PET Bottle Plant Hangers

Materials needed
Old PET bottle
Scissors
Cord or Jute thread (this biodegrades and the planters are heavy so a plastic cord does work better)
Soil
Propagatable plants

The trickiest part of this project is making the hole in the bottom of the PET bottle to thread a rope/string through.  You will need to use a good sturdy cord and attach something inside (or make a big knot) so that the string doesn't pull all the way through.  Find the right implement, we used sharp, pointy scissors and slowly dug our way in right in the center of the bottle.  We made a few small holes on one side of the bottle (which would become the bottom of the planter) for drainage.  Pull the string through and knot it well so that it comes out the bottom.  Tie the other side of this string onto the neck of the bottle where the lid is.  You will need to measure the string to have the bottle hang at the right distance, make it a bit longer for knotting, etc.

Now cut a slice along the side of the bottle.  Don't  make it too wide or the bottle will bend with the weight of the soil and the plant.  Once you have cut away a piece to make the planter opening, fill the bottle up well with soil and put in a plant type that will easily propagate.  You can also grow something like lettuce or herbs.

loo roll matryoshkas

mustard matryoshkas, a photo by dalbhat on Flickr.

I had saved up quite a few toilet paper rolls thinking to do some sort of project but to be honest, i can never think of anything very interesting to use them for.

Using the matryoshka doll i keep in our little children's lending library i talked a little bit about these dolls and we played with them a bit. Then, I had the kids look at the designs and how the dolls are painted.

Next, I gave them each a loo roll to design a doll for themselves. The results were beautiful!