DIY - Holiday Hanging Planters

This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

DIY - HOLIDAY HANGING PLANTERS

With Hand Painted & Stenciled Modern Designs

Time required: 1 hour Difficulty: Easy

Spread some joy this holiday season by giving friends and family, and even yourself, a beautiful set of little modern hanging planters. Make the hand-painted designs as easy or as elaborate as you want them to be. Not too crafty to hand-draw some designs? No problem!  You can use stencils to help you in that department. Don’t worry I have some tips for you. 😉 

These cute hanging planters would surely be a heartwarming gift to use year-round.

Tools & Materials for a set of three small hanging planters:

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• 3 - 3” Modern flare pot, matte white

• 3-  2 ½” small succulent plant

• 18 feet of cotton thread or ribbon

• Black & gold fine point permanent markers (Sharpie) 

• Pencil

• Painters tape 

• Drill

• 5/32” carbide multi-material drill bit

• Measuring tape

• Scissors

• Rubbing alcohol

• RustOleum clear matte protective enamel

• Stencils with small designs

• Cotton balls and Q-tips

You can check this a video about this project, or you can continue reading down below:

STEP 1 - MEASURE AND MARK

Measure and mark three - 2 ½” sections at the rim of the planter.

STEP 2 - PROTECT AND SET HOLE LOCATION

Add a small piece of painter's tape right below the markings you did at the rim of the pot.

Measure 3/16” directly below the edge from the previous mark, make a pencil mark on the tape to set the hole location.

STEP 3 - DRILL HOLES

Use a drill with a 5/32” carbide drill bit to make three holes in the marked spots. Don’t forget to wear safety equipment.

Have a steady hand and start the drilling process slowly, letting the drill do the job. Once the drill bit starts to open the hole, the speed can be upped.

STEP 4 - CLEAN THE PLANTER

Use a wet paper towel to remove dust and pencil marks from the pots. Then, use a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol to clean the outside of the pots, getting rid of grease and dirt that might be lingering there. This will provide a clean surface and lead to better adhesion for the designs. Let the pots dry or speed up the process using a rag to dry them before continuing onto the next step.

STEP 5 - DRAW THE STENCILED DESIGNS

If you find yourself not being that crafty or lacking a steady hand to draw some designs on the round surface of the pots, I totally recommend the use of stencils.

These planting pots are small and fit in your hand, so when choosing stencils to use for this project, make sure to choose ones with single designs like dots, stars, little trees, etc. The roundness and tapered design of the planters are NOT an ideal surface for you to use contiguous designs or horizontal lines.

These are some of the key points I used when stenciling these modern planter designs:

• Use painter’s tape to attach the stencil to the desired place on the planter. Make sure it is firmly secured, as ink can sometimes seep underneath the stencil.

• Draw the outline of the design and fill it in. Don’t overdo it.

• Once you’ve finished drawing the entire design, remove the stencil and give it an extra minute to let the ink dry completely before setting the stencil on a new spot.

• Clean the stencil in between uses and make sure it is completely dry before placing it on the planter again.

• Mistakes and run-offs can be diminished by using a Q-tip dipped in alcohol and rubbing the affected area with it.

STEP 6 - DRAW THE HAND-PAINTED DESIGNS

You don’t have to be a professional artist to draw these modern designs on the planters, it doesn’t have to be perfect! 

Hand drawing the designs is the easiest way to decorate these little pots. Once again, small single figures work best on these tapered planters.

You can randomly draw the designs, maybe grouping them by two or three. No matter what, they will look good! However, most of the hand drawing designs I made were pre-sketched onto the planters, to make the final product look polished and symmetrical. 

• Use a pencil to make a dot on each spot you want to draw a design.

• The three little holes you drilled, for hanging purposes, can serve as a guide when setting the spot for each design.

• You can make the same size design all around the planter, but you can also draw them big at the top, then a bit smaller as you go down the pot.

STEP 7 - PROTECT THE DESIGNS

Our hands and water, when watering the plants, can ruin the designs.

Use one coat of Rustoleum clear matte protective enamel to protect them.

STEP 8 - ADD THREAD FOR HANGING THE PLANTER

Once the protective enamel has dried, it’s time to add the thread for hanging capability.

• Cut three 24” lengths from the cotton thread for each planter.

• Fold each piece of thread in half and pass it -folded side - through each of the holes in the planter.

• Pass the two-piece end of the thread through the loop. Pull the two ends all the way out to tighten the thread to the rim. Do the same with the other two pieces of thread.

• At this point, you can thread decorative beads, but that’s something totally optional.

• Bring all ends of thread all the way up and secure them into a knot at about 8” in length.

STEP 9 - BRING THE PLANTS INSIDE THE PLANTER, HANG THEM IN PLACE AND ENJOY!

The final step is to place each succulent plant inside the planter. They look super cute!!

I’m so happy at how these holiday hanging planters turned out! I grabbed a branch from outside for an impromptu photoshoot and they simply shine!

You can clearly see, in the picture below, how the designs were staggered for an asymmetrical look.

I went ahead and crafted an accordion peg rack -tutorial HERE- to hang the planters while Christmas arrives. Yes, my plan is to give them away to family and friends.

I love how they look displayed here.

It’s a pretty welcoming sight once we enter our newly updated mudroom!

Give them a try, you are going to love them! And tag me @remodelacasa so I can share them on my social media channels!

Now guys, head to The Home Depot right HERE for lots of other handmade gift ideas and instructions on how to make them!

Are you following me on Instagram? I'll be going LIVE there, today Wednesday the 18th, at 5:00 p.m. EST I'll be giving you a tour of my little mudroom all dressed up for the holidays. I'll see you there!

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