DIY Upcycled Tea Tin Planter

 

February is coming to an end and we are a tad bit in disbelief. I know, this seems like a reoccurring theme over here but during this busy season of our life it’s difficult to fully grasp how quickly the time is flying. We did take some time off for a family vacation (there’s a post in the works) in January and it was just what we needed to reset for this new year but when we came back we dove head first into our semesters and it took some time to get back on our feet. We are now back in the groove of things and excited to share what we have been working on. Last month I was lucky to be a part of Salvage Dior’s January Creative Team on Instagram where each week I, along with my four teammates, were responsible for creating something new for our homes that fit within the following themes: 1) Upcycle, 2) On the Wall, 3) Child’s Play, 4) Coffee Table Decor. In this post I’ll be sharing the project I completed for the first week, an upcycled tea tin turned planter.

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Loose leaf tea is something we drink quite a bit of in our home and I’m always left wondering what to do with the tins once they’re through. In the past I’ve used them as storage for spices and knick knacks but this time I wanted something a bit more creative. At the time we were also revamping our plant corner so I thought it would be nice to make some new planters for the Pothos and Sedum I was growing hydroponically. I was inspired by the recent trend in natural fiber textiles and wanted to create that woven look to contrast with the industrial shelving we chose for the plant’s display. If I wanted to buy what I was looking for, I could have easily spent anywhere from $6-25 a pot depending on the size. Instead, I was able to make this tea tin planter and some tin can planters for $0 because I had everything already on hand. The only thing that you would probably need to buy if you’re not DIY nerds like us is the bundling twine but that itself is very inexpensive ($3.98 for 525 feet). Alright, let’s make a planter!

 

 

If you are an avid DIYer, you most likely have a glue gun in your arsenal of crafting tools.

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DIY Upcycled Tea Tin Planter

  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

Materials
Tea tins or tin cans, washed and dried
Bundling twine
Hot glue-sticks
Milk Paint (optional)

Tools
Glue Gun
Scissors
Drill (or a hammer and nail)

Directions

  1. Heat your glue gun and in the meantime use your drill to place drainage holes in the bottom of your tin. You can also use a hammer and a nail to do this or you can skip this step and just make sure to include a layer of small rocks beneath your soil for water drainage.
  2.  Glue the end of the bundling twine to the side of your tin at the very bottom and begin wrapping the twine around, making sure to glue the first 3 coils to the tin and to each other. As you wrap the twine, be sure to push the coils down tightly to close any gaps and give your planter a neat, elegant look.
  3. Continue wrapping the twine around, stopping midway to glue the coils down. Wind the twine around the tin until you reach the top and then cut the twine to length.
  4. Uncoil the twine a couple turns, then rewind it tightly against the tin using hot glue to secure the top two coils to the tin and to the adjoining coils.
  5. Take your scissors and trim off any noticeable twine hairs sticking out (see the time-lapse video below). At this point you can paint the planter and let it dry or go straight to planting and styling it!

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If you liked this post and found it inspiring, we would love if you shared it. For more related content, you can find us on Instagram where we share more of our day-to-day and Pinterest where we share our ideas and inspiration. If you have any thoughts or suggestions about this DIY project, feel free to leave a comment below. And as always…

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Spring and New Beginnings

Happy Thursday friends 🙂 Guess what? Urban Jungle Bloggers, hosted by the inspiring Igor and Judith, is back with another season and this month is all about celebrating the circle of life. As if right on cue, many of our indoor plants have begun to show signs of new life. Our windowsill basil flowered beautifully bringing with it the sweet aroma of summer pesto.

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Our fern and white elephant leaves are unfurling gracefully and it is such a joy to watch. Now that we are parents, we find ourselves more attuned to the growth surrounding us in our home. It is a bittersweet reminder that our little humans will continue to grow up but also inspiring to know that the world progresses through incremental changes. How can we allow ourselves to mentally and spiritually stagnate, when our physical body and surroundings are on a continuous path of growth?

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We are especially happy with our rooting pothos. We now have two living separately in clear glass vases and they have successfully stayed alive in water for over a year now. Not only do they look beautiful but they require very little maintenance. If you’re thinking of bringing plants into your home but think you have a black thumb then this is definitely a plant you should consider starting out with.

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Meanwhile outside, our backyard is blossoming with life. A variety of birds including woodpeckers, cardinals, and blue jays have returned to our feeder. We are really excited to finish our bathroom renovation and turn our attention to our garden and landscaping. We have a garden inspiration board on Pinterest that we have been adding to and we can’t wait to make our imagination a reality. Anyone have any grand garden/landscaping plans? We would love to hear from you in the comments below.

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Dress your plants: DIY Washi Tape Planter Art

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This month, the wonderful Igor and Judith at Urban Jungle Bloggers are on the lookout for creative, inspiring and unusual planters for dressing up plants. We took this as a challenge to transform our neutral, minimalist IKEA pots into something a bit more bright and cheery for our eclectic space. Plus with the holidays around the corner, we thought it would be nice to offer a simple DIY gift idea for that special plant-lover in your life.

We’ve seen many cool Washi Tape projects before but had never attempted one until now. Not only is Washi Tape super versatile but the variety of colors, patterns, and textures it comes in makes for endless crafting possibilities. Aside from the planters, tape, and scissors, all you really need for this project is your imagination. To get your creative juices flowing, we are sharing the simple designs we came up with when we put our scissors to the tape. Although it was tedious, we found it much easier to work with smaller pieces of tape with regards to the curvature of the pot (hence the mosaic look!). Despite the time it took, we really enjoyed watching the abstract design emerge as we added piece by piece. 

Supplies
Planters
Washi Tape
Scissors
Mod Podge

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Directions
1. Design your planters. There’s no limit to what you can think up and create.
2. Cut and stick your Washi Tape pieces on the planter according to your design.
3. Seal your design with Mod Podge.

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img_8269What are some ideas you have for decorating planters in your home? If you attempt this project please do share the finished product with us on instagram under #chcdiy 🙂

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Urban Jungle Bloggers: Botanical Zoom

Spring is just around the corner and what better time to zoom in on plants than now! Our house plants are very dear to us. So much so that before we had our baby, we talked about our plants as though they were our children. Yes, they were (and still are) that important to us! We didn’t really know anyone that took their plants as seriously as us until we came across the awesomeness that is Urban Jungle Bloggers. Urban Jungle Bloggers, hosted by the inspiring Igor and Judith, is a monthly series inviting bloggers to write and share anything and everything plant-related. Every month there is a different theme and this month is all about zooming into the hidden beauty that is often taken for granted.

So here’s to taking pauses; to setting aside the chaos of daily routines and endless to-do lists. Here’s to being one with the pieces of earth that coexist with us in our homes.

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“Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.”
Henry David Thoreau

There is something serenely beautiful about the way the sunlight streams in and filters through our plants. It illuminates the most intricate of details, serving as a reminder that within us lies an unimaginable and incomprehensible vastness. It is truly humbling.

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“Every particular in nature, a leaf, a drop, a crystal, a moment of time is related to the whole, and partakes of the perfection of the whole.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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