White Washed Flower Pots with Succulents For Teacher Appreciation

It is teacher appreciation week at my son's school, so instead of getting his teachers a gift card, or baking for them (which is usually my go-to gift), I wanted to do something different. I have seen the "Thanks For Helping Me Grow" gift on Pinterest before, and I know it can be a bit cheesy, but I think it is adorable!! Instead of doing a school theme for the flower pot, I put together something I would like to receive myself as a gift.

I LOVE succulents! They are super popular right now, because they are not only beautiful, but they are very low maintenance. So, these make a great gift for someone who doesn't have a green thumb. I also like the succulents better than giving a flower, because they will live so much longer!

You may already know that I am a sucker for the "rustic" look, so that was my idea going into painting the flower pots. I think this gives them a very sophisticated and stylish look.

For the card, I wanted to actually design one myself, but I stumbled across one on Pinterest from The Teacher Mama (link here). It is a free printable you can print at home, cut it out, and you are all set!! I think the style of the card is super cute.

These don't have to just be for teachers! I think they make great gifts for anyone. Who doesn't love to have a fresh plant around their home or office?

If you are throwing a party, these also make great favors! You can find succulent plants that are a bit smaller than these, and that would be adorable for a party favor.

The entire process is very simple!

Supplies:

Flower pots with matching bottoms

Paint; you can use white, but for these I actually used a Lilac color that turned out really beautiful

bristle type brush or some kind of rough brush to create the brushstroke lines

succulents and some extra dirt

twine

"Thank You For Helping Me Grow" printable card; you could also handwrite the card

Directions:

*I found that holding the flower pot by sticking my finger in the hole at the bottom was the easiest way to paint the pot

*Lightly dip the paint brush into the paint

*Lightly brush the flower pots with the paint brush to create a white wash look; you don't need much paint, and you want to make sure you can see the brushstrokes

*Do the same things with the bottoms of the pots

*Allow to dry completely

*Place the succulents into the flower pot; if there isn't enough dirt to fill the pot, you may need to put some damp dirt into the pot first, and then place the succulent on top of the extra dirt

*Use your hands to press the plant down into the pot, spread the dirt evenly

* I added in a little extra water for good measure

*Print out the card, and write "to" and "from" on the back

*Wrap it around the pot with some rustic twine