The first time I saw these $5 hanging plant pots at Target, I talked myself out of buying them. Luckily they were still there when I went back, because in the meantime, I realized they’d be perfect candidates for an upgrade. A bit of leftover paint, some gold leaf, plus new string, and they’re much cuter.


First I painted them, then I added the gold leaf with this gold leaf kit.

The white one with gold polka-dots is inspired by the white version of this pot.

DIY Hanging Planter Upgrade

Here’s one of the planters, before I did anything to it:

It had a faux concrete look, and it’s cute enough that I was tempted to keep it as-is. Although these planters seem to be quite prone to chipping. A couple of the ones on the shelf in the store had chips, and even though I checked them carefully, one of mine either had one when I bought it, or developed it later. For $5, I can’t be mad about it, but buyer beware. Luckily, painting is a really good way to disguise flaws.

For the gold polka-dotted one, first I painted it white with two coats of wall paint. After the paint had dried, I marked the locations of the spots lightly with pencil. Next I took the gold-leaf adhesive, stuck my finger in, and lightly dabbed it on the locations I’d marked. I also brushed it around the rim.

You’re supposed to let the adhesive dry for 20 to 40 minutes, to develop tackiness, so I waited for that, then stuck pieces of gold leaf to it. I rubbed it down with my fingers to make sure it was stuck to the adhesive.

Then I used a stiff paintbrush to brush away the excess gold leaf. 

For the pink and gold one, I painted the bottom third of the pot with two coats of pink wall paint. After that had dried, I painted a line around the top of the pink paint with the adhesive.

After letting the adhesive get tacky, I adhered strips of gold leaf to it.  And then I brushed the excess gold leaf away.

I sealed the gold leaf with the included sealer, let that dry, then hung them up with new cord. It was really easy, but the custom pots are perfect for my bedroom window.

Paper & Stitch had a makeover of the very same pots recently, so if you can still find them at your Target, they’re a great blank slate!