Fall activities: leaves, terrariums, and mini indoor moss gardens!

Fall is in full swing here in NEPA and our trees are at peak color. When the leaves start changing one of our traditions is to take a walk in the woods and collect some pretty leaves. We take them home and the kids and I paint leaf prints. They really look forward to this.

While we were walking I noticed we had quite a variety of moss and lots of it! So, I started collecting. My first project was a terrarium. I always had this idea in my head of one that looked like a little town in a jar. What I came up with was pretty cute:

After a few days I noticed a problem,, the buildings started to develop mold. I took them out so it wouldn't start causing a problem with the plants and I'm still trying to figure out how I can get them back in there without the mold problem. Hubby suggested soaking them in a salt water solution and then letting them dry before painting. (to deter the mold growth) I'll give that a try and see if it works.

With the left over moss my daughter and I put together some small moss gardens. I might like these even better than the terrarium! The are small clay saucers that I put a 2 inch layer of soil in before adding the moss and decorations.

In this one we added some small decorative rocks and some little painted buildings. (monopoly buildings) Since this isn't closed up like the terrarium is I shouldn't have to worry about mold problems. 

This one might be my favorite. I buried some smaller pots to add some height to the display. The same assortments of moss are used along with some rocks (one a painted welcome sign), and sticks.

This one is a mini Stonehenge. I made the stone pieces with this recipe for sand dough. Once dry they really look like stone pieces. I still need to add a clear coat to these. Again some small decorative rocks were added, they add just a little color.

Now, how do I stop myself from putting one in every room of the house?