One of our favorite DIY succulent arrangements, perfect for any party or as succulent wedding favors, are the dipped terra cotta succulent favors. This project is a perfect afternoon, outdoor activity for adults and kids of all ages. These are great too because you can tailor them to fit your event by playing with different paint colors and topcoat materials. You can easily use any small terra cotta pots that you may already have, or you can find really inexpensive ones at most garden centers or home improvement stores.
What you'll need:
- Terra Cotta Pots
- Sand Paper
- Paint
- Paint Brush*
- Thick Floral Wire
- Cardboard or Dropcloths
- Soil
- Succulents
- Paper Towel
- Small Pebbles, Glass, Sand or Moss
- *Blow Dryer
Steps to Prep Your Succulent Favors:
1. Remove all stickers from your containers, and use a fine grade sand paper to sand away any glue residue that remains. READER SUBMITTED TIP---Use a *blow dryer to heat up the stickers. This loosens the glue and allows them to come right off of the pot, minimizing glue residue (Thank you, Cindy!).
2. Prep your painting area by putting down pieces of cardboard or drop cloths under the area you're going to hang your pots in. Hanging them allows them to drip-dry without messing up the bottom edge of the paint. (We like to find a nice tree with lots of branches and just let the paint drip onto the ground below.)
3. Have your paint cans opened, stirred, and ready for dipping. If you are using smaller amounts of paint pour it into a small container with a wide opening, creating some depth that you can dunk the pots into at an angle while not bumping the sides of the container. (Tupperware's are usually good for this.)
4. Bend some pieces of your wire into a Z shape. The wire should be able to easily slip through the drainage hole in the bottom of the terra cotta pot and the top of the wire should be able to hang from a branch. We recommend you test a few on your pots before you start.
*If you'd like
to cover up all the terra cotta and achieve a two-toned look, paint the pots all over with a brush in your base paint color first, and allow to dry completely before beginning the dipping processes.
Steps to Dip Your Succulent Favors:
1. To achieve an angled dip, hold your terra cotta pot at a 45 degree angle above the paint. Steadily dunk your pot about halfway into the paint and quickly remove it. (If you do this slowly your pot may fill up with paint.)
2. Take one of your Z wires and feed it through the drainage hole. Bend the wire up snug to the bottom of the pot so it won't fall out and then hang it from a tree branch to dry.
3. As your pots are drying, occasionally take a straight piece of floral wire and swipe it across the bottom of your terra cotta pot to remove any excess paint and drips that gather. You may have to do this several times before they dry.
4. Allow to completely dry before unbending and removing your wires from your dipped pots.
Steps to Plant:
1. Take a small piece of paper towel and place over the drainage hole inside of your terra cotta pots.
2. Add a small amount of dirt to hold the paper towel in place and then proceed to plant your succulent so that the bottom of the plant is level with the top of your pot.
3. Finish your pots by adding a rock, glass, sand, or moss top coat to cover any exposed soil and voilà, you're done!
BONUS:
You can add little flags with guest's names on them and then these super cute succulent favors can double as a place setting for your event. Dalla Vita is a succulent design company based out of Santa Barbara, California.