Make your own action figure terrarium

We’ve showed you how to display action figures, and how to make humorous terrariums. Now here’s how you can combine the two!

I love my action figures but I often wish I had a better way to display them rather then gathering dust on a dark shelf. So, when I saw a terrarium a few weeks ago, it hit me: Mini terrariums personalized for each figure would be a perfect and stylish way to show ’em off. Even better, I could easily create each display using items I already have at home and a few key pieces from my local chain craft store.

Intrigued? Here’s how I made my action figure terrarium…

What you’ll need:

• An action figure — one smaller than five inches works best. (My Princess Leia figure is 3.75″ tall.)
• A clean mason jar with label and contents removed, or another medium-sized glass container
• Dried moss
• Medium-sized decorative polished stones
• A plastic soda bottle top
• Double-sided tape
• 7″ x 7″ square of fabric
• Ribbon or embroidery thread (optional)
• Buttons or other decorative items (optional)

One thing before we begin:
A true terrarium is a miniature ecosystem containing living plant matter. Because I’m a klutz and there’s a significant chance I will knock over anything within arms reach and because I don’t know if exposure to water and decaying plant matter will affect action figures, I made a non-working terrarium. If you’d like to learn how to make a true terrarium, check out these instructions on Garden Design.

Now, on with the show!

Step one: thoroughly clean your container. I soaked the mason jar in warm soapy water for a few minutes to loosen the label and then carefully peeled the paper off. I used glass cleaner on the lantern to remove any smears from the inside and outside of the glass.

Step two: Carefully form a layer of stones on the bottom of the container approximately one and a half inches thick. I arranged the stones (a two-pound bag of multi colored stones available from Michael’s in the floral department for $2.49) so a variety of colors would be visible from the outside. It just looks nicer that way.

Step three: Make a base for your figure using the bottle top, stone, and double-sided tape. It the stone doesn’t stay in the top when overturned, use a piece of tape to secure it. Then apply a few layers of double-sided tape to the top and attach to the feet of your figure. If your figure’s feet aren’t flat, roll up a length of tape into a ball and use that to attach it to the bottle top. It will offer more stability.

Step four: cover the bottle top with moss and place the action figure in the container. Be sure to thread a few pieces of the moss (the variety pack is available from Michael’s in the floral department for $6.99) between the figure’s feet so none of the top is visible. Then, carefully position the figure in the container, making sure it looks good from all angles.

Step five: tear of small pieces of moss and position the material around the figure’s base. I used my scissors to tuck the moss between the stones but anything long and thin will do the trick.

Step six: (Optional) If you’re using a mason jar, you may wish to cover the lid so the label doesn’t show. I used a piece of felt I had left over from making Lilly’s Ewok costume and secured it using double-sided tape and embroidery thread. I attached three wooden buttons to the ends of the thread for some added flair.

So, there you have it — an easy, cheap, and stylish way to display your action figures using items you have at home and a few key pieces from a craft store!

This post originally appeared on StellarFour.com.