DIY laced up hanging planters....

...With a Faux glaze

OK...so here's a little random DIY tutorial for you:

I've been dreaming up this project for a while now, as I wanted to add some funky hanging planters to this corner of my living room for ages...

And having been a very busy bunny this week with my VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT (that I will tell you all about next week...promise!) I needed a little creative fix and some time away from the computer. So I spent yesterday making these funky laced up conical hanging planters....complete with a faux ceramic glaze....

...and in today's post I will show you how:

You will need:

Paper template to ensure your plant pot will fit inside....I will show you how to make one in a minute...

Large block of Ovenbake Polymer clay (I like using this one)

Rolling pin

Baking paper

Kitchen foil

Straws

Sharp knife

Leather Cord (4 meters should be plenty)

For the Faux glaze (A bit further down the post) you will need:

Acrylic paint in the colors of your choice

Paint brushes

Water

Water based polyurethane varnish (Like this one)

HOE TO MAKE THE TEMPLATE:

Get an A3 sheet of paper and wrap int around the plastic plant container into a cone shape, as shown above.

Secure with tape.

Use some scissors to cut the paper cone just flush with the top of the plant container.

Take the container out and fold where the paper laps over. Use this fold as a guide and cut along to make the template.

MAKING THE POLYMER CLAY CONE PLANTER:

Knead a big block of polymer clay until soft and pliable.

On a sheet of baking paper roll out the clay until approximately 4-5 ml thick and large enough to fit the template onto.

Place your paper template on top of the rolled out clay and cut around using a sharp knife.

Using the straws, make holes all along the edges (Equal amounts of holes, equally spaced out)

and make 3, evenly spaced out, holes along the curved top of the clay shape...

Cut the baking paper ca 2cm all around the clay shape.

MAKE A SUPPORTING INSERT OUT OF FOIL:

Use some kitchen foil to make a conical shaped insert to fit inside the clay and support it when baking in the oven. 

TIP: Fold over several layers of the fold to make it thick enough to retain it's shape under the weight of the clay.

Place this on a oven tray covered in baking paper.

Gently lift the clay shape onto the foil cone, using the baking paper it is placed on...

Fold the clay around the foil cone, until the two sides almost meet, as shown below:

 Secure the shape of the clay cone by gently pressing some sausage-shaped clay leftovers along the gap. This will help the clay retain it's shape whilst cooking in the oven. We will remove these as soon as the clay is cooked.

Cook on the bottom shelf of the oven according to the instructions on your polymer clay. As a rule 5ml thick clay should be cooked for 10-15 minutes at 180 degrees c.

When cooked, remove the little clay sausages, and leave to cool.

(It may help the clay to retain its shape if you wrap some more foil tightly around the cone shape whilst it's cooling)

THE FAUX GLAZE:

Use some acrylic paints (I like these) in the colors of your choice.

Water them down a little for a more even application.

I stuck to one color for the base, a pale grey,  then used black to create the splatters...

I applied the paint from the (pointed) top of the clay come, stopping approximately 1/3 from the base...I wasn't too precious about it, and let the paint drip towards the table....and I think this makes for a nice faux ceramic glaze effect...

When the base color was dry (apply more coats if you want a more opaque finish, but I think a slightly translucent effect looks nice), I mixed some black paint with a few drops of water, and , using a stiff paint brush (a toothbrush would work well here) I flicked on little spatters of the black paint all over the cone:

This adds a nice faux ceramic glaze effect, I think.

When these spatters had dried, I Simply brushed on a thin, even  coat of the glossy polyurethane varnish, giving the conical clay planter a nice sheen all over...

LACE IT UP

There are loads of colors of leather cord to choose from, but I used a natural for this one....

Simply thread the leather cord though the holes and lace the clay cone up as you would a shoe....

And of course add three equal lengths in the holes along the top of the cone for hanging your cone shaped planter up from.... Secure with a simple knot.

Here's some useful info on how to securely hang a hook from a ceiling, so that you can hang these up...

Then simply place your plant into your new, funky, conical, faux glazed, laced up hanging planter...

Of course, as these planters are not water tight, they would be most suitable for plants that need hardly any watering, like succulents etc...

And if you do want to give your plants a watering, just remove them from the planter first, and wrap the plastic plant container in a plastic bag before replacing ...

Here's a close up of the other one I made....This time in a mustard-y yellow with black leather cord...

I love the way they look together, and create a bit of interest in the corner of my living room...

They may not have been a 5 minute make, but they are not difficult and, assuming you've already got some paint, the materials needed to make two will cost you less than £20...

....and in return you'll have something unique to put your plants in...

What do you think??

And as it is the last day of voting today...Pretty please spare a moment and give me your vote for best DIY blog in the Amara Interior Blog Awards: