My favorite find from our day trip to Half Moon Bay: a sort of outdoor discovery garden filled with different crafting tables. But not, like, yarn and sparkles and such…amazing things. Like giant abalone shells and air plants and blue jars and tiny squares of sheet music and twine.
And a table full of ideas for just what to do with all these amazing things, like make planters and lanterns and messages in a bottle. Crafts that I not only wanted to make…but that I wanted to keep, and display. Crafts that I think you should try out, too – and especially if you have a kid-and-adult-inclusive party, because I’m telling you: everyone will love these.
You’ll need miniature glass bottles, sand, miniature seashells, scrap paper, pencils, twine (to tie up scrap paper into a scroll), and sealing wax. Set out all the supplies on a table and let your guests compose their own messages for posterity (the one pictured above is the message in a bottle we made for Goldie as a souvenir from her very first summer).
Set out a selection of glass globes, some moss (bonus points for assorted colors), sand, miniature seashells, a bunch of air plants (they’re more or less unkillable and don’t need to be watered), and string to hang the terrariums (optional if you find globes that can stand up on their own).
(See top photo)
Fill a basket with oversize shells (abalone shells are gorgeous, but conch shells work well too), and then arrange smaller bowls with sand, marbles, miniature seashells and tiny succulents for your guests to choose from and fill the shells with.