Do you have cool flea markets where you live? Sadly, I do not. I get so jealous when I watch Flea Market Flip and they go to places like Elephant’s Trunk, Brimfield or the Rose Bowl Flea Market. We had a sad little flea market with about 20 vendors, mostly selling CDs, cheap toys and other useless junk, but it permanently closed last summer. Not that anyone really minded. It kills me that when we used to live in DC, where there were flea markets all over the place, I didn’t really appreciate them.
Twice a year, though, the Nittany Antique Machinery Show happens about 20 miles away, and it’s pretty good. I spent hours there in the fall, and got a whole bunch of fabulous stuff. But my very favorite was this crazy cool old feeder that I picked up for $15.
It’s rusty and dinged up, and just generally awesome.
I knew right away that I wanted to hang it up on the wall and fill it with succulents.
So I did.
And they all died.
Yeah, I’m one of those people who can’t even keep succulents alive. Sometimes it shocks me that I’ve managed to keep three kids and a dog going for as long as I have.
So I decided to do get succulents that even I couldn’t kill: faux succulents.
Now, I know that for a lot of people — myself included, up until a couple of years ago — faux flowers and plants bring to mind the awful, cheesy, brightly colored flowers of the 80s and 90s. But I have to tell you, faux plants have come a long, long way.
Especially faux succulents. With a couple of them, I’m not sure I could tell the difference between them and the real ones if I saw them side-by-side. And every time someone has complimented this planter and I’ve told them they weren’t real, they have been shocked.
I got all of these faux succulents at Michael’s. They all ranged between $1.99 and $4.99 each, but with a 40% off coupon, I think I spent around $25 on all of them. Which is about what I spent on the real succulents that then died a month or two later, so I didn’t mind spending what I did.
Here’s how I put it together.
I started by filling up the feeder bins with unpopped popcorn. I needed something that wouldn’t be too heavy (so gravel/pebbles were out) and would be thick enough to hold each plant upright. Popcorn was cheap and easy to find, so that’s what I went with.
I sort of just stuck them in there at first and then ended up moving them around about 100 times until I was happy with the way it all looked. I took a picture so I’d remember what it looked like, and then I started placing them in. I had to trim a few of the stems down, but they were actually pretty easy to cut. If I couldn’t get through the whole wire with the first cut, I just bent it back and forth a couple of times and it broke right off.
Once I stuck all of the faux succulents in, I tucked some spanish moss
To hang it, I just drilled through the backing {which was some type of weird super thick cloth/leather type of stuff} and then used drywall anchors and screws
I absolutely love the way it looks in my kitchen. It makes me happy every time I look at it — especially since I’m not stressed out about whether or not I’m over- or under-watering them or if they’re going to wither up and die at any moment.
If you’re looking for feeders like this, check out antique stores or flea markets near you. I have also seen similar ones on Etsy and Craigslist, so those are good options as well.
You tell me: Do you have a black thumb like I do, or are you able to keep plants alive?
If you love succulents, don’t miss this post!
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