Succulents and JELL-O

Last week a friend had a mini Easter swap. Each person brought something they made for the other people participating in the swap. I thought of a great idea the month before, and than ran out of time. So, this was the backup plan. It was fairly easy to put together, and didn’t take too much time.

My mom works at a greenhouse part-time in the Spring, so she was able to pick up some succulents for me. I told her to get a variety, and didn’t realize she would be able to get 10 completely different styles – there are so many varieties of succulents out in the world! I knew I wanted something reclaimed to use as the pot, and I also wanted it to be cheap. I found a set of these adorable vintage JELL-O molds that were under $1 a piece – perfect! (I have an aunt who makes fancy JELL-O for holidays, so it reminded me a bit of Easter too!)

I used a dremel tool to drill tiny holes in the bottom, and spray painted them gold. I tried a couple other colors including a pink one that looked like strawberry jello (!) but the gold spray paint coated the easiest, dried the fastest, and is a neutral enough color that people could place it in their home. I bought some cacti potting soil, and replanted them in their fancy new/old pots.

I have to admit, I fell in love with the mini JELL-O molds, and felt guilty about drilling into them and painting them. I think I will now keep my eye out for more next time I’m at an antique shop!