Tile Planter

I've been stuck on succulents lately, since they're so easy to grow that even my black thumb can't kill them (at least most of them, that is).  So I wanted to make a few planters to bring some of them inside. I have an abundance of leftover tile from previous projects, so I decided to see if I could make good use of it. 

Here are the supplies I used:  premixed grout (love this stuff!), scrap wood, scissors, and of course, tile.  This tile won't really match my decor, but I have so much of this color (and it was only .05 each at the Habitat store) that if I totally screwed up, I wouldn't feel bad about tossing it.  And if it did work, I could always find another use for it.

First, I edged the tile with some of the grout.

 

Then applied one of the pieces of scrap wood.  The size of the scrap doesn't really matter, as long as it is wide enough to attach to two sides of the planter.

 

Here is a side view.  As you can see, I didn't use a huge amount of grout, but since the tile will be standing up, I needed to use a bit more than I would if the tile were to be laying flat.

 

Next I used the grout to attach another scrap.

 

Then I did the same with another tile and allowed them to dry overnight.

 

Next I took a third tile and applied the grout to two sides.

 

I stood that tile next to one of the tiles with scrap and pressed them together.

 

Then did the same with the second prepared tile.

 

I applied grout to the fourth tile the same as the third and attached it to complete the box.

 

Although the box could now stand on its own, the sides were not completely grouted, but I'll get to that in a bit.

 

Next I created the bottom of the box.  I applied grout to four corners,

 

and placed it on "top," (which, of course, will later be the bottom).  After pressing the edges together I ran my finger along the seam to smooth it out.  All the edges now, though, will need an additional layer of grout to smooth and seal the edges.

 

For this application, I took just a small bit of grout

 

and applied it to the seam.

 

Then ran my finger over it to smooth it out.

 

Here is the planter after all the edges have been completely grouted and smoothed.  I also wiped away the excess grout that had found its way to the surface of the tile (bad grout!).   FYI, if you ever have dried grout on your tile, use a Popsicle stick to scrape it off--no scratches.

And here it is with a fake Ikea pretty plant. Now that I know it can be done, I feel more confident about using some of my more expensive tile that will actually match my decor, lol.

Thanks for looking,

and until next time,
Go Get Crafty Sister!

~Sister #2