Help Kelly Kick Cancer's Ass -- for Good!

Terrariums we made at Workshop SF - photo by Vera Devera (c) 2011

I love terrariums but sometimes I just can't bear the $50 price tag. That's why I jumped at the chance to take  Kelly Malone's terrarium how-to ($34) at Workshop SF, an affordable DIY school she founded two years ago. My old high school pal, Cindy, joined me on a late Thursday night (8-10pm, a perfect time for working girls like us) and Kelly led us through a jaunty, yet informative tutorial on building a terrarium. Since taking the class, I have been a terrarium-making fiend, collecting Scrabble letters, miniature plastic dogs and bunnies, and scavenging the neighborhood succulents to stock my own terrarium habit for about $10 a pop.

[For those of you who are curious, the materials you need to make a terrarium include: found glass objects (a Weck mason jar, coffee pot, cognac snifter), the eraser end of a pencil (to push plants into place), charcoal (to absorb the odor), potting soil, gravel (I like white!), and bits of succulents (apparently you can break off pieces of most hardy succulents and they will re-root without any extra treatment).]

Kelly Malone took the stress out of making terrariums with such good humor and cheerfulness. When I learned that she has an advanced case of cancer, I couldn't believe it. Her previous insurance carrier dropped her coverage due to her cancer diagnosis and she has no chance for getting new insurance due to her cancer being a pre-existing condition. Through it all, Kelly keeps a smile on her face while devoting much of her income and time to continuing Workshop SF. 

If you’ve been to an Indie Mart, if you have been to a class at Workshop, if you have been to a Kelly Malone event, or if you are simply a fan of Kelly’s mission, and willing to help out, we ask that you help out. Take a class or if you can't make a donation. Thanks!!

Kelly shows us the range of succulents to use in our terrariums

Mini plastic dogs, deer moss, bits of succulent make excellent terrariums