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DIY concrete pots

Here’s a DIY project for you – make your own concrete pots! Aren’t they all the rage at the moment? I’ve been a sucker for all the concrete goodies and I thought I’d give this a go!

This was an inexpensive project and I spent about $20 all up (I made 5 pots – I probably could have made more with the bag of cement I had).

What you’ll need:

  • A bag of cement mix. Make sure you get cement and not concrete mix
  • A bag of peat moss – optional (this gives the cement that rough look)
  • A selection of pots/cups
  • Cooking spray
  • Plants + little rocks
  • File (optional)
  • Paint

 

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2

Mix up the cement in a bucket.

I put a mixer on the end of the drill to mix it up better, but you can just stir with your hands (just wear gloves!). You can see from my finished pots that I made some without the peat moss and some with. I LOVE the peat moss pots (that was a mouthful!). They have a rougher look and you can slightly see the little pieces in the pots. Just pop a good handful in to your cement mix if you want to use it. It was $5 for the bag so I wanted to give it a go.

3

Spray BOTH the pot and the cup you’re using. This will make it easier to get them out when it sets!

4

Fill the pot 2/3 and then squash the cup in the middle – the excess will fill up the sides. They will pop up a bit naturally, so you can put some water in the cups to keep them down.

5

24 hours later!

Some of the plastic pots needed to be cut open so I could get them out, but some came out with a bit of wiggling and tapping. I let them dry for another couple of days here on my back table.

6

You don’t have to file the tops as they look great as they are, but I did tidy them up a little (well my 13 year old did!).

7

I masked up a couple of areas and popped some paint on. LOVE them!

8

Here’s the finished product! I have been growing succulents in my garden so I grabbed some from there (except for the cactus I bought). I also put little rocks in the bottom of the pots before I planted the succulents – seeing as there is no drainage you’ll need the rocks on the bottom and some very hardy plants.

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Happy DIY-ing! ♥ KC.

51 comments

  • Rachel

    Katrina, I have attempted these twice and the second time I added Bondcrete but as soon as I take them out they crumble??? What am I doing wrong?? Definitely using cement and the second time I left them in for a week!!

    • Katrina (author)

      Hi Rachel, oh no! That’s not fun! Ummm I’m not sure – maybe change the brand of cement? Hope you have some success! X

  • Ianna Reign Stevenson

    This is beautiful, I actually love to redo it and put that in our garden. Thank you for sharing this amazing DIY pot.

  • Tahnee

    These look awesome, going to try this weekend. What type of paint did you use? I love the metallic look!

    • Katrina (author)

      It was just gold paint in a tube from Spotlight. I think the brand was Kaiser 🙂

  • Al

    Hi Katrina
    I’m just wondering whether you could expand on why you say to use “Cement” instead of “Concrete” please? We use concrete and have had lots of success. I’m wondering whether there is a reason cement would be better though?
    Thank you 🙂

  • Donna

    Hi, I have been trying to make pots but I am having problems with them cracking. Some are only a very thin crack after a few weeks, others are just immediately after drying and I have to throw them away. Any suggestions with what I’m doing wrong please? Just bought basic bags from Bunnings. I’ve tried both concrete and cement. Would appreciate some help thanks! 🙂

    • Dave

      Try sand & cement mix or concrete mix with 10 mm ago; , maybe leave them longer to cure before removing, possible not adding enough or too much water. Austrailan builders or dingo products are good, probably stay away from Bastion as imported product.

    • Milton Cattanach

      Hi put some dish washing detergent in with the cement when mixing $2 dollars a bottle at Woolworths good luck

  • Donna

    Also, do you need to use primer before you paint?

  • Sharren Cochrane

    My first attempt was unsuccessful, I will try again though!

  • Rosie

    Hi Katrina these pots are fantastic..well done 🙂 can you tell me what kind of paints you used on the pots please. Thanks rosie 🙂

    • Katrina (author)

      I just used kaiser paint because it was what I had in the cupboard! 🙂

  • Jess

    Hi Katrina,

    I love these pots and really want to attempt them. I’ve seen a lot of pots with a marble effect in the cement, how can I do this?
    Thankyou!

  • Larisa

    Hi Katrina

    I see you are using normal plastic pots with the holes on the bottom, does the cement not fall through the holes?

    • Katrina (author)

      No, it all stayed there because the concrete seemed thick enough 🙂

  • Judith

    Can you pot the plants directly into the concrete pots? Do they cope with the … lime, is it?
    Thx!

  • jimmeh

    the roots will get poisoned burned killed by the cement unless its sealed somehow. or prehaps if the cement is dried for a long time id say.

  • Afbraakwerken

    These pots are so perfectly designed. Just so perfect.

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