DIY Succulent Planter + Faux Stain with Chalk/Mineral Paint
AFFORDABLE DO IT YOURSELF HOME PROJECTS | DIY SUCCULENT PLANTER | EASY DIY HOME DECOR
This week I'll be at Pinners Conference teaching how to make faux-stain succulent planters. The class sold out weeks ago! I figured since everyone can't be at Pinners this week, I’d share this fun and easy project with you.
I found a huge selection of succulents at my local nursery awhile back.
I should mention that my green thumb must have been sprained when I was little because I struggle to keep plants alive. This is why I love succulents—they are literally next to impossible to kill.
They are in 2.5” pots. Aren’t they adorable?
To make planters, I started with an 8’ piece of 4”x4” wood from Home Depot...
...cut into three sizes: 3 1/2”, 4 1/2” and 5 1/2” high. An 8' piece yields several of each size.
Once the blocks were cut, my husband drilled a hole 2” wide x 2” deep in each one.
It was easiest to use a drill press set to drill 2” deep.
We drilled the first few blocks with a "high density steel bit" from Home Depot. It only lasted for about 13 blocks before it was too dull to use. We bought a new one and had the same problem. That wasn’t going to work for 300+ blocks, so we ended up buying a "Carbide-tipped Forstner bit" from woodworkersemporium.com that drilled the rest of the blocks with no problems.
With the blocks cut, drilled and sanded, it was time to “stain” them. Of course, I never use traditional stain. I always use chalk/mineral paint because there’s no smell and clean up is a breeze. When I make my own chalk/mineral paint by adding BB Frösch Paint Transformer, I can get exactly the color I’m after.
I made my own chalk/mineral paint by mixing BB Frosch Paint Transformer with Benjamin Moore “Mink” into a squeeze bottle. Squeeze bottles are the way to go for crafting with chalk/mineral paint!
Other supplies include:
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jar of water
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huck cloth to wipe paint
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paint brush and wax brush
Here's a quick time lapse of the faux stain process:
I used the same faux stain technique I used here. It’s seriously this fast!
Once the paint was dry, it took about three minutes to dark wax each block.
Here's a time lapse of the waxing process:
I removed each succulent from the plastic pots they came in, and plopped them into the hole in each block.
Voila!
