Finally! I've recently moved into a small 1950's home in Parkville with a few friends. While I'm ecstatic to have moved into my own space outside of my parents', I've also been seriously struggling to decorate my little space with the few pennies I have left after bills. Needless to say, I've been delving into video after video on YouTube of bloggers redoing their rooms for cheap. So I thought I'd take my own crack at it. I've always loved greenery (as every other 20-something does) and have been trying to think of cheap, creative ways to display my plants. I decided to give my new pothos plant, Blaire, a cozy new home.
As my first publicly shared diy, it's a rather easy one. I picked up two baskets from Big Lots for $6 each and a lot of clothes line for only $4- something I'm looking forward to using in future projects! I also grabbed the small plate to catch the draining water from Blaire for about a buck. My initial plan was to hang it from the ceiling, but upon further investigation, I discovered that rather than drywall, my room is lined with plaster wall -__- So I went ahead and grabbed a plant hook from Home Depot for only $4 and (not pictured) some wall anchors- though the plant hook definitely adds to the aesthetic.
First things first, I cut three equal lengths of clothes line. You can measure them to be around the length you'd like, but I found it easier to eyeball them since I'd be tying them and using more chord than I guessed.
Next, I tied the chords around the basket (obviously). At first I thought just two lines of the clothes line would look better but my loving boyfriend lovingly pointed out that it would tilt. And right he was. If you're using rectangular baskets then you miiiiight be able to get away with just two. But anyway, I tried to evenly space them out and tie them so that the ends of the chords were turned inwards.
Then I went ahead and, you guessed it, tied the ends of the chord to the bottom of the other basket. You could also tie it to the top rim (like you did with the first basket) but I personally like how it looks tied on the bottom instead.
Now I thought I'd go ahead and include a little trick with how I managed to tie the clothes line so that each knot looked uniform and was pointed inwards. This is a little tricky to explain, so please just bear with me here. I always made sure to tie the knot in the same direction each time I tied it. Start by making either a backwards or forwards 4, noticing where the rope lands on your second knot- this one will tell you which way it'll face when you're finally done. To have the parts of the knot lie next to each other cleanly in a repetitive way, I pulled the main part of the line and slid the part wrapped around it close towards the base of the knot while pulling it tighter.
Here's the way the knot looks when it's pulled correctly! I only tied it twice, based off of how much string I had, but I honestly wish I'd tied it three times.
Moving on to the top string. The easiest way (that I could figure out) to tie three of the chords together at the top was to start by making a loop from one third of the basket to another, leaving plenty of slack.
After this, tie your third string while still keeping it plenty long for wiggle-room. This next part is a little finicky and can honestly be a little annoying to fiddle with. Now fold the fully attached chord (that we'll call Chord A) and pinch at a point that's as long as you'd like it to be when hanging. Then begin wrapping the other chord (Chord B) around Chord A, loosely.
Be sure to leave a little bit of a gap between the coils; once you finish wrapping Chord A, take the end of Chord B and tuck it up through the coils and pull tightly.
Now that both lines are attached you can still slide the knot up and down Chord A to try and mess with leveling the basket.
Once I found a comfortable spot for the knot, I took a short piece of clothing line and tied a tight double knot around the base of the one just created, ensuring that once weight is added to the baskets, it won't slide further down Chord A.
Go ahead and snip all of the extra chords to be an inch or so away from the knot. I went ahead and distressed the edges of the knots to give them a more rustic look. After installing my plant hook, I hung that sucker up to make sure all chords on the bottom were even so that the basket was level and adjusted them accordingly.
Finally, I added my plate to the top basket. I wish I had bought two of these for each level- I like the contrast they put in the basket!
After putting Blaire in her new home and arranging her vines so they'd fall properly, as well as adding a few nick-knacks to the bottom basket I'm beyond happy with the results! Though I dressed it for the photo with little earrings and such, I ended up using it as a home for my keys and wallet as soon as I walk in my bedroom door- I'm constantly losing these!
Today was a tough one for me- let's just say I started the day late and immediately accidentally put decaf in the regular espresso hopper during a rush. But after finally finishing my little project I'm glad the day ended on a better note. Plus my loving boyfriend just brought me a nice cold chocolate bar and glass of gin :)
I'm hoping to continue sharing my diy projects on here- let me know if there's any specific type of project you'd be interested in seeing!