numie abbot: diy succulent mobile

Note: This post was previously published as a part of my freelance work here

Obsession confession: house plants. You can never have enough. They are the silent companions, the life teachers, and the friends who will always put a smile on your face.

Double obsession confession: succulents. They will never get mad at you for forgetting to water them, and they look like Mother Nature’s coolest alien.

Now here’s a fun new DIY to celebrate the obsession and fill your house with hanging succulents.

You’ll Need:

- Sculpt It (air hardening sculpting material)

- 5 Old Jars (I used a mixture of jars from spices and preserves that varied in size)

- 5 Inches of stiff wire

- String

- Pointed clay tool or safety pin to poke holes

- Paint color of your choice

- Paint Brush

- Cup & Water for painting

- Painter’s tape

- 5 Small succulents & soil

Directions:

1. Taking a small piece of sculpt it and roll it into a ball.

2. Being flattening the ball into a round sheet with your fingers

3. Mold the flattened piece around the bottom of a jar.

4. Polk two holes on opposites sides of the clay where you will feed your strings through.

5. Poke another hole in the center bottom for string as well.

6. Let your sculpt it dry completely. Part way through, pull it off the jars and let it sit to continue drying. The whole drying process takes about one day or two. Be patient.

7. Once your clay is dry, tape off the top half with painters tape.

8. Thoroughly paint the bottom half and let dry.

9. String two strings through the holes on either side of each planter, and knot them the inside to secure. Leave the strings on the smallest and second to biggest planters fairly long so that you can choose how low they will hang.

10. To begin putting everything together, figure out which succulent you want to put in which container, and line them up smallest to biggest.

11. Plant the biggest container first. Then, pick up the strings so you can find where it hangs centered. Once you’ve found the spot, tie a knot and feed the strandsthrough the bottom hole of the next planter, tying another knot to secure.

12. Plant your second to largest pot next and set the two to the side.

13. Plant the next three planters on their own using the same method. So you will have one strand of two planters, and another of three.

14. Hang both strands from the ceiling so that the hole of one hangs next to the knot above the other. Stick a piece of wire in the hole and wrap it around the knot of the other to keep them separated like a mobile.