• About
  • Contact
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Image Map

Southern Revivals

A DIY, home decor, lifestyle and interior design blog based near Savannah, GA.

  • Home
  • Furniture Makeovers
    • All Furniture Projects
    • Client Files
  • DIY Tutorials
    • Home Improvement
    • Projects
    • Style & Design
  • Crafts
  • Entertaining & Recipes
    • Entertaining & Party Ideas
    • Just Recipes
  • Travel & Life
  • SHOP

DIY Concrete Planters

A simple how-to: DIY Concrete Planters made from upcycled takeout food containers. The post is brought to you in part by Chick-fil-A and the CFA Mom’s Panel DIY Upcycling Challenge and Martha Stewart Crafts – 12 Months of Martha. All ideas and opinions are mine.
DIY Concrete Planters

Have you ever held one of those substantial takeout containers and thought it’s a shame to just toss it in recycling. I have. But then again I have a propensity to hang on to things just because I think I might have use for it some day. I’m working on that. But on days like today, when I have permission to hang on to “trash”, I gladly take up the offer and turn trash into DIY Concrete Planters molds and here’s how you can easily do the same.

DIY Concrete Planters

DIY Concrete Planters

You will need:

  • Pro Finish 5000 by Quickcrete High Strength Concrete Mix
  • Sturdy takeout food containers (I used a salad bowl, fruit bowl and a frosted coffee cup from Chick-fil-A)
  • Bucket (to mix concrete)
  • Small shovel or stick (to stir)
  • Vegetable (or other) oil
  • Paper towel
  • Scrap wood
  • Small plastic plant container

Optional

  • Martha Stewart Crafts Satin Paint Set
  • Martha Stewart Crafts Stencil Tape
  • Martha Stewart Crafts Basic Brush Set
  • Martha Stewart Craft Foam Pouncer Set

DIY Concrete Planters

 

Just think of this like making pancakes. From measuring to consistency it’s exactly the same. Pinky promise

Poor concrete mix into bucket. You won’t need much if you’re using small containers like I did, approximately 4 to 6 cups. Slowly add water to pancake or cake batter consistency. You can’t mess this up. Too much water, add a little more mix. Too much mix, add a little more water.

DIY Concrete Planters

Once you’ve got your mix to the right consistency wipe all molding materials down with vegetable oil using a paper towel.

DIY Concrete Planters

I decided to turn the smallest container into a votive holder. So I wiped the container and the outside of the metal around the candle with vegetable oil. This makes it easy to remove once dry and you can easily swap out the votive each time.

DIY Concrete Planters

I turned the cup into a cactus planter because my five year old continuously begs me for a red cactus every time we visit Lowe’s, which is a lot.

I filled the up leaving a little room at the top for adding the plastic plant container.

DIY Concrete Planters

I just used the one that the plant came in from the store. Be sue to also wipe it down with oil.

DIY Concrete Planters

Smooshing it down into the mix is half the fun. Wipe away any excess that overflows.

DIY Concrete Planters

I added a couple of 2×4 scraps to weight it down from the top and keep the plastic planter holder in place until dry.

DIY Concrete Planters

For the salad bowl I added a square of wood to the center and pushed it down into the mix to form a depression.

DIY Concrete Planters

Since the wood is porous you’ll want to remove it before the concrete mix dries. Check it after a few hours and if your mold holds its shape you can go ahead and remove it and allow the rest to dry thoroughly. If not, just keep checking and remove when ready.

DIY Concrete Planters

Give the containers a full 24 hours to full dry and they will easily pop out of their molds. The best part is these containers can be used again to make more.

DIY Concrete Planters

Use a pair of pliers to pull the plastic plant container out of the center of your cup planter.

DIY Concrete Planters

Since the cup container is considerably thinner than the other two you will likely only be able to use it once. I removed mine by going around the outer edge with a knife and cutting it down the side.

DIY Concrete Planters

I used sandpaper to remove any rough edges.

DIY Concrete Planters

I decided to use pouncers for the salad container planter but opted instead for the satin paints, not the pearl as pictured.

DIY Concrete Planters

I can’t get enough of stripes these days so I wrapped the outside of the cup mold with stencil tape.

DIY Concrete Planters

And painted it in Habanero (red), Sea Lavender (lighter blue) and Surf (darker blue).

DIY Concrete Planters

Now it’s the perfect little container but sweet little guy’s favorite cactus.

DIY Concrete Planters

I painted the votive with Habanero around the outside, too. I love how this not-quite-red pops.

DIY Concrete Planters

I added succulents to the salad container planter and now these three make quite to cute trio on our picnic table.

DIY Concrete Planters

Definitely better than just tossing them into recycling, am I right?

DIY Concrete Planters

More Posts You'll Love!

  • Farmhouse Style DIY Garden FenceFarmhouse Style DIY Garden Fence
  • How to Build a DIY Outdoor BenchHow to Build a DIY Outdoor Bench
  • How to Build a Modern DIY Garden BoxHow to Build a Modern DIY Garden Box
  • Wooden Planter Beverage CoolerWooden Planter Beverage Cooler

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY Tutorials, Projects, Southern Revivals 4 Comments

IF YOU LIKED IT THEN YOU SHOULDA PUT IT IN YOUR INBOX

* indicates required
Email Format
« Wooden Planter Beverage Cooler
DIY Outdoor Side Table | Pottery Barn Knockoff »

Comments

  1. Beverly Franklin says

    at

    Girl, you are just too creative!!! I love these! How cool to use these on your patio and know that you made them.

    Reply
    • jamie says

      at

      Thanks so much Beverly! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Kaitlyn says

    at

    These are too cute! I sometimes have issues with cacti when I re-pot them, just concealing the original container might be the perfect solution!

    Reply
    • jamie says

      at

      Same here! My cacti are still going strong in their concrete pots. Thank you!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow Me

Image Map

 

Popular Posts

DIY Repurposed Metal Headboard Bench

MORE FROM SOUTHERN REVIVALS

Painted Pleather Chair

Painted Pleather Chair

DIY West Elm Inspired Modern Farmhouse Bench

DIY Modern Farmhouse Bench | West Elm Inspired

Scandinavian Winter Wonderland Party Ideas

Scandinavian Winter Wonderland Party Ideas

How to Install a Faucet | One Simple Change to Update Your Bathroom

Chest of Drawers Makeover | Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint #paintedfurniture #furnituremakeover #mmsmp #milkpaint

Chest of Drawers Makeover | Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint

Southern Revivals is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Copyright © 2023 · Southern Revivals · Log in