DIY Concrete Planters
by
Sarah for 20 State
(IC: blogger)
I'm not a trend snob, but...I love stalking things that pop up everywhere and deciding if they suite my style or budget. Could I live with a faux elks head staring at me for 5 years, would a fiddle leaf fig make me smile for 2 weeks before I killed it, could I ignore how rough kilim cushions are on my delicate facial skin? You know, all the big stuff.
When I kept spotting concrete pots and planters I mentally grilled the trend. After 10 minutes of rigorous questioning, I jumped on the chance to make my own.
I'm not particularly crafty or DIY minded but these cement planters are super easy.
A quick DIY breakdown:
-I spent $20 on pre-mixed dry concrete and found the rest of the supplies at home
-gloves, bucket, mixing spoon, mixed sizes of recycled flexible containers, spray cooking oil
-mix the dry concrete with water to form a cake like consistency, should drop from the spoon, not slop. If it's too wet add more dry concrete
-lightly spray two flexible containers, one larger to form the outer base and one to form your inner 'holder'
-spoon concrete into the larger container and tap on a flat surface until bubbles appear then insert the smaller container
-allow to dry. the dryer the climate the quicker it will dry
-remove the inner container (you may need to cut or crush it), remove the outer container
-DO NOT allow wet concrete to touch your skin. It could chemically burn and dry out your skin like nobody's business.
I added succulents to my planters so didn't add drain holes because I knew I would just lightly mist them every few days.
When I kept spotting concrete pots and planters I mentally grilled the trend. After 10 minutes of rigorous questioning, I jumped on the chance to make my own.
I'm not particularly crafty or DIY minded but these cement planters are super easy.
A quick DIY breakdown:
-I spent $20 on pre-mixed dry concrete and found the rest of the supplies at home
-gloves, bucket, mixing spoon, mixed sizes of recycled flexible containers, spray cooking oil
-mix the dry concrete with water to form a cake like consistency, should drop from the spoon, not slop. If it's too wet add more dry concrete
-lightly spray two flexible containers, one larger to form the outer base and one to form your inner 'holder'
-spoon concrete into the larger container and tap on a flat surface until bubbles appear then insert the smaller container
-allow to dry. the dryer the climate the quicker it will dry
-remove the inner container (you may need to cut or crush it), remove the outer container
-DO NOT allow wet concrete to touch your skin. It could chemically burn and dry out your skin like nobody's business.
I added succulents to my planters so didn't add drain holes because I knew I would just lightly mist them every few days.
Enjoyed the project?
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Published October 31st, 2013 3:51 AM
Comments
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3 of 27 comments
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Cheryl Tarkington on Apr 12, 2015These are really nice. Thanks for the ideas.
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Bonnie LeBlanc on Feb 14, 2016I found liquid cement color at Home Depot, but I haven't used it yet. Charcoal, terra cotta and red were all that were available so I don't know how many colors they have, but Quikrite probably lists them because they certainly promote it on their site. It was only five dollars and some change.
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