Plant One on Me: A $5 Hanging Planter Hack

Move over Ikea hacks, today a Target hack is coming through!

The other day, I was strolling through Target and stopped by the dollar spot area to see if they had anything interesting. And they totally did! I found a few hanging planters that were only $5 each and I loved the shape (just wasn’t crazy about the finish or the string they were hanging from).

I threw a few in my cart and gave them a quick makeover as soon as I got home. And now they feel like substantial pieces that I spent WAY more than five bucks on. But that’s really all it ended up costing because I had all the supplies I needed to make these guys over at the studio already.

How to make your own hanging planters for $5…

And in case you weren’t sure if I really got theses for $5. I have the proof and I’m not afraid to post it. Haha. I kind of couldn’t believe they were so cheap when I picked them up…they’re really good quality for the price (minus the flimsy string).

Materials

• $5 hanging planters from dollar spot area at Target
• flat finish house paint (any color)
• paint brush
• rope
• scissors
• washi tape

Instructions

When I got home with the planters, the first thing I did was remove the flimsy string from each planter. I didn’t like how thin the string was or the color. So, it had to go.

Next, I mixed up some custom colors, using my never ending supply of house paint. I swear I have every color under the sun at this point and it’s a lot of cans to keep at the studio BUT I love using flat interiors paint for projects like these (and pretty much everything really) because of the durability and matte finish.

Once I had my three colors mixed, I painted each planter with 1 coat of paint (1/2 way down the inside of each planter, and all the way around the outside including the bottom, since that will show when the finished pieces are hanging). I waited about 30 minutes for the paint to completely dry (the planters are porous so it didn’t take long for the paint to absorb and dry) and did a few touch ups where it was necessary.

Then, I cut long pieces (2-3 feet each – you’ll need 2 pieces of rope for each planter) of thicker rope that I already had, added a little washi tape to each end to make it easier to thread the top through each hole, and threaded the rope through. Once I had both ropes through, I tied the long pieces at the top into a strong double knot. That’s it.

What do you think of this before and after? Think it was worth the $5 to give these little guys a makeover?

P.S. Looking for another DIY hack to try? Check out the Anthro hack for a DIY desk organizer.