Tennis Shoe Planters For Summer

8 Materials
$5
1 Day
Easy
This was actually part of a summer wedding movie challenge but I wanted to incorporate something colorful and fun for my garden.

I chose The Runaway Bride as my wedding movie and created some planters from my old tennis shoes!
These were my old shoes. They don't look too bad in the photo but they were bad. I had purchased new tennies about a year before so these were just sitting around waiting for something to happen. I decided to put them to good use in the garden inspired by The Runaway Bride.
After removing the laces I put them in the spray tent and went for it.
I wanted a fun color so I went went teal.
I used the (affiliate link) Krylon Chalky spray paint then when the paint was dry the Krylon Chalky spay wax coat got sprayed over the top. This made them a little more water proof for being outdoors all summer.
The white laces were added back in and then I gathered my flowers, succulents, potting soil, gloves and some plastic grocery bags.


The plastic grocery bags got shoved into the toes so I wouldn't have to use so much potting soil. Then I added the succulents and the flowers. It was sort of a tight fit but they looked cute.
I placed them in the little mini wagon so they wouldn't get lost just sitting on the ground. They were easy to water and the mesh on the shoes made for great drainage.
What do you think? I like that I up-cycled some old shoes and so far...they have held up well with the water.


If you like this post you will probably like more of my projects. Sign up for my email/newsletter and receive a weekly email with all of my newest projects and a few archives as well! When you do you can grab some free Birthday Card printables too!
Resources for this project:
See all materials
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Michelle James
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 4 questions
  • Mebellucci Mebellucci on May 11, 2018

    I was wondering if when watered the soul discolored the shoes

  • Jann Loyd Jann Loyd on May 18, 2018

    Quick question: do the plants grow root bound in such a small space? I have tons of old tennis shoes I would love to recycle this way.

  • Sarah Sarah on May 18, 2021

    Drainage?

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 50 comments
  • Sonia Jones Sonia Jones on May 20, 2023

    I was thinking about taking the bottom off my old worn boots to allow the roots to grow. Any suggestions

    • Michelle James Michelle James on May 20, 2023

      Hi Sonia. I just used these for one season. If the roots grow would they grow into the ground and be permanent? I think that would look so cool but I am not really a plant expert. I say...go for it and see what happens.

  • Sonia Jones Sonia Jones on May 20, 2023

    Thank you Michelle, I will send you pictures once I complete my project 😂😂😂

Next