Succulent Hanger in a Wicker Wall Pocket

When I spotted this round basket on the top shelf at a thrift store, I couldn’t grab it fast enough. It seemed like the perfect wall pocket to turn into a succulent hanger for our home. Which, in fact, was something I had been hoping to make.

Now, it is true that I’ve made some felt succulents in the past. And I “planted” them in curious items from the thrift store, too.

I even used a quirky little basket as a planter for some of them, remember that?

But this time I wanted a succulent hanger. We have a couple of closed closet doors along our hallway, and I thought a succulent wreath would be a fun way to decorate one of them.

So, I snagged this hanging basket from that thrift store and got to work!

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Glazing a Round Basket

First, before I did anything else, I pulled out the existing ivy plants and floral foam. Despite my best efforts, there were some remnants of foam and hot glue left inside.

But I didn’t mind too much, since I was planning on filling it with succulents.

Next, I decided to experiment with an idea I had. An idea to “glaze” the basket with DIY gold glaze. And to do so, I’d use some Mod Podge and a couple of metallic craft paints.

In my mind, a gold glaze wouldn’t make the wicker look metallic, per se. But rather give it a subtle sheen and a touch of glam.

So, I poured a healthy dollop of Mod Podge into a bowl, as well as two smaller dollops of gold and bronze paints. I was looking for roughly a 2:1 ratio of glue to paint.

After mixing them all together, this is what my gold glaze looked like.

Then, I started to dry brush the glaze onto the basket. I didn’t want to overload my brush and add too much glaze.

A couple of coats of glaze later, I had a richer, more golden basket that didn’t look metallic! It still looked like natural wicker but had a hint of glam that just made it a bit more special.

Fake Succulents for a Succulent Hanger

Now, to “plant” my succulent hanger, I needed to fill the pocket with some fresh floral foam.

The original foam that I pulled out had started to degrade over time and wasn’t really worth reusing.

First, I lined the bottom of the basket with some brown parchment paper I had in my cupboard. But had I had brown kraft paper or a paper grocery bag, I would have preferred those.

Then, I started placing foam blocks and cylinders in the wicker wall pocket.

I didn’t glue them in but rather did my best to wedge in smaller pieces to keep everything firmly in place.

Finally, it was time to add some succulents!

Luckily, I had a large variety of fake succulents from Michaels. I’d been collecting them during sales and clearance events. Other craft stores sell them, as well, and this is my favorite Etsy shop for fake succulents that are of higher quality and look even more realistic.

I began to add plant picks to my succulent hanger. Focusing on taller, heavier picks first along the back, I did my best to keep the weight evenly distributed along the basket.

I continued to do this, filling in with mostly shorter and wider picks along the front (along with spillers). Lastly, I filled in any gaps with smaller faux air plants that I had in my stash!

Succulent Hanger in a Wicker Wall Pocket

I fussed with it for a while until I was satisfied. Isn’t that always the nature of working with faux plants? Anyway, this was how the succulent hanger looked when I was all done!

I love how wild and lush it looks, with the varying shades of green and purple. And the subtle sheen that the glaze gave the wicker gave it such a rich glow (in the right light).

This succulent wreath will be a lovely addition to a closet door along our hallway! And I use these acrylic wreath hangers for indoor doors because they don’t nick the paint.

I hope you love how my succulent wreath turned out as much as I do! I keep thinking I’ll get sick of succulent decor, but I’m still quite drawn to them.

Think you’ll make some DIY gold glaze and try it out on a basket or another project? I REALLY do love how it looks- it’s just difficult to accurately capture in a photo. At least for an amateur such as myself!

And if you enjoyed this upcycling idea with fake succulents, then you may also get a kick out of how I made these faux chive blossoms, as well!

Craft on!

S

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