Triangular Wall Planter DIY

Supplies:

Cardboard. It will be covered up with cardstock, so it is okay if it has paint and things on it. Just as long as it is smooth.

Cardstock that looks like marble or another pattern you like. I bought mine from Michaels. Here is the code and what it looks like.

Hot glue gun and glue

Elmer’s glue

Acrylic paint. I painted mine this gold, but feel free to paint yours whatever color you like.

Bamboo skewers. I purchased mine from dollar tree, but any will do. I recommend thicker skewers so the entire piece is a little stronger.

Fake plant or flowers to place inside the piece when it is finished. I recommend not adding anything to heavy.

A pencil

A ruler

Scissors

Wire cutters or something to cut the bamboo skewers

You may also want to purchase these small clamps from dollar tree to help hold things in place as glue dries.

I started off by looking at the space I wanted to hang this triangular piece, and roughly determined a size I thought would be best for that space. Then I started making my triangle shapes out of cardboard. You will need a total of three triangles. The top of my triangles were about 5 inches wide, but you can make them bigger or smaller depending on what will work best for your space. I used a ruler to help me make straight lines on the cardboard. I then used my exacto knife to cut the first cardboard triangle out. I then used that cut out to make the other two triangles, to insure they were all similar in size and angle.

Now put the three triangles together, by lining up the sides and forming a pyramid. Then you will want to apply a good amount of hot glue to each of the sides. I recommend gluing one side at a time, and not moving on to the next until the glue is fully dry.

Once everything is glued and dried, we can start covering the cardboard. I placed my triangle directly onto the back of my decorative marble paper and with a pencil I drew around all of the edges of the triangle, then rotated the triangle and drew around all of the edges of that triangle. Since the back of this piece will be up against the wall, I did not cover the third triangle. I also will not be covering the inside of the pyramid since I will have a decorative plant that will cover this. I then used my ruler to make the triangle I just drew a little bigger. I extended all of the edges (probably ½ an inch, sorry I did not think to measure this) to account for any bending and going around the corners of the triangles. I practiced wrapping my cardboard triangle several times, before doing any cutting, to ensure the shape should be big enough. Once I was happy with it, I used my scissors to cut out the shape I made on my decorative marble paper.

Next, I used Elmer’s glue to glue the decorative marble paper to the cardboard. I recommend gluing the two visible faces of the triangles down first, then work on bending and gluing the edges down once these have dried first. I used Elmer’s glue for this part so my paper would not have any bumps in it from the dried glue. I also used a scrap piece of paper to evenly apply and smooth out the glue over the cardboard before placing the decorative marble paper down, marble side up.

In order for the corner pieces to lay down nicely you will need to use your scissors to cut two very small slits diagonally at the top and bottom corners where the two facing triangles come together. Then fold the flap you created down and overlap it with the extra edge pieces of the paper. You may need to cut off some extra paper to help it lay down flat depending how much extra overlap you have. Then fold over the rest of the extra paper and glue everything down. I place the dollar tree clamps on the edge pieces to help hold them down as the glued. Once this was glued and dried, I glued the extra paper to the back triangle. You will need to cut a small slit at both corners here to help everything lay down flat.

Now I used the bamboo skewers to make the shape that will hold this triangle. I laid two skewers along both sides of the pyramid. I liked having these skewers a little longer than the pyramid. I used my wire cutters to cut the bamboo skewer to the desired length. I used the first skewer I cut to measure the second skewer to cut, this way they were the same length. Next, I laid two more skewers for the top portion of the diamond, which will be what this piece will be hanging from. Again, I cut one and used that one to measure and cut the second one to insure they were the same length. You could glue this diamond shape together now, but I decided to cut all of my skewers first so I did not have to keep plugging in and unplugging my hot glue gun. In order to get correct measurements for the next skewers I placed my pyramid inside my diamond shape I had thus far with the skewers I already cut. I then measured one down the front of the pyramid and two for each side. The ones that were cut for the sides I made them slightly lower than the place where my diamond skewers met. This is just the look I preferred. If you want a piece a little sturdier, then you could also measure and cut a skewer to go along the back of the pyramid. This will also help hold the pyramid in place when not against the wall. I chose not to do this back piece however, because I wanted my piece to sit flush against the wall. I also knew this piece would not be holding much weight and it would not be moved often. So, for me this extra back piece was not needed. You may want to sand the ends of the skewers that were cut down just a little to make them smoother. This is optional.

Once I had all of my skewers cut and shape designed, it was time to glue everything together. I left the cardboard pyramid in place to insure everything was glued in the correct position. When gluing I only applied a very small amount of glue and was very careful not to get any glue on the pyramid piece. Once everything was lightly glued, I took the pyramid piece out and applied more glue to all the places the skewers joined each other. These glue spots will kind of look like welded spots once it is all painted. So, do not be afraid to have a heavy hand with the glue (apply a good amount of glue). The more glue used, the sturdier the piece becomes to an extent. Also do not forget to apply glue all around the joints, not just at the front most visible area. Allow the glue to dry and apply more if needed if places seem a bit week.

Once your structure is complete you can paint it the color of your choice. You could also spray paint it if you desired. I applied one to two coats of gold acrylic paint. Once the paint was completely dry, I placed my marble looking pyramid inside.

I was happy with how it looked, so I added some greenery I found on sale at Joann Fabrics. I picked this piece specifically because I could make it droop down and over my piece some and because it had touches of light pink flowers throughout. The light pink flowers matched perfectly with my other pieces already hanging on the wall. I used a gold nail I had on hand to hang this piece. I messed with the greenery a little more, until I was happy with everything. I think this wall in my bathroom turned out very nice. Everything ties together so well. The greenery in this piece may be a little tall, and I may cut it down a little in the future. For now I will leave it how it is and see what I think after a few days of seeing it up on the wall. Please feel free to let me know your opinions on the greenery in this piece.