This post is sponsored by FloraCraft®. As always, all opinions and ideas are my own.
Succulents: the plants that can’t be killed. Right? Wrong! I can keep them alive just fine outdoors. But they die a slow death indoors at my house. But, that’s why they make faux succulents right? And they are SO realistic that most people can’t tell they aren’t real unless they touch them.
I love having faux succulents in my home. They are a great way to brighten up a space. And coming up with fun and unique planters for succulents is even more fun! Like these Faux Concrete Succulent Planters made out of… dun, dun, dunnn… foam balls!
I was super excited when FloraCraft® asked me to participate in a Blogger Blitz using their FloraCraft® Make It: Fun® Foam Balls! A box full of foam balls and the only instructions are to make something fabulous? Can do!
I received a box full of foam balls in a crazy amount of sizes. I already have projects planned for the balls I haven’t yet used!
For this project you will need:
FloraCraft® Make It: Fun® Foam Balls
Foam Cutter
Foam sanding tool
Smooth Finish
Paint
Paintbrushes
Gold washi tape
Faux succulents
Crushed white seashells
I selected 3 different sizes of foam balls to work with. I used the handy Foam Cutter with the large blade to cut off the bottom of each ball just enough to make it sit flat. I then cored out hole in the top of each ball with the smaller blade (like you would cut the stem off of a tomato).
If you don’t cut quite straight (*cough, cough*) you can use a foam sanding tool to easily straighten things out.
*Note: The above steps are messy! I recommend spreading out a large sheet of wrapping paper (like what stores wrap your breakables in when they ring you up) on your work surface for these steps.
Once you’re satisfied with your carving skills, coat the the foam balls with a thin coat of Smooth Finish. This first coat is to get into all of the pores of the foam. Once dry, apply a second, more liberal coat of the Smooth Finish. Since we’re going for a concrete look, the texture doesn’t need to be smooth. A rough coat will look more realistic.
Once the Smooth Finish is completely dry, cover with a coat of gray acrylic paint. I used Americana Slate Grey. Be sure to get in all of the nooks and crannies. You will need to go back a couple of times to be sure you didn’t miss any spots.
Once the Slate Grey is dry, go back and dab on very light amounts of a slightly darker gray all over the ball to contrast the lighter color and give dimension to the “concrete.”
I gave the balls a “dipped” look by brushing on different colors of acrylic paint with a wide flat brush. Apply multiple coats if necessary.
Once the paint is dry, wrap washi tape around the painted edge. Alternately you can apply gold leaf foil.
Trim the stem of the faux succulent to ~1″-2″, depending on the size of the ball it is going into. Place the stem into the hole you carved in the top of the ball. Fill the rest of the hole with the crushed seashells.
You can easily color coordinate the faux concrete planters with your existing home decor. And won’t people be surprised at how lightweight these are if they pick them up! I love the shock factor when they realize it’s not really concrete.
Snehal Joshi says
May 6, 2018 at 6:34 AMLovely. The idea of making a planter with Styrofoam is innovative. They would be pretty lightweight too, that makes them easy to carry.
Tania says
April 27, 2018 at 8:56 AMAww, those are so cute! The only succulent (at least I think they qualify as succulents) that I can keep alive indoors is a cactus. Like you, I have no problems with them outdoors!!
Tania
Chas says
April 25, 2018 at 6:36 PMThese are so cute! Thanks for sharing on To Grandma’s House We Go!
Maureen says
April 25, 2018 at 7:35 AMWow, these turned out amazing! I love succulents and this is just too cute!
Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com
McKenzie says
June 26, 2015 at 7:09 PMThese turned out really cool-looking! The gold trim is the perfect touch!
Carmia @ Clementine Creative says
June 23, 2015 at 5:03 AMAwesome idea! I would never have known these are made of foam. Thank you for sharing. Pinning this now.
Melanie says
June 15, 2015 at 8:04 PMThese are so cute! I can’t believe these are made using styrofoam balls! I hope you’ll share this project over at Motivational Monday this week: http://makingitinthemitten.blogspot.com/2015/06/motivational-monday-june-14th.html
Jennifer Dawn says
June 3, 2015 at 9:39 AMWhat a fun project! I love the pops of gold and color! So neat!
Zan says
June 1, 2015 at 11:08 PMWhat a great idea – I love love love how they turned out. Thanks for sharing with us a the Home Matters linky party. We hope you join us again!
Nancy says
June 1, 2015 at 10:53 AMI love this idea, SOOOO clever!! I’m going to do this, PLUS do another large ball, but instead of one large hole at the top for a “plant”, I’m going to make holes with large pencils all over so it can be a pencil/pen holder 🙂
Thanks for sharing your craft, LOVE IT!!!
Cathy says
May 31, 2015 at 2:07 PMI am like you – my succulents die a slow painful death in my home but I think I could keep these for a while. I love your faux concrete containers – they are so cute and such an ingenious idea. Thank you so much for sharing it with Share It One More Time. Cathy
Mrs. AOK says
May 31, 2015 at 8:17 AMNO WAY!! You’re a genius!!
Thanks for sharing with us at Mommy Monday!
XOXO
Echo says
May 30, 2015 at 8:11 PMThese are simple and beautiful! Thank you for sharing this at the #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup!
Evija says
May 29, 2015 at 5:22 AMWhat a brilliant idea, I honestly thought it was concrete! Thank you for sharing and joining our Oh My Heartsie Girl Wordless Wednesday Link Party.. Have a great day, co-host Evija @Fromevijawithlove x
Lisa @ Fun Money Mom says
May 28, 2015 at 11:10 PMI definitely need to make this because I can’t keep plants alive no matter what I do! These are so cute and colorful…beautiful! Thanks so much for linking up with #ShareTheWealthSunday!
xoxo
Lisa
Chrsitine says
May 28, 2015 at 8:44 PMWhat an amazing look! Love the effect of Smooth Finish, I’ve never heard of it! Seriously I thought they both were real!
A- Mazing! Thank you for sharing at #OhMYHeartsieGirl Wordless Wednesday! Looking forward to seeing you next week!
[email protected]
Camille Wynn says
May 27, 2015 at 1:17 PMI love this! I am succulent obsessed! I simply was not expecting these to be made out of foam balls! Great Idea!
ntina says
May 27, 2015 at 3:41 AMI couldn’t imagine these are foam balls! Amazing! Thanks for sharing it with us at bloggers brags pinterest party! Pinned!
Stephanie R says
May 26, 2015 at 8:51 AMI cant believe this isnt concrete by looking at the first photo! I have been wanting some concrete planters for a while now, but I was scared of using actual concrete and this is perfect!
Carole West - Garden Up Green says
May 26, 2015 at 7:03 AMThis is great- I keep seeing succulents everywhere online. I like these they look so real this is a neat project.
Carole
Allie says
May 24, 2015 at 9:19 PMWow! I can’t believe these aren’t actually concrete! These are so cute. Would be fun to make with a group.
Aimee, The Crazy Craft Lady says
May 24, 2015 at 8:27 PMShut the front door! These look so real! I love concrete projects… pinning! Visiting from Motivational Monday.
lorraine williamson says
May 24, 2015 at 12:41 PMthese look incrediblely real and so cool will have to try and make them who knows they might even fool my siamese
guiltless reading says
May 24, 2015 at 9:43 AMThe succulents look ridiculously real — where did u buy them?
Michele McDonald says
May 24, 2015 at 10:24 AMDon’t they??? These actually came from Hobby Lobby. 🙂
Beverly {Flamingo Toes} says
May 20, 2015 at 3:02 PMShut. Up. These are amazing!! I seriously had no idea they were made of foam. They turned out soooo cool and they are perfect for those little faux succulents. These would be such a great gift too!
Michele McDonald says
May 20, 2015 at 4:19 PMThanks, Bev!!! I’m thinking teacher gifts!!! 🙂
Sharon says
May 20, 2015 at 12:43 PMAmazing! These look like real, concrete planters. Beautiful! Love the gold accent, too. I’ve killed succulents, too, so these are perfect. Thank you!
Michele McDonald says
May 20, 2015 at 4:13 PMThank you, Sharon! That Smooth Finish does amazing things. I just love it!