Succulents should be easy care houseplants. As members
of the cactus family, they actually prefer neglect and small amounts of water.
So why would anyone want fakes? Well, maybe they already have too many plants.
(Me) And can’t resist the opportunity to do something that doesn’t work so well
with live plants. (Also me.)
I blame this project on the dollar store. I actually
went in looking for something else and came across the plastic dish garden now containing
the succulent arrangement in the attached photos. Since it’s clear, how could
you not put some fun, plastic ice “crystals” and LED fairy lights in it?
Obviously, I couldn’t resist. Another bonus? Faux plants can stand having a bit
of glitter glued on them.
The succulents, crystals and lights weren’t available
at the dollar store. Bummer. So the project did cost a few more dollars. I
considered making it more permanent with resin poured into the stones, then
ruled it out in case the lights die at some point. The resin did add to the
cost, but I have pendant molds and was out of resin. It won’t go to waste.
Without the resin pour, this is a quick project. The tiny LED lights on
metallic wires work best, especially when they have an equally small battery
compartment. It’s easier to hide. Besides hiding the wire as the bowl was
filled, I also added 2 bags of large faceted plastic beads from my stash. The
crystals are turquoise colored. The beads are purple, blue and green. They tied
the bowl filler with the succulents I chose. After the bowl was filled with
lights and filler, the plants were arranged and a second strand of lights was
interwoven into them. They were added after doing a test in a dark room. While
the bowl looked nice, the succulents themselves were hard to see. Since I
purchased a set of ten LED strands from a certain internet retailer, I had
extra to play with. Battery compartments are stashed between a couple of the
plants at the edge of the bowl, where they’re still easy to access.
Now, I have a fun night light which can also travel
with us in our Airstream. (Bottom shelf in cabinet while on the road.) At home,
I can enjoy it upstairs in my studio, without having to worry about whether or
not I remembered to water the plants.
The Project Queen
