# Diy Weighted Fake Plants



## littlemay (Jun 17, 2017)

Hey everyone,

I just had a new enclosure built courtesy of Maverick Enclosures and was looking to kit it out with fake plants. I liked the overall look of the Exo Terra ones but the quality wasn't so good and the price was so expensive!

I found some really good quality artificial plants on special online and went with those, but was left with the stability issue, as they all just had 'stems'. Anyway, I figured I could just make some Exo Terra like bases myself with air drying modelling clay. It's such a simple idea, but I couldn't find any tutorials or anything on this site so I figured I'd make one  Keep in mind I am not in any way a crafty/handy/diy person, so to do a tiny project like this is a big thing for me!

Anyway, this is the modelling clay I got from Bunnings. I liked the white as my enclosure is white (matchy matchy!!), But it came in a terracotta colour as well, which could be nice. I think it was about $8.00 a block.





When it came out of the pack it was really dry and difficult shape, so I added some water and mushed it into a ramekin to get the general shape





It came out looking like this





I started shaping it properly with wet hands





Then I stuck the plant stem in. I considered making the hole and then gluing the plant in later when the clay was fully dry, but I was a bit unsure about using a glue in my enclosure. The stems were pretty textured so I figured if I compressed the clay in around them they should pretty well. I guess i'll find out..?






Getting my Ghost on! Just a matter of shaping it some more around the plant and smoothing over the surface with water.





'Patting' the wet the clay with dry hands then gave it a really nice matt texture.

Drying! I figure i'll seal it with a water based polyurethane once it's dry. If I was to do it again i'd probably make a wider base for the tall plant, but I ran out of clay. I guess we'll see how it goes.





I hope that helps someone out there, I think they look pretty good!


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## danyjv (Jun 17, 2017)

Hello littlemay. I can't see any of your pics ..


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## littlemay (Jun 17, 2017)

Yah, I just realised I put them in a silly way. They should show up now!


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## danyjv (Jun 17, 2017)

Yes they worked I can see them. They look good[emoji1303]


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## MzJen (Jun 17, 2017)

I love this idea.!! The exo terra plants are so damn expensive.!! I've been searching gumtree and the $2 shops but can only seem to find flowers as opposed to plants / greenery


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## pinefamily (Jun 18, 2017)

Great idea, and fantastic job, Littlemay.


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## littlemay (Jun 18, 2017)

MzJen said:


> I love this idea.!! The exo terra plants are so damn expensive.!! I've been searching gumtree and the $2 shops but can only seem to find flowers as opposed to plants / greenery



I got mine from greenery imports online. They're not $2 shop cheap but the quality is excellent, they're extremely sturdy and UV resistant, so they shouldn't fade under UV lights. They were having a sale when I got mine, otherwise they'd probably be a bit out of my price range.

I've seen heaps of cheap grassy/leafy ones on eBay though!


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## MzJen (Jun 21, 2017)

Have ordered some vines online $16 for 20 x 2.4m ...... Now the excruciating wait for delivery


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