DIY Clay Succulent Planter

I recently discovered air dry clay and all the fun things you can make with it – like this adorable DIY clay planter. My plant propagation obsession is getting out of hand, and I’m running out of pots and planters to house them all! (check out how I recently rooted 3 fig trees from off cuts) I have about 20 mini succulents that need to be planted, so I decided to take a crack at it and make my own air dry clay pot. The result was this adorable little boho rustic clay planter, and I’m going to show you exactly how to make your own!

OK I need to start this tutorial by stating that I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL CERAMICIST. I am well aware that my technique could be 100% wrong, but DIY’s are all about having fun right? RIGHT?! I had tons of fun learning how to make this DIY clay succulent planter. Sometimes you just need to learn as you go. Its one of the reasons I love DIY so much. I learn something new every project! Now hopefully with this air dry clay pot tutorial you’ll learn something too (and make a few less mistakes than I did). Enjoy!

Supply List

• Air Dry Clay (I found mine at the dollar store)
• Craft Knife or Clay tool (you can find these at any craft or art store)
• Paint (optional)
• Soil
• Succulents

Trial and Error of Making A Clay pot

Guys I’ll be honest – I STRUGGLED my way through this DIY project. If you’ve never worked with clay (like me) it can be challenging at first. I really wanted it to have a boho vibe and I really wanted to give him a little face. So I first attempted to make my clay pot in a the ‘pinch pot’ style – but I HATED it. It was bumpy and had ugly creases all over it, no bueno. The perfectionist in me was just not having it. So I scratched that idea and started from square one. Here is how to make a DIY clay planter with air dry clay.

Step 1

Take a ball of air dry clay and roll it out until its flat. If you don’t have a rolling pin you can use a water bottle – or a clay tool like I did. You will then cut the clay into an even rectangle.

Pro Tip: Air dry clay dries SUPER fast. Duh. Don’t dilly dally, you’ll need to work fast before your clay becomes crusty. If it dries to fast you can spritz it down with water, but don’t use too much. It can cause it to crack when it dries.

Step 2

Join two ends of your rectangle to form a cylinder. Try to smooth the joint as best you can using your ceramic tools. After your clay cylinder is joined, roll out a smaller section of clay until its flat – this will become the bottom of your pot. Place the clay cylinder on top of the flat clay and trim the edges away. Smooth to finish. I made my first rectangle too large, I just cut it down at this point.

If you’re a crazy plant lady (like me) you need to see these IKEA hacks for happy plants

Step 3

Make three feet in whatever style you like, I made mine in a cone (ish) shape. Attach the feet to the body by cutting into the clay in a cross hatch pattern, ceramic enthusiast call this scoring. There’s some terminology you can use at your next dinner party (you’re welcome). I found smoothing the foot joint was really difficult as the entire clay pot is really fragile at this point. Try and be gentile during this step!

Step 4

And now for my favorite part, carving the face! I carved a cute smiling boho face, but feel free to carve any expression you want on your succulent planter! Once your satisfied with your carving you can let it dry for 1-2 days.

Step 5

Time to paint your DIY clay pot! I knew from the beginning I would need to paint my succulent planter just to be sure it would be waterproof, I did buy my air dry clay from the dollar store after all. If you’re confidant in your clay and you like the natural color, feel free to stop here! If your clay pot has a rough texture I would suggest giving it a quick sand with some fine sandpaper. I had a few rough areas that I wanted to be smoothed out and sandpaper totally did the trick! When picking your paint I highly suggest using something waterproof. Something that will seal the clay and make sure watering won’t cause it to deteriorate. Paint your DIY clay succulent planter in any style you want! I ended up with a grey wash look. After the paint dried I went back over it with the sand paper again to rough it up and give it a more rustic look. I’m glad I did. Now he looks like a little boho antique pot!

I’m super happy with how he turned out. Who thinks I should make him a little friend?