planter Archives - Soap Deli News

Hand Painted Ceramic Vases for a One of a Kind Mother’s Day Gift

I may receive compensation from links on this site. See my disclosure policy.

May 6, 2018 By Rebecca D. Dillon

These hand painted ceramic vases are incredibly easy to decorate. Simply paint, cure and bake and you have a unique, one of a kind Mother’s Day gift she’ll always treasure!

My friend and roommate, Bambi, had several days off last week. Our weather was unseasonably hot for spring last week with highs in the 90s and a pollen count through the roof. So rather than spending time outdoors, we decided to tackle a craft project indoors.

I still had ceramic craft vases that I bought from the Handmade Modern Collection at Target last year that were still in storage. With Mother’s Day right around the corner, we decided to dig these vases out of storage and paint them with ceramic paints. These hand painted ceramic vases make great succulent planters. However, they are also perfect for storing extra craft supplies on your desk.

I’m also pretty crazy about this ceramic geometric hanging succulent wall vase that can be painted as well.

DIY Hand Painted Ceramic Vases

We painted our vases using Liquitex Glossies, a ceramic paint that bake onto the ceramic, which Bambi still had in craft stash. Unfortunately, this particular paint was discontinued in 2016. A suitable substitute for this type of paint would be the Porcelaine 150 Ceramic Paints.

Getting started is easy. Once you have your ceramic vase and decide on a design, all you need are the paints and brushes to get started! We used paper plates for paint palettes as I misplaced mine somewhere during the last move. Pint glasses were also filled with water for rinsing off our brushes between colors.

How you design your hand painted ceramic vases is really up to you. There’s no right or wrong way. I painted my vase with layered blocks of overlapping colors.

While Bambi chose to paint lined shapes and large blocks of color for her hand painted ceramic vases. (She painted two vases!) Once we completed the designs on our hand painted ceramic vases, we set the vases aside to cure for 24 hours.

We then baked our hand painted ceramic vases according to the paint manufacturer’s instructions. Once cool, we removed the ceramic vases from the oven.

I chose to use a gold calligraphy paint pen to add gold accents to my vase.

And there you have it! It’s really that easy to craft your own hand painted ceramic vases! Whether you give your vases as handmade Mother’s Day gifts or decide to keep them for yourself, you now have a unique and functional vessel that’s perfect for your home!

More to Make and Gift for Mother’s Day

If you enjoyed this creative Mother’s Day craft project, then you may also enjoy making these easy DIY needle felted wine bags for Mom this Mother’s Day. Or try one of these other beautiful DIY Mother’s Day gifts.

Can’t squeeze in the time to make your own handmade Mother’s Day gift? Shop from this collection of lovely handmade Mother’s Day gifts on Etsy instead. I’m particularly partial to this floral zipper pouch from Apple White Handmade as well as this Vanilla Escape Organic Skin Care Set from Dab & Dabble. (Both pictured above.)

Discover More from Soap Deli News

For more gift worthy craft projects as well as homemade bath, body, beauty and soap recipes, be sure to find and follow Soap Deli News across all of your favorite social media platforms including G+, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Blog Lovin’, and Instagram as well as subscribe to Soap Deli News via email for future updates, DIY projects and recipes.

Filed Under: DIY Craft Project, Holiday DIY, Homemade Gift Ideas Tagged With: ceramics, crafts, diy, easy, gift idea, gift ideas for women, Mother's Day, Mother's Day gifts, painting, planter, tutorial

DIY Chalkboard Easter Egg “Baskets”

I may receive compensation from links on this site. See my disclosure policy.

April 9, 2014 By Rebecca D. Dillon

DIY Easter Chalkboard Pots - Go from Easter basket to plant pots once the holiday is over!

Easter baskets are fun to fill, gift and receive, but when my son was little we used his basket once and then it would sit on the shelf in his closet for a year. Rather than buy something and use it once, why not upcycle your basket into something new after Easter is over?

Easy DIY Chalkboard Plant Pots

I was browsing Darby Smart when I fell in love with these super cute chalkboard plant pots (image above via Darby Smart.) Having happily purchased DIY kits from them previously for my son and niece this past Christmas I went ahead and purchased this kit without hesitation. Not only did they ship within two days, they arrived within two days of shipping and the kit was exactly as described. However, instead of making them into plant pots, I made mine into miniature Easter baskets!

Since the pots come with Cool Bistro Chalk Markers writing your message on these pots is a snap! You can then easily change the message by simply erasing the chalk marker with a wet paper towel and then write a new message. Easter and even spring gardening projects aside, these could also be used for small Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gifts. Here’s how you make them…

Easy DIY Chalkboard Easter "Basket" Pots

DIY Chalkboard Easter “Basket” Pots

You’ll need:

Three small terra cotta pots (3 1/2″ in diameter by 3″ height)
Broad Point Tip Fluorescent Blue Bistro Chalk Marker
Broad Point Tip Regular White Bistro Chalk Marker
Pebeo Porcelaine Black Chalkboard Paint
foam brush

What to do:

How to Make Chalkboard Planters

Using the foam brush paint your pots with chalkboard paint. Allow to dry 15-20 minutes then apply a second coat of paint.

Bake on the chalkboard paint

Once these finish drying, heat in the oven on a baking sheet at 300°F for 30 minutes, then turn the oven off and allow the pots to cool completely in the oven. This process bonds the chalkboard paint to the surface of the pots.

DIY Easter Craft Project - Easy Chalkboard Easter "Basket" Pots

Now write your message on the pots using your Bistro chalk markers and fill them with the goodies of your choice. I used the crinkle paper that my DIY Darby Smart Kit came packed in as Easter “grass” then filled them with candy, eggs and my DIY Easter “Peeps” Inspired Homemade Soap!

DIY Chalkboard Easter Eggs

I still had a bit of chalkboard paint left over that can be used for other projects. Darby Smart also has some other great Easter ideas and DIY kits right now that use chalkboard paint like the DIY Chalkboard Easter Eggs pictured above from their website.

DIY Chalkboard Coasters for Easter

And these easy to execute DIY Chalkboard Easter Inspired Coasters!

Right now I have three new Darby Smart DIY Kits I just purchased and received waiting for me to get my hands on them! I’m super excited. I’ll be making animal canisters, mini magnetic terrariums, and etched champagne flutes!

Looking for more quick and easy DIY Easter projects? Be sure to follow my DIY Homemade Easter Crafts and Treats board on Pinterest for more great ideas. You can also follow me on Blog Lovin‘, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google + and Instagram!

Filed Under: DIY Craft Project, Holiday DIY Tagged With: chalkboard paint, container gardening, craft project, crafts, diy, Easter, Easter basket, Easter eggs, easy, planter

DIY Moss Terrarium

I may receive compensation from links on this site. See my disclosure policy.

January 7, 2014 By Jacie

Hello, lovely readers! It’s Jacie from Moss Love here – I create ready-made, DIY and wearable terrariums using live moss, air plants and marimo moss balls. I’m excited to help you make your own beautiful moss terrarium!

One of the best things about these is they don’t need direct sunlight like your typical house plant – so places that normally don’t see any greenery are in luck! Your desk at the office and that corner of your kitchen that doesn’t get sun are in for a makeover. Another bonus: they are super easy to take care of.

How to Make a DIY Moss Terrarium

SUPPLIES:

You will need:

a clear glass jar with a lid
rinsed and dried gravel or rocks (larger rocks can be used in larger jars)
dried sphagnum peat moss
peat moss soil
live moss (purchased or collected yourself)
polished rocks, colored gravel or glass, etc. for surface landscaping
a miniature habitant (the possibilities are endless…)

AND…ACTION!

First note to remember: you are going to want to leave the upper half (or more) of your jar open so your moss gets enough air. You may be tempted to add a lot of rocks (they are a fun layer to see through the glass), but halt! Unless you are working with a tall or large jar, you only need enough rocks for small drops of water to drain into (check my terrariums out for example photos). Gently add them to your jar.
Add sheet moss for filtration – push to flatten. This keeps the soil in place – use just enough so there are no holes for soil to fall through.
Add soil. Build it up on one side if you’d like a hill!
Add your moss – break it into smaller pieces if you’d like to play with mixes of height and texture. Push it lightly onto the soil.
Fill empty spots with polished stones, colored gravel or glass (I like to use blue for “water”), etc.
Add your habitant and watch your little world come to life!

CARE

First time only: mist with water until soil starts to dampen (be sure to stop there – you don’t want too much water). Let the water evaporate off the sides of the jar, then add your lid.

After that: Mist lightly every 3 weeks (if dry). Avoid direct sun. Bright indoor light or indirect sun is best. If excess drops build up on glass, remove the lid to evaporate, then replace. It is important that sitting water isn’t left in the terrarium as this can lead to mold. When in doubt, dry it out (hey – that rhymes!).

ALL TOGETHER NOW

I also offer DIY Kits with all the fixings as well as individual habitants if you want the materials easily in one go. Make one for a friend, or give them a kit to create one themselves!

xJacie

Filed Under: DIY Craft Project, Handmade Home Tagged With: craft project, crafts, diy, diy kit, easy, gift idea, home accent, home decor, moss, planter, terrarium

Things I Love Lately – DIY Crafts and Handmade Products I’m Ga Ga For

I may receive compensation from links on this site. See my disclosure policy.

August 2, 2013 By Rebecca D. Dillon

I’m still not quite back into my regular routine of things since my vacation. And as I generally spend my weekends crafting and the weekdays blogging after my regular 9 to 5, I haven’t yet had a chance to whip up any new DIY projects or beauty recipes. While that means I’m just one short day away from giving those creative juices some time to run wild, it also means I won’t have any new bath and beauty recipes to share with you until the beginning of next week. But don’t fret. Life happens and as I’ve learned, it is what it is. In the meantime I hope you enjoy this little collection of diy crafts and handmade products that I’m a little ga ga over lately.

DIY Craft Projects I Love Lately :: 1. DIY Glitter Dipped Air Plant Holder via 52 Weeks Project / 2. DIY Diorama Bookends via Sea of Shoes / 3. DIY Vintage Book Tablet Covers via Squirrel Junkie

Handmade Products I Love Lately :: 1. Creature Cup Set via Creature Cups / 2. Hot Air Balloon Gadget Case via Lazydoll / 3. Custom Baby Animal Totem via HandyMaiden

More to Love Crafted By Hand :: 1. Princess Leia and Imperial Trooper Moss Terrarium via Moss Love Terrariums / 2 . Bright Multi-colored Stripey Accent Pillow via Geometric Electric / 3. Washi Tape Stripes Cosmetic Zipper Pouch via Allisa Jacobs

Which one is your favorite?

Filed Under: DIY Craft Project, Shopping Tagged With: accent, accessories, bookends, books, cosmetic bag, craft project, crafts, cups, decorating, diy, etsy, handmade, home decor, indoor gardening, pillow, planter, pottery, pouch, recycle, shopping, tablet cover, terrarium, upcycle, vintage

DIY Upcycled Washi Tape Planter

I may receive compensation from links on this site. See my disclosure policy.

May 16, 2013 By Rebecca D. Dillon

I use so many gallon sized containers of vinegar every month – for everything from a homemade after shower spray to a natural and inexpensive laundry softener – that I wanted to figure out something I could actually use these plastic containers for rather than just tossing them into the recycling bin. One of the quickest and easiest ways I thought of to upcycle these containers is to re-use them as pots for plants.

To make these pots, simply cut off the top of the container with sharp scissors – I used a knife to get started – wash thoroughly, then wrap with strips of your favorite washi tape. You can also make a small drain hole in the bottom if needed. Leave some of the plastic on your new pot exposed and you’ll be able to tell by how dark the soil is, whether or not it’s time to water.

I put one of my pepper plants in my pot while it’s waiting to be transplanted into the garden. However, these would be perfect for using container succulent gardens and for planting your favorite flowers and annual herbs.

Once I have three more of these vinegar containers emptied and ready for upcycing, I’m planning to use them with a dowel and eye hooks to create some new wall storage in my office.

Looking for more ways to re-use everyday containers? Be sure to check out my DIY Storage Box Organizer as well as my post on Creative Ways to Recycle Everyday Things. You can also follow me on Pinterest!

How do you recycle and upcycle everyday plastic containers?

Filed Under: DIY Craft Project, Gardening Tagged With: container gardening, craft project, crafts, diy, eco-friendly, frugal, garden, green, planter, potted plant, recycle, recycling, repurposed, upcycle, washi tape