DIY a Fake Stone Planter from Styrofoam Box

          

This is a repost of a popular project which has been requested over on 

Facebook's Garden Art Junk group.

 

Here's what I do with those holiday ham styrofoam boxes 

I don't want to pitch into the landfill.

RECYCLE!

I make "stone" planters for my succulent pots!

Here's how....

and please note, this is best done OUTSIDE.

This part is messy!

Using a serrated steak knife, I cut the top edge down to make the box the size I wanted.

Then I scored all the sides with a wire brush.

I made stone shape grooves with a butter knife. You can cut as deep 

or as shallow as you wish to get the look you like.

Next, I brushed a some grey, white and black acrylic craft

 paint over the whole box.

Very sparingly, spray black spray paint at some of your stone joints. 

The paint will melt the foam and give it some very rocky texture. 

Don't over do it, you can always add more texture.

 Go slow and look at the results from all angles.

Now with a brush or a paint rag or a sponge of what have you,

 start layering on acrylic craft paint in rock and moss colors.

 I used black, charcoal grey, brown, several greens and even a bit of dark blue.

I do not plant my succulents directly in the styrofoam box. 

I keep them in their own pots so I can change them out as I wish.

 But I have to say, the sedum in this fake stone box look wonderful!

DIY A Pretty Map Planter

Sometimes an idea comes from nowhere, sometimes from a photo on Pinterest or even a magazine article. I'm always looking for unique ways to create things I'll actually use.

And sometimes "necessity is the mother of invention." 

In this case I needed a plant pot for a kitchen houseplant and I did not want to go buy something new. So I rummaged in my stash and found.....

exterior formula Mod Podge  and an old National Geographic map. Wheels are turning!

Here's the right size planter I retrieved from my garden shed stash. This has real possibilities! I cleaned it up and sanded it a bit for some "tooth" so the paper would stick.

Ooh aah! I really like how the colors show up! I wonder how the exterior grade Mod Podge will do on a planter even if it is inside?

Well, I'm going to find out, aren't I? This looks so unique and it is perfect for my kitchen window.

I chose to put this view on the front side and made my cuts and corrections on the backside, on the best plains of Russia. I am sure someone can make a political statement out of that action ;o) In this case the backside adjustments worked perfectly!

UPDATE-

This little planter pot has been in the window for several months and the Mod Podge is holding up extremely well, tolerating the moisture and shedding any over watering like it is actually plastic. 

I just love the colorful graphics of the map and I KNOW that no one else has a planter like this. Plus I didn't spend any money. That's a win win in my book!