Up-cycled Plastic Plant Hanger

A simple project that turns your trash into a unique, stylish hanger for your plant pots.

Steps:

1. Collect plastic
2. Cut plastic
3. Colour plastic
4. Form beads
5. Create curly pieces
6. String together hanger
7. Insert plant pot & hang up

Supplies

• String (I will be using invisible thread in this example)
• Scissors
• Plastic waste (I used thin plastic products like berry packaging and yogurt pots)
• Permanent markers
• Wire (to keep a hole in the bead when melting the plastic)
• Pliers
• Matches
• Candle

Step 1: Collect Plastic

• Collect used plastic
• I specifically used:
  - Translucent berry (strawberries, raspberries, etc.) packaging - which I coloured
  - White yogurt pots

Step 2: Cut Plastic

• Cut the plastic into short, narrow strips
• Remove and discard very hard/strong pieces of the plastic (e.g. the rim)
• Roughly 2cm x 5cm
• Try to avoid areas of the plastic packaging that contain holes

Step 3: Colour Plastic

Use permanent markers to add colour to the plastic pieces.

Step 4: Form Beads

• Roll a plastic strip around a piece of strong wire (this ensures that there will be a hole in the bead while melting it)
• Using pliers, hold the rolled plastic piece over the candle
• Melt until the plastic bead holds it shape and doesn't unravel
• The amount of beads you make depends on how long or complex you want your hanger design

Step 5: Create Curly Pieces

• These curly pieces were added to the bottom pieces of the plant hanger for decorative purposes
• Pierce a hole at the end of a coloured plastic piece
• Neaten up the edges of the piece (I cut around the corners to round off the edges)
• With wire in the pierced hole (to ensure the hole is kept when melted), hold the piece over the candle until the piece begins to curl up
• Repeat, depending on how many curly pieces you want to include in your plant hanger

Step 6: String Together Hanger

• A diagram is located on the photo for reference
• My hanger structure includes:
  - 3 circular pieces (labelled dark blue on the diagram)
  - 2 long pieces that attach to the circular pieces (labelled light blue and green on the diagram)
• First make the 3 circular pieces by adding the beads onto the string and tying a knot to close and create a circular shape (like a necklace)
• The 3 circular pieces should be in ascending size
• Work your way down the hanger (section 1 to section 6 on the diagram) by stringing on the beads then tying a knot at each yellow dot on the diagram and tying to the circular pieces where shown

Step 7: Insert Plant Pot & Hang Up

Insert the pot into the hanger and hang up.