West Elm Inspired Insect Vase DIY
6 Materials
$10
2 Days
Easy
I love looking through designer sites for inspiration! There's always a great feeling when you can get similar home décor looks by making it yourself for a fraction of the cost! West Elm is one of my go to sites for getting ideas - like this adorable, whimsical insect vase. Right away I knew I could make something similar.
West Elm Insect Vase
Would you believe I had an empty wipes container that I recycled that worked perfectly for the vase.
Let's begin by removing the paper label and cleaning the container, removing any glue residue. Next, wrap plaster cloth around the container to determine the amount needed to cover and cut off. Place cloth in water to wet and wrap neatly around container - with sides meeting and smoothing out the cloth.
This material is fascinating to use. The plaster powder on the cloth solidifies when dry into a nice surface.
Next, mix the plaster paris with water following directions. I used about 2 cups of powder to 1 cup of water to get a pancake-like mix for this.
Drop mixture by teaspoon into molds.
Once the spider molds are filled, tap mold on hard surface to settle mixture and remove any air bubbles.
Plaster paris dries quickly and the molds should be ready to remove in about an hour. Gently turn the mold over to remove the spiders, being very careful. The legs are fragile and broken spiders will happen! I was able to salvage most by gluing some of the broken legs back on.
Next, begin lining up the spiders on the vase, gluing them on with RapidFuse Multipurpose Adhesive or something similar that's a quick dry.
The adhesive dries in about 30 seconds, so it doesn't take long to add all the spiders. I used 45 spiders - 9 rows to cover this vase.
And finally, paint on a coat of non-yellowing varnish to seal the spiders and vase. How cool does this look!
This West Elm inspired spider vase is a great focal point for any décor . . .
and a very dimensional conversation piece!
Resources for this project:
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Comments
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4 of 90 comments
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Can u paint this.
I thank you for sharing. Great job and great job With explanation. 😊
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Thanks, Ellie! Yes, it can be painted in any color. Since the container is plastic, chalkpaint or a paint made especially for plastic would be best. Any other type might flake off.
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Very nice vase. Great idea for added dimension.
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Thank you so much, Patty!
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Frequently asked questions
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Will do! Will you please tell me how to start a blog?
I'm wondering if adding perhaps a printed paper napkin design onto the plaster cloth would work? I have a project in mind and I need more "texture" other than the napkin and thought this might work. Has anyone tried this?
I'm a Halloween nut. What kind of dye would I use to color the plaster spiders black? I'm getting excited about the possibilities!