Potted Plant Secret Compartment

I've got a weird obsession with secret compartments. I love trying to think of new ways to hide things in plain site and re-purposing random objects. This instructable was born from a trip to IKEA to pick up a desk lamp. One of the clocks they had for sale opened up to reveal shelving behind it. Of course, this got me thinking about secret compartments. I got distracted by their large selection of fake plants, and decided to buy one and see what I could do with it (I forgot the lamp, though).

Thanks to everyone who voted for me in the Protected Contest!

Step 1: What You Need:

- Small fake plant

- Plant pot

- Empty plastic container (the kind yogurt comes in; you want a container that can only be pushed about 1 to 1 1/2 inches into the pot before stopping.)

- Craft knife

- Hot glue gun

- Dirt

Step 2: Taking Apart the Plant

- Disassemble the fake plant. Most IKEA plants have a rubber disk of fairly unconvincing fake dirt that you will need to pry out of the way to get at the connections.

- My plant was connected to the bottom of the pot by some metal wires, so I had to use wire cutters to remove it.

- Trim the wires protruding from the bottom of the plant to about and inch long.

Step 3: Cutting the Container

- Make sure the plastic container can only be pushed about 1 to 1 1/2 inches into the pot. You might have to try multiple containers to get one that fits.

- Cut the bottom 1/2 inch of the container off and save it.

- Make sure the bottom of the container still rests in the pot about 1 to 1 1/2 inches below the top.

Step 4: Assembling the Plant

- Cut a cross in the center of the container bottom. Do it gently, because I cracked the plastic by forcing the blade in.

- Push the wires protruding from the bottom of the fake plant through the cross (or in my case, asterisk).

- Hot glue the plant in place; use a lot of glue, enough to completely cover the bottom of the plant and the cuts.

Step 5: Finishing Up

- Put the "plant" in the pot to make sure it sits well.

- Remove the plant and fill the plastic container with dirt.

- Put whatever you want to hide in the bottom of the plant pot.

- Place the plant in the pot over top of it.

Spread the dirt around to obscure the plastic completely.

Comments

[CluegoEscape]

Simple, but smart!

[The cloud 1808]

cool and smart

[M3G]

Thanks!

[mfinson]

I wonder if it would work to mix potting soil with school glue to keep from spilling soil inside the pot.

[M3G]

That's a great idea!

[benpe03]

That was awesome. You have to do more stuff like that. I really enjoyed reading and doing it. Thanks!!

[M3G]

Thank you so much! I hope to be publishing some similar stuff soon.

[PaleHorseRider]

So does this mean that your back?

[M3G]

Do you mean back publishing instructables? If so, yep!

[Howdenpines]

Great idea! And if it's a real Rolex submariner with date, it sells for about £3500, over $5000, so it's worth hiding! Don't let anyone know where you live......

[M3G]

Thanks! I wish it was real now, I didn't know it would be worth that much! Ah well, at least it tells the time.

[goldlego]

Cool! That's so simple yet clever. Thanks for sharing!

[M3G]

Thanks!

[nikkkki]

thanks! good and easy idea! I will try to do it

[M3G]

I'd love to see a picture!

[ChrysN]

Clever idea, no one think to look there.

[M3G]

Thanks!

[mbeukes]

Awesome idea! Definitely something I'm gonna make. Thanx for the brain wave!

[M3G]

Thanks! I'd love to see a picture when it's done!