This post might seem like it's coming a little bit out of left field, but I've actually been holding on to this one for about a year, so bear with me. In my final semester of college, my thesis project centered around the ideas of exploring non-traditional subcultures. I narrowed down my list of ~15 subcultures down to just 3 for the final product (Barbie, Scrapbooking, and Harry Potter Fandom), but I couldn't quite let go of disco subculture. I had spent a ton of time looking into the world of disco, and one thing that really grabbed my attention was a legendary New Year's Eve party held at Studio 54. They reportedly imported 4 tons of glitter and straight up dumped it on the floor for the night. It was four inches deep; the owner described it as feeling like you were "walking on stardust," and countless celebrities testified to still finding glitter in their clothes months later.

I absolutely could not stop thinking about it. Four inches of glitter. That's ankle deep. What's it like to walk around in heels in glitter like that? How did they import it? How did they get it off of everything after NYE? Were they actually able to get it off of anything after NYE? Insanity.

I came up with the crazy idea to build a glitter sandbox—not huge, but big enough to take a few steps in. I just really needed to know what that was like. While dropping disco subculture from the project meant also leaving behind the glitter sandbox, I'm still holding out hope that I can do that one day. But for now, I'm settling for a scaled down version–a glitter zen garden.

I think zen gardens are beautiful ways to add a decorative element to a desk or a side table, and their calming effects are always welcome. However, a traditional wooden zen gardens wouldn't really work with the glittery aesthetic I was going for, and after a short search, I found the perfect clear acrylic tray (from The Container Store) to hold my sparkles.

This DIY is more of a put-it-together-yourself than a do-it-yourself, but I think it still qualifies.

You will need:

• a clear acrylic tray–make sure it doesn't have holes/handles cut out of the sides or the glitter will just spill out!
• black glitter
• diamond vase filler
• zen rake

To make:

Pour the glitter evenly throughout the tray. Assemble the diamonds/vase filler attractively in the glitter sand, and use your zen rake to comb through the glitter! Easy peasy.

I searched everywhere for a metal zen rake, but couldn't find one (that kind of goes against the entire point of zen gardens, being natural and all that), so I spray painted mine. If you know someone who can make me one, let me know!

I used clear vase filler that's shaped like diamonds in place of the rocks that usually occupy zen gardens. I think it goes well with the clear tray and the whole thing kind of has a futuristic vibe.

I love having this on my desk; I always like to challenge the context of the way people look at glitter. The only thing this zen garden needs is a pop of hot pink. Maybe I can find some pink gems...

What do you think?!