Discover how to turn ordinary plastic bottles into cute, self-watering planters. Perfect for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, this DIY guide makes creating beautiful flower pots easy and fun!

Are you looking for a fun and eco-friendly way to add greenery to your home? Look no further than your household recycling bin! You can create beautiful, self-watering planters with just a few plastic bottles, creativity, and basic craft supplies.

These cute plastic bottle planters are perfect for small indoor plants or herbs and make fantastic Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day gifts.

Making these planters isn’t just a fun activity; it’s also a great way to show that you care about the environment.

It’s an easy craft, but the result is satisfying. You end up with a lovely new home for your plants, and see how creative and eco-friendly you can be!

With a little bit of creativity, these mini plastic bottle pots are taken to a new level.   Perfect for succulent planters or herb gardens. The red spray paint and decorative heart decoupage make them fantastic gifts for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, adding a personal and green touch to these special occasions and your home decor.

What You Need:

• Empty plastic bottles (soda bottles or water bottles work great)
• Sharp scissors or a craft knife
• Spray paint in bright colours such as red or pink.
• Heart Shaped Cookie cutter or template
• Sharpie
• Patterned paper (for decoupage)
• Mod Podge or similar adhesive
• A brush for applying Mod Podge
• Succulents, green plants, herbs, or small flowers
• Potting soil

How To Make The Cute Planters

This upcycled bottle planter craft is done in three stages. I made the bottle shape, decorated the planter, and then potted. Finally, I will give more ideas for making plastic bottle planters.

Making the Cute Plastic Bottle Planter Shape

Step 1: Prepare Your Plastic Bottles. Start by thoroughly cleaning your empty plastic bottle and removing any labels. Cut the top off each repurposed soda bottle. Please keep this to one side; it will be used later for water drainage.

Step 2: Creating the heart shape:  Draw around the heart-shaped cookie cutter and make a paper heart template. Using double-sided sticky tape, stick this to the bottom of the bottle about 4cm (1.5″) from the bottom. Then, draw around the paper template with a Sharpie.

Step 3:  Using smaller scissors (for precision cutting), cut the bottom of the bottles about 7cm (2.5″) from the bottom. Cut around the heart shape so it protrudes from the bottom of the bottle.

Step 4:  This next step is optional. But to make the tops of my plastic bottle plant pot smooth and not sharp, I melt the edges slightly. This is done by heating a metal knife over a flame and pressing it to the plastic.

Decorating the Valentine Planters

Step 5: Spray paint the outside of the cut plastic bottle red or pink. One coat of paint should be enough. Alternatively, you could use chalk or acrylic paint, but I like the evenness you get with spray paints.

Step 6: Cut out a decorative heart using the heart template again. You can use thin craft paper or paper napkins; choose a colour and pattern you like.

For these cute Valentine’s plastic bottle planters, I used patterned paper and Marimekko paper napkins in pink and red patterns.

Step 7: Using Mod Podge or other decoupage glue, stick the heart to the front of the planter. Check out these tips if using paper napkin decoupage.

To finish off, use a layer of decoupage glue or spray varnish for a protective coating.

Potting Plants In The Planters

Step 8: These plastic bottle planters are adorable and ingeniously designed with a self-watering feature.

There’s no need to drill drainage holes in the plastic. Just use the top part of the bottle you initially cut off. Flip it upside down and set it in the bottom part of the planter.

Step 9: Plant your succulent or mini plants into this inverted top filled with appropriate potting soil. This smart trick minimizes the risk of overwatering your plants and eliminates the necessity for traditional drainage holes.

These cute Valentine’s planters are perfect for Mother’s Day, birthdays, and other special events. They’re an easy and eco-friendly way to reuse plastic bottles, making them a budget-friendly craft for everyone. Great for giving as personal, homemade gifts, they add a special touch to any occasion.

Other Plastic Bottle Planter Ideas

Tin cans are another fun material to upcycle into planters; check out these amazing upcycled tin can planter ideas.

These beautiful upcycled succulent planters are made from old crockery. Check out these 10-minute tiled Moroccan planters.

Check out this tutorial if you want to make easy upcycled hanging planters. Or, if you want decorative covers for your plastic bottle planters, check out these paper plant pot covers.

Also, you will find some more adult Valentine crafts here.