DIY Architectural Planters

If it can’t be hot glued, it ain’t for me! Hi, I’m Erika from @peonyandhoney and today I’m going to show you the easiest DIY architectural planters! As a plantaholic, I am always looking for fun new vessels to put my new plant babies in, but I find that all of the really cool textured ceramic planters are always super pricey! I decided to create my own planters with the magic of foam, spray paint, some glass vases, and my trusty hot glue gun! The possibilities are truly endless for the structures you can create, but I have 5 examples I will show you today!

I started this project by grabbing a killer selection of Rustoleum spray paints including these shades: Terra Cotta, Rustic Pink, Sage, Pink Peony, and Hunt Club Green. Then, I found glass vessels on sale at Michael’s and Joann Fabrics—wait for a good coupon or a sale! There are several different types of foam dowels you can grab at Michael’s stores and on their website, but I chose the larger half round dowels, large triangular dowels, smaller squared dowels, and skinny rounded dowels.

I then laid out all of my vessels outside on large pieces of cardboard to catch any overspray. I spray painted all of my vessels and foam dowels the different paint colors. I did a light coat on the planters that I knew would be mostly covered by the foam, and I made sure to do several coats of paint on the ones that would only have a few foam pieces on them. The reason for spraying everything first is it’s much harder to get all the nooks and crannies when the foam is already glued on. Once everything was dry, I then brought in all the supplies, plugged in my hot glue gun, and worked on each vessel one by one. To make it easy for you, I have instructions on how to make each of the different planters below, so you can skip to your favorite!

Pink Peony Tall Half Round Dowel Planter

This planter I painted with Pink Peony, which is a very light nude pink. For the half round foam dowels, I bent them a bit to make them rounded, so it would be easier to wrap them around the planter. I started by applying a generous amount of hot glue onto the end and pushing it down firmly onto the glass vessel until it cooled a bit. Make sure especially with the ends of the foam to press firmly and hold for a few minutes to make sure they’re secure. Once the end was glued down, I started adding glue around the vase and pressing more of the foam dowel down, holding for a minute or two with every section glued down. When I got to the end I used a knife to cut the excess off before glueing the other end down. Press that end down firmly again to make sure it’s secure, and then repeat the process of glueing the dowels around the vessels until you get all the way to the top. Give one extra coat of spray paint when you’re done to make sure all the paint is even!

Terra Cotta Square Dowel Planter

This planter was painted with Drew’s favorite Rustoleum Terra Cotta Spray paint, which turns anything you spray it on into a clay pot looking piece. It dries super quickly, and has a unique texture! For the small square foam dowels, I cut them to the height of my vessel and then spray painted the white ends before attaching. I started by applying a line of hot glue down the foam dowel, pushing it down firmly onto the glass vessel until it cooled a bit. Make sure to check to see if it’s lined up straight. Then, I added one on the opposite side, and then added more evenly space around the vessel until I felt I had enough. I finished by adding one more coat of spray paint.

Mini Sage Green Square Dowel Planter

I sprayed this one with the most beautiful sage green pray paint! I started by applying hot glue onto the end and pushing it down firmly onto the top edge of the glass vessel until it cooled. Once the end was glued down, I started adding glue around the vase and pressing more of the foam dowel down, holding for a minute or two with every section glued down. When I got to the end I used a knife to cut the excess off before glueing the other end down. Press that end down firmly again to make sure it’s secure, and then repeat the process of glueing the dowels around the vessels, glueing one down in the middle and one at the bottom edge (or more if you desire). I gave it one more quick coat of spray paint to even out the paint!

Rustic Pink Triangular Edge Dowel Planter

This planter was painted with my new favorite spray paint shade called Rustic Pink, which is the most beautiful dusty coral pink. I cut the triangular foam dowels to height of my vessel until I had enough to go around and then spray painted the white ends before attaching. I started by applying a line of hot glue down the foam dowel, pushing it down firmly onto the glass vessel until it cooled a bit. Make sure to check to see if it’s lined up straight. Then, I added the rest around the entire vessel, making sure that each one was lined up straight. I finished by adding one more coat of spray paint.

Hunt Club Green Skinny Rounded Dowel Planter

I sprayed this one with a super cool deep green spray paint! I cut the skinny rounded foam dowels to the height of my vessel and then spray painted the white ends before attaching. I started by applying a line of hot glue down the foam dowel, pushing it down firmly onto the glass vessel until it cooled a bit. Make sure to check to see if it’s lined up straight. Then, I worked my way around the planter, adding more until I ran out of space and making sure each one was lined up straight. I finished by adding one more coat of spray paint.

I hope these pieces inspire you to make your own, and you can really try out so many different textures with these craft foam dowels! Wait for a good coupon for Michael’s and this is such an affordable project! You can get the look of those high end architectural ceramic planters on the cheap! I want to thank Drew for the opportunity to share these fun DIY’s with y’all, and remember to spread kindness!

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