Make something in miniature, and its cuteness grows! That’s what I found when making these DIY faux succulents out of green plastic soda bottles.

Last Christmas, I made some very popular and fun Christmas cloche dinosaur terrariums out of upcycled Nutella jars. They were so cute that I still had them on display even though it was spring already. I decided it was time to give them a seasonal update. That’s when I got the idea for the mini faux succulents.

Upcycled Terrarium Plastic Bottle Succulents

This craft incorporated multiple upcycled elements, yet it still took less than 30 minutes to complete. I used the small Nutella jars as the cloches, and a wood slice as a base.

I painted mini terracotta pots to resemble concrete pots, using an old wine cork as the soil. Best of all, I made my everlasting miniature fake succulents and tropical plants out of upcycled green plastic bottles.

If you don’t have mini terracotta pots, you can create a mini rustic pot from an old bottle top. These adorable faux succulent terrariums are incredibly easy to make and cost almost nothing.

I think they would make a lovely gift. They are a cool adult craft to do while you’re stuck at home, as they use mainly materials that you should have on hand.

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What you need to make plastic bottle faux succulents

• Small green plastic bottles, in the UK, are normally for sparkling water. Sprite or Mountain Dew bottles would work too.
• Champagne or wine cork
• Tiny terracotta pots
• Small Nutella jars – These are the ones where the jar can be used as a drinking glass with plastic caps. (Other similar-shaped drinking glasses or jars would do.)
• Tealight candle
• Grey acrylic paint
• Wood slice
• PVA/white glue
• Scissors

DIY Plastic Bottle Succulents

Preparing the pot

Step 1: First, to make the terracotta pots look like concrete pots, paint them with grey paint. Gently smudge with a paper towel as the paint dries to achieve an uneven concrete look.

To make the soil slice a section of the champaign cork (about 5mm thick) and place it in the painted pot.

Making The Succulent

Step 2: Next, using scissors, cut a strip of plastic from the green soda bottle, approximately 4 cm wide.

Step 3: Then, using scissors, cut a zig-zag pattern into the strip of green plastic, as shown in the picture below. Don’t worry about it being too even, as the irregularity will add to the natural look of the finished plant.

Step 4: The next bit is the fun bit of this upcycled plastic bottle craft. The faux succulent is made by melting the plastic over a candle.

As you hold the cut piece of the green plastic bottle over a small flame, it will shrink slightly and curl.

Top Tip: If you curl the leaves too far, turn them around and heat the other side. Then straighten them out with your fingers.

According to my sons, I have asbestos fingers, demonstrated by my ability to hold hot things. However, if you don’t have this superpower, you may want to use gloves or tweezers when shaping the hot plastic.

Step 5: Melt each plastic bottle leaf in the strip first, and then reheat it over the flame again. This time, curling up the plastic leaves tightly together. This takes a little practice but isn’t too tricky to master.

Making Tropical Leaves

Step 6: In addition to the faux succulent above, I also created a tropical leaf plant. This was a little easier to do. I cut four tropical leaf shapes from the plastic bottles and melted them over the tealight candle. They were then glued together at the base.

Step 7: Glue the upcycled plastic bottle faux succulents to the cork base in the miniature pots.

Step 8: Finally, place the plant pot onto the wood slice and then cover it all with the glass cloche.

These mini plastic bottle faux succulents terrariums look really cute and just right for summer decoration.

With the tropical plant, I made a more Boho-looking pot. This was done by simply glueing natural twine around a screw bottle top.

Other Faux Plant Ideas

I love cacti and succulents, but unfortunately, I don’t have a green thumb, so I’m always looking for fun ways to create faux ones.

If you have any of those miniature terracotta pots left over, you might want to consider making some of these gorgeous printable paper plants for them. There are five to choose from, enough for an indoor jungle!

On my mantle, there is a wonderful repurposed felt succulent garden made out of upcycled sweater scraps. I’ve also made paper succulents for a pineapple paper flower wall decor.

I do think cloches are a lovely way to display crafts, and these miniature Nutella jar ones are cute. I do, however, love large cloches too, and there is a fabulous parrot paper craft one I also have on my mantle.

Plastic Faux Succulents

Print

How to make super cute mini faux succulents and tropical plants in their own upcycled cloche by upcycling a soda bottle.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Active Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Estimated Cost $1

Materials

• Green Soda bottle
• Mini terracotta pot
• Wine cork
• Nutella jar  - or round bottom shaped glass
• Woodslice
• Glue

Tools

• Scissors
• Tea light candle

Instructions

1. Cut 4cm wide strips of plastic from a green soda bottle.
2. Paint the terracotta pot grey.
3. Cut a wine cork to fit inside the mini terracotta pot.
4. Cut one plastic strip into a zig-zag shape.
5. With another plastic strip cut out three tropical leaves shapes.
6. Carefully and slowly heat the plastic pieces over the candle and shape them as they melt.
7. The plastic will shrink and curl as it is heated. You may want to use tweezers when doing this to avoid burning your hands.
8. Once the faux succulents have been shaped, glue them onto the cork in the pots.
9. Finish off by placing the mini plants onto a wood slice. Then place the Nutella jar cloche over the top of them.

This plastic bottle upcycle was featured in the A to Z of clever upcycling ideas and resources. I also shrink plastic to make earrings.