DIY reeded plant pot made from an old candle

I'm back this week sharing a brand new Weekend Mini-make, a quick craft you can complete over the weekend for less than a tenner. All my £10 tutorials are designed to be something beginners can try their hand at, whilst also being a relaxing, well-being boost. As I've mentioned before, I regularly turn to DIY and crafting when times get hard, so for me, having a creative outlet has become a vital part of my everyday life. I hope that these simple, cheap crafting ideas will inspire others to have a go, and see if it can make big changes in their life too.

This week I'm turning my hand to recycling a used candle jar and transforming it into an on-trend reeded plant pot using just a glue gun and some wooden dowels. Reeded decor seems to be a big trend in interiors at the moment (I shared some examples as part of my Interior trends for 2021 post here), and so I've been itching to hop on this trend. As ever, I would rather make by hand than buy new - so here's a quick way of transforming something old.

You will need: 

An old candle jar - I used a larger three-wick candle, however any jar will do

Wooden dowels - I used a pack of 100 dowels measuring 50mm x 4mm, which I picked up from Amazon for £4.99

Paint - A tester pot will do here, I've used 'Fresh Plaster' by Craig & Rose which I had leftover from my upcoming bedroom makeover 

Glue gun

Tape measure 

Spirit level

Total cost: £4.99

How to make: 

Start by giving your candle jar a really good clean. If you have any wax remaining simply remove it using boiling water - I've shared the exact method to do this over on this Reel here. 

Measure both the height and circumference of your jar. This will help you work out how many wooden dowels you'll need. My jar measured exactly 15cm high, which was really handy as I didn't need to chop any dowels down to size, however if you do need to do this, simply use a pair of strong scissors or garden secateurs, and lightly sand the ends with a piece of sandpaper. After measuring the circumference of my jar, I worked out a pack of 100 wooden dowels would be enough. 

Using your glue gun, place a strip of glue along the dowel, and stick to the outside of the jar. The first dowel is the trickiest as you want to make sure you get it on straight, so use a spirit level to check this. Be careful as the glue is hot, but dries really quickly so bear that in mind. The good thing about this though, is you can pull the dowels off once they're dry, so if you do make a mistake don't worry!

Work your way around the jar, sticking the dowels on one by one. Try to make sure the dowels are directly next to each other when sticking, and avoid any gaps. This is simply to make sure you're keeping them straight. 

Once you've finished, leave to dry. You might find that some glue that has seeped between the dowels, or at the top - if that's the case, use a piece of sandpaper to smooth. 

You can now paint all over the dowels - as these are raw, untreated wood any paint should work - I simply used a tester pot I had leftover. The colour I've used is a pale pink, perfect for contrasting against the dark black dresser I'll be displaying my pot in. I gave mine two coats, and there was more than enough paint in the tester. 

And you're all done! Use your pot as a new home for plants - just bear in mind there is no drainage in the bottom, so keep your plant in its own pot so you can easily remove to water. I've used an artificial plant in mine, however you could also use your pot to store items such as utensils, or pens, for example. 

Hope you enjoyed this quick and simple DIY - let me know if you make one, I'd love to see! And I'll be back next week with another quick craft perfect for completing over the weekend.

Thanks for reading,
Sam Xx