DIY Basics: Gold Patterned Cactus Planters

We go crazy for gold paint on almost anything; you have probably seen us use it on past projects like these adorable gold animals and these gold tipped ballet flats. So get out your trusty gold paint and let's get going on these awesome cactus planters.

Materials:

– white square planters

– painters tape

– Gold Leaf Paint (available at most craft supply stores such as Michael's)

– small standard sponge brush

– small round sponge brush

– small cactus plants

– cactus soil

– bag of white gardening pebbles

Tools:

– pencil

– ruler

You can use any cactus or succulent your local gardening store has in stock, but you can see we choose to use some fun neon ones as well as some crazy balloon shaped ones.

To create the stripes (we're digging nautical stripes for hot spring and summer fashion), simply wrap painters tape around the vase and use a sponge brush to paint the gold on the white areas.

To create the diagonal stripes, apply the painters tape in a diagonal and then paint in between just the middle white space created on each side. Feel free to create your own patterns using the tape.

To create the perfect polka dot pattern, use a ruler to mark off every inch on each side of the vase so you have even horizontal rows. Then along the first of those rows, mark a little star at the odd numbered inches (1 inche, 3 inches, & 5 inches).

On the next row, mark a little star at the even numbered inches (2 inches and 4 inches). If your vase is bigger, you could continue these markings based on those patterns.

Then load your circle sponge brush with gold paint and stamp it at each star. After they dry, erase any pencil marks still showing. Pro tip: press, hold, and slightly twist the brush in place to guarantee perfect paint coverage for each circle.

Don't they look awesome all on their own? You could fill yours with anything – fresh cut flowers, pencils, serving utensils, candy – the options on endless.

To plant yours with succulents like we did, put a scoop of pebbles at the bottom of each (to drain the water from the soil), then a scoop of cactus soil.

Next up, carefully empty your cacti from their containers. Don't prick yourself! Gently break apart the soil and roots a bit to help it grow into it's new home.

To finish your planters, pour cactus soil around any empty space and place white gardening pebbles on top.

All done! Just make sure they get a few hours of sunlight and water them about once a week. These are cacti – so don't overwater :)

These look great anywhere, but one of my fave things about this gold paint it reflects light. It will bounce back the light of any nearby tea lights or candles beautifully creating instant party ambiance. We wouldn't be able to show you this party ambience (or any of these other images for that matter) without a great photographer – so many thanks and big hugs to Chelsea Mitchell for capturing these lovely images to show you!

If you think making these are a breeze, don't forget to try making the Marbleized Planters and the Floppy Disk Planters.

What other patterns did you come up for painting your planters? Did you put anything else in them besides succulents? Talk to us in the comments below.