Hanging Planter: “Floating Bits of Life”

My upcycle project vision has come to life, and I am happy with what I have created! Beginning this process, I aimed to make a piece of decor for my apartment that would embody the Cottagecore aesthetic, and it was rewarding to do so. This cottagecore aesthetic can be defined by blends of earthy, bright, and floral elements combined into mosaics that resemble the flow of nature. The images below from MyDomaine(1) and SpaceWise(2) are my inspiration photos, and they guided me well:

After my aesthetic was chosen, I decided that this decor piece would be a three-tiered combination of a wooden shelf, a hanging planter, and a decorative art piece made from dried flowers of mine. An initial sketch for this project is seen below:

I first created the hanging planter element by hand-stitching together old pieces of fabric sourced from clothing of mine unworn for over two years. I arranged these floral, bright prints in a patchwork-style, and sewed this onto a coco liner found for only two dollars from Joann’s [3]. It was my first time learning how to hand sew, and I found the process to be therapeutic.

Here is the final hanging pot:

I then created the bottom-tier artistic piece from old flowers, two sticks found outdoors, string and chord purchased from Michael’s[4], and old beads threaded onto thin twine that I had laying around. Below are photos of this element, as well as the final project as a whole.

You will notice that my intended “top tier” wooden shelf is nonexistent in the final product. During fabrication, I realized that including this shelf above the hanging planter might interfere with the growth of certain plants that I plan to showcase. For example, the pothos pictured in my photograph above would have its leaves compressed against the base of the shelf. However, it was still a great experience taking a woodworking workshop in preparation, and I can use this knowledge elsewhere. 

To water the houseplants that I showcase, I will first take them out of the project and allow the water to sufficiently drain through the soil. Thus, only houseplants that do not need to be repotted from their original plastic planter will be used in the hanging pot. In the future, I plan to attach a battery-powered LED light strip to the top rim of the planter. The leaves of the pothos pictured above would cover the light strip itself, so the project would have a neon glow at night. This could be a beautiful way to achieve a secondary neon aesthetic. Overall, I am very happy with my project and love the new addition to my space!

Sources: 

1. MyDomaine, 2022, https://www.mydomaine.com/cottagecore-decor-ideas-5270411
2. SpaceWise, 2023, https://www.extraspace.com/blog/home-organization/how-to-design-a-cottagecore-style-home/
3. JOANN, 2007-2024, https://www.joann.com/

      4. Michaels Stores, 2024, https://www.michaels.com/?cm_mmc=SearchBrand-_-google-_-MICH_Search_US_N_Brand_TrademarkCore_Branded_Exact-_-Trademark+-+Branded+Core+Term&kenshoo_ida=tm_brand&kpid=go_cmp-324266651_adg-24658685771_ad-348913281960_kwd-92295400_dev-c_ext-_prd-&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA8YyuBhBSEiwA5R3-E40l4QGjQLW3KmQzITpte6TIRlHFC83WLFg9IRYcGgYAtBEN8i6QbxoCtW4QAvD_BwE