Today on HGTV Handmade, we’re introducing a new challenge series where we’re each making DIYs inspired by the other girls on the channel. To kick it off, I’m making a craft inspired by fellow crafter Meg Allan Cole. I had so much fun trying to emulate Meg’s crafting style when making these paper cacti and painted geometric planters!
I found these planters in the craft section of Target, and I thought they were perfect for Meg’s geometric, modern aesthetic.
I decided to paint the smaller planter with pastel pink paint and gold gilding paint. I probably should have used painters tape to get perfectly straight lines where the colors meet, but I also kind of like that it’s a bit imperfect.
For the second planter, I wanted to do a more organic design to contrast with the geometric lines. So, I dipped a sponge brush in gilding paint and made vertical dash marks in an imperfect pattern. This type of pattern definitely isn’t something I would normally make, so I loved being pushed out of my comfort zone to imagine how Meg would have decorated it.
I made the cacti using green cardstock that I drew “spikes” on using a silver paint pen. Then I just cut out the cactus shapes, slotted them together, and secured them with hot glue. I love how they came out!
When it came time to display the planters for the beauty shots, I used a marker and a piece of foamcore to make a graphic pattern for the background. I love how it came out, and I’ll definitely need to make more backgrounds like this for future projects!
To “plant” the cacti, I just used pieces of brown craft paper to act as the dirt and anchor the cacti in place so they stood up straight. You could also use sand, marbles, or even real dirt for a more authentic look.
I hope you guys liked this project, and be sure to tune in to HGTV Handmade every Friday for the next month to see the rest of the girls on the channel make DIYs inspired by each other. If you want another DIY planter idea, last month on Handmade I showed you how to make a DIY Telephone Planter for fake succulents, plus three other easy planter projects. Thank you guys so much for reading, and I’ll be back soon with a new project!
