Monday, February 4, 2013

DIY Sharpie Pen Hand Drawn Planter


Hello friends, I am so excited to share this project for so many reasons: firstly, it was so cheap, and secondly, my kids helped a lot. They love helping me and they love even more when the finished product looks awesome. I present to you my plastic planter + sharpie pen flower pot.



The inspiration for it came from my runner that you might have noticed in my DIY bone white turkey platter post. I can't remember if it was from Pier 1 Imports or Cost Plus World Market. Either way the runner is about three or more years old so who knows if it's still being sold. 

Inspirational table runner. 


The main concept was taken from this runner, but we frequently mixed it up by using different colors, and adding our own patterns and twists. Some times, it takes inspiration to dig out original creativity from your own brain. 

It wouldn't be a Debdoozle project if the kids weren't involved.


The kids and I, for the most part, did all the drawing freehand. Occasionally I drew dots for them to connect just to give them a guide line for where/how to draw. If you're not confident with your drawing skills don't worry. When we made mistakes we used nail polish remover to correct mistakes and start over. One note to keep in mind; light colors come out easily, dark colors need extra elbow grease, but may still be faint in the end. Also, be careful as you work your way around the pot to not smudge or smear wet designs. Take your time and let images dry. 


To get a flower like the one above, outline the flower with the dark color of your choice, then take your lighter color and draw in your accent lines. Continue again with the dark color filling in all around the light strokes. Steps in photos below.

Outlined flower with lighter strokes inside.
 I drew dots as a guide for the kids

Kids are taking direction well, why not always this way :o/

Not bad. As you can see some spots were dark and others light. 
I went over it a couple times till the plastic took the color.

Filling in with dark green.


For the above flower I did the opposite. The design confused the kids so I drew in the lines for the dark spots and let them color it in. Then I filled it the lighter areas.


Notice a couple of stray lines? 
They were removed nicely with the nail polish remover. 



My favorite flower of them all. In progress. My eldest drew this all by himself when I wasn't looking. 
It turned out great, it even looks like a heart. <3 Aww <3

Adding dots to leaves gives them more texture. 
That design wasn't in the original runner.






Some times markers on paper have a richer and deeper tone than when used on other mediums. I tested the colors out on the inside of the pot to make sure they looked like I wanted them to look. Don't worry if you can see these marks front he outside of the pot. Once you put soil in it, the strokes are unnoticeable.  

Remember this pineapple? I transplanted it into this bigger pot. 

Proud co-designer. (o: 

Co-designer #1. #2 Didn't want to be photographed. lol


I realized after the fact that the pineapple was sitting too low, 
but it's growing pretty quickly. I might try to add more soil to raise it up 
or wait a couple months till it gets bigger on its own. 




My favorite flower!

The trick I used to drawing a proportionate lattice on the tray was simple. If you draw dots, one at the top of the tray and one directly below and space out each pair by about an inch, you can connect the top dot with the diagonal bottom dot. I drew it on paper so you can get a better idea. 



Pretty decent lattice if I do say so myself ;o)
Keep your dots small so they don't stick out after you draw your lines.

And there you have it folks. 
Rocks added by the baby for more texture. HA! 

So far the pot sat in the rain and the sharpie withstood the water. I was impressed that after drying nothing smeared. You never know what to expect with a new DIY. I can't wait to try this on ceramic. I think it will look even more professional. What do you think? Did we do well? Hope you enjoyed this post and the photo overload :o))) Thanks for stopping by. 

-Debora

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...