Mini Painted Vases and Planters

-This post may contain affiliate links. Paints provided by Plaid Crafts as part of their ambassador program.-

A while ago I saw someone share, on Instagram I think, some things that they found at Target in the  Bullseye Playground section. One of the things that they had shared was a little 3 pack of bud vases and when I saw them I thought they would be perfect for a little craft project. Something fun to paint for spring, or for Mother's Day, or anything really.

The next time I went to Target I thought I would look for them, and the first time I looked I didn't find them, but I did see a cute little dinosaur planter. A random fact about me is that when I was a little kid I was obsessed with dinosaurs, I had books, toys, dinosaur decorations in my room, and even a dinosaur birthday when I turned 6. Even though I outgrew my dinosaur obsession a long time ago, I think there is that little kid inside of me that still gets excited when I see dinosaur stuff. 

I had a place in mind where I could put that little dinosaur planter and I knew it would be perfect. But, I still talked myself out of it and left without it. Then I went to a different Target a few days later hoping to find the little bud vases, and crossing my fingers they would have the dinosaur planters too. They had the planters and the vases, so this time I left with both. 

I wanted to paint the little vases a springy vibe so I painted them with pastel colors, just the bottom half to give it that kind of dipped paint look. Then I added some little spring stems that I picked up at JOANN to finish them off. 

I painted the dinosaur planter gold, using the Treasure Gold paint from Plaid. My 4 year old son was with me when I was painting it and the whole time was telling me how "super cool" it was. So I guess a gold dinosaur planter is cool when you are 4 and when you are 38. 

I finished it off by adding some foam inside and then sticking a faux succulent in the middle and covering the top of the foam with little pebbles. 

Sometimes I make projects that take a lot of time and effort, like crochet projects for example. They aren't quick finishes and usually take multiple times of working on the project, then putting it away for awhile and picking it up again later to work on it some more. I enjoy making those kinds of projects a lot, but sometimes, especially after I just finished a long project, it is so relaxing to make a quick project that you can finish in one sitting. And these painted vases and planters were one of those projects. Fun and quick, but still ending with something that I was really happy with. 

How to Make Mini Painted Vases and Planters

You will need:

• small bud vases or planters
• these are the bud vases I bought (online you have to buy a larger quantity)
• I can't find the same Dino planter online but this set is the same type of planter and includes a different dinosaur, as well as a llama and an elephant
• paint
• for the bud vases I used FolkArt Acrylic in Cameo Blush, Wisteria, and Daybreak
• for the dinosaur I used Treasure Gold in Gold
• paintbrushes
• floral foam
• floral picks
• for the bud vases I used spring floral picks from JOANN
• for the dinosaur planter I used these faux succulents
• small pebbles (for the dinosaur)

Instructions:

Bud Vases

For the bud vases I only wanted to paint the bottom half of the vase. You could use washi tape or painters tape to tape off the section that you want to paint for a really clean straight line, but I just freehanded it. Just paint the bottom half with the paint color you want and let dry.

Cut up some floral foam to fill the bottom of the vase and stick the floral pick in the vase. 

Dinosaur Planter

Paint the entire planter with Treasure Gold paint. It took me a couple of coats to get an even color. 

When your paint is dry cut floral foam to fill the inside of the planter. Stick the faux succulent pick into the foam, then fill the area around with small pebbles.