5 DIY Ideas to get Crafty with your Plants
Looking to do a little DIY? Winter is the perfect time to get crafty when you can’t enjoy the outdoors or get your hands dirty in the garden. Take advantage of that extra time inside to treat your plants, upgrade your home decor, or make a thoughtful gift. We collected a handful of easy DIY ideas to help get you started crafting with your plants.
Upgrade your Home Decor with a Plant Stand
For those of you who are a little handier, you can create an easy plant stand with a few simple steps. It will instantly upgrade your look from overgrown jungle to chic. But if you aren’t quite ready to take a saw to some wood, you can always repurpose. Take an old ladder, give it a wash and maybe even a coat of paint. It will create the perfect tiered plant stand, that will surely free up some space on your overcrowded window sill. You can do the same thing with an old stool or a stack of wooden crates.
Repurpose from your Kitchen Cabinet to a Potted Plant
With all your fast-growing plants and new additions, you can never have too many pots, right? Repurposing old containers is easy and cost-effective. And, not to mention, great for the environment! You likely have an extra coffee mug or two that hasn’t seen a fresh brew in many mornings. Pick out one of the ones from the back of the cabinet and simply drill a drainage hole or two into the bottom of the mug using a ceramic drill bit. Plant a small succulent or newly propagated plant in for a quirky new look. Or for an even easier alternative, instead of recycling that aluminum can from your tomato sauce or black beans, wash it out and give it a fresh coat of paint. Use a nail and hammer to create a few drainage holes in the bottom, and voilà, you have the first pot to your very own herb garden.
Wear the Colors of your Garden with Natural Dyes and Eco Printing
Plants have a lot of natural colors that you can extract and use as dyes, you can do this both through creating a natural dye and eco printing.
Creating your own dye bath is the perfect project for rainy days when you’re stuck at home, as you’ll need to spend a few hours over the stove. Add your preferred plant to a pot of water and keep over low heat for 1-5 hours. Give the bath an occasional stir and then strain out your plant when the dye reaches your desired shade. Leave the fabric to soak overnight in the dye bath. Tip: the fabric takes best to dye when soaked in a soy mordant beforehand. You can use these baths for a fun take on tie-dye or even for Easter eggs.
Here are some of our favorite dye producing plants:
Avocado skins and pits: Pink
Rosemary: Yellow/Green
Onion skin: Yellow/Orange
Indigo: Blue
Nettle leaves: Green
Hibiscus: Dark Pink
Eco printing is another great technique to save those beautiful colors. Silk fabrics produce the best results. Soak the fabric in a vinegar bath, and once the fabric is wrung out, lay collected flowers and leaves on your fabric. Use plastic wrap between the layers of fabric if you don’t want colors to bleed through. Next, wrap the fabric around a pipe or dowel and tie tightly. Steam your rolled fabric for approximately 2 hours. Lastly, unwind the fabric and peel off your leaves and flowers to find them imprinted!
Decorate with Pressed and Dried Flowers for a Forever Springtime
If you saved some flowers from spring, then you’re ahead of the game! Otherwise, keep this in mind for when the flowers start blooming again. Once you have your blooms collected, carefully lay them in between pages of an old book and line the pages with parchment paper to keep the petals from sticking to the pages. Smaller flowers with less body are easier to work with for beginners but beware, if they are too delicate they might rip or press nearly transparent. Keep the book containing your flowers at the bottom of a heavy stack of books, to make sure they stay pressed. Now next time you want to make a handmade card, you have the perfect colorful decorations.
For those long-stemmed flowers with bigger blooms that might not fit into your hardcover novel, dry them! Hang the flowers indoors and upside down by the stem. Once they have dried out you can keep them arranged hanging upside down or display them set between glass in a frame. Try this with a saved bouquet from a special day for a sentimental gift. Lavender and Eucalyptus are great picks that will also add a calming scent to your home.
Get Trendy with Macrame
Macrame is one of the trendiest crafts in the DIY world. Don’t worry about buying an overpriced macrame plant hanger in the store, when you can easily create your own with just a few yards of macrame cord. Using a simple series of knots (similar to those of friendship bracelets) you’ll have your own hanging plant in less than an hour. Trailing plants like pothos or ivy make for beautiful hangings with their cascading leaves. Tip: if you have a potted plant in mind already, measure the cord to your pot to assure the perfect fit. For those of you who like a challenge, you can also create a macrame tapestry to display your air plants.
To keep your houseplants and your garden looking happy and healthy for your new DIY projects, don’t forget to add in GROW® Plant Food to your soil. Just mix 1-2 tablespoons in with your soil and you’ll be good to go for the rest of the season. Happy crafting!