{concrete pumpkin planter diy}

Today I will be sharing the ever so popular concrete pumpkin planter diy with all my readers.

You guys, it’s pretty damn simple and doesn’t cost much at all.  I’ve made 8 so far and spent a total of $20.  That’s roughly $2.50 each.  The succulents and flowers cost me more than double that!!  7 items are needed and you will have most of them in your house already.

Mastering this DIY took a couple of shots.  So bear with me…..

The first DIY I found and followed called for concrete mix.  So I walked my happy ass into True Value and bought a 60 lb bag.  I get home and made my first pumpkin planter.  It turned out ok, like ok enough for me, but not to give to anyone else.  The face was not nearly as clear as these below.  So, my second time around, I sifted all the rock from the concrete mix.  Basically took forever.  And I realized that more than half the bag was rock.  I ended up with hardly anything once the rock was sifted out.  The pumpkin planter turned out 100 times better than the first though.

With a little help from homeboy Ed at Home Depot, I tried a bag of mortar.  Ed is the shit and deserves a raise, by the way!!!  He was on point.  NO more sifting rocks.  Just add water and voila – perfect brownie like consistency mix.

Remember I told you I mastered this DIY…haha!  It took a couple tries to get it right.  But, once I did, I pumped them out like a pumpkin planter factory.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• walmart $1 pumpkin bucket
• red solo cup
• pam (don’t even mess with the cheap shit)
• mortar
• garden rake + trowel
• 5 gallon bucket
• plastic grocery bag
• 1 bottle of wine (for DIY’er consumption)

1. generously spray inside pumpkin bucket and outside of red solo cup
2. add mortar to bucket about 1/3 of the bag
3.  slowly add water mixing with hand rake
4. you want the mortar to be the same consistency as brownie batter (this part is a bitch)
5. fill pumpkin with mortar using hand trowel
6. fill to about 1/2 inch from top
7. slowly push red solo cup into the center of the pumpkin making sure none of the mortar gets into the cup.
8. cover pumpkin bucket with plastic grocery bag.
9. place something heavy over the top, making sure it remains level.  This will keep the red solo cup in place.
10. allow mortar to set and dry for 24 hours
11. after 24 hours, carefully remove pumpkin bucket with sheers (this is the most time-consuming and may require a glass or two of wine.  1 glass for before and 1 glass after for victory!!)
12. finally, remove red solo cup and your DONE!!!

Here are some images that may be helpful:

It’s messy.  I used a couple of old car wash towels to protect the garage floor.

Here is what the finished product will look like.

Add some succulents, my favorite.  Or as GG recommended, festive orange mums (I call them old lady flowers…sorry GG)

I recently found Quicktete cement color.  How fun, right?

I plan on turning the jack-o-lantern face to the back and keeping this on my front porch year round.  They are heavy AF and I’d hate to store them for the rest of the year once Halloween/Fall is over.

I’ve been challenged to come up with a similar idea, but for Christmas.  Suggestions welcome 🙂

I hope you enjoy busting these out for your friends + loved ones as much as I have ♥

And please holla at me if you have any questions!!!

xoxo stacyb