Mason Jar Wall Plant

With the fantastic weather we've had in Albany this past week, I was inspired to try my hand at indoor gardening. When I say indoor gardening, I mean just one little succulent plant.... I'm still a busy medical student with many other responsibilities, so let's not get ahead of ourselves :)

 

I saw some cute ideas on Pinterest, tracked down their tutorials, and put my own spin on the projects.

 

Supplies:

Piece of wood

White craft paint

Sand paper

Laser printed designs, reversed to mirror image(see tutorial here)

Mod Podge

Picture hanging materials

Adjustable pipe clamp

Screw driver, hammer

Nail

Mason Jar

Plant

Soil

(probably some small pebbles, which I did not use, but will most likely use next time)

Okay, onto the fun part!

I began by painting my piece of wood white. When it dried, I sanded it down to make it look a little distressed. Then I cut out my laser printed designs from the Graphics Fairy. She has the best images and text for transfer and craft projects. Definitely check out her incredible site! Note that it is important to use a toner-based (laser) printer or copy machine so that your image transfers and doesn't bleed.

 

I coated the images in mod podge and placed them face down onto the painted wood just like in this tutorial. To speed up the drying process, I placed my piece of wood in the oven set on warm for about 15 minutes. Then I let it cool and continue to dry for about an hour. Using a wet paper towel and my finger, I rubbed the paper off so that just the images were left on the wood. (Just like the picture below from this project, but without having to be so gentle since wood is a much better transfer surface compared to glass!)

 

Next, I attached the picture hanging materials to the back of the wood. I also nailed the empty pipe clamp to the wood. This was tricky because the little slits in the clamp were too small for my little nail, so I used some pliers and a screw driver to make the last slit in the clamp slightly bigger.

Once my wood mount was good to go, I planted my Haworthia succulent into the mason jar. This is where I should have added the small stones to the bottom of the jar before planting the little succulent. Since the mason jar has no drainage, I may end up with a mold issue down the road. Apparently using little stones or charcoal at the bottom help, but I didn't feel like digging out my plant or stone-hunting, so we'll see what happens!

 

I hung my wood on the wall, then put the jar in its pipe clamp. Using a screw driver, I tightened the pipe clamp so that the jar was secure.

That's it! Let me know what you think, and if you have suggestions. I'll keep you posted on how our first house (apartment) plant survives!

                                             

Linking up at:
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French Country Cottage
The Graphics Fairy
Alderberry Hill
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One Chatty Chic
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