

Miniature plastic skeleton

Miniature plastic spiders

Step One

Start by adding a few inches of potting soil to the bottom of the terrarium.

Step Two

Add a layer of moss on top of the potting soil.

Step Three

The next layer inside the terrarium will be the largest natural elements. I began by trimming my branches and sticks down to size and planting them through the moss and into the dirt at the back of the terrarium.

Step Four

Fill in the back border of the terrarium with fern trimmings and other greenery, leaving the center portion bare.

Step Five

Place the skeleton in the terrarium and arrange as desired. Fill in around the skeleton with clippings from the flowers and seed pods or other natural elements. Finally, scatters a few spiders throughout the greenery.

Step Six

Once you’ve decided where to display your terrarium, you can arrange some leftover greenery around it - feel free to include a few more spiders escaping the enclosure as well!

Enjoy your eerie new Halloween display!

P.S. It looks especially striking at night if you place a bright light in front of the glass!