Designed by: Jane Hughes
These fabulous planters are an ideal size for windowsills. The plants give the faces some “hair,” so you can have some fun choosing which ones to put in—herbs are ideal. The cork legs leave space for air to circulate underneath to keep your plants healthy.
MATERIALS
IKEA® HOME FURNISHINGS FÖRHÖJA
BOX SET, $22.99
PENCIL
PAINT: SKIN COLORS, BLACK, PINK, RED, AND BLUE
PAINTBRUSHES: THICK AND THIN
12 PLASTIC-TOPPED CORKS
CLEAR VARNISH SPRAY
STRONG GLUE
4 EMPTY PLASTIC MILK CARTONS, OR SIMILAR
TIME: 6–8 HRS
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
HACK HINT: If you don’t want to paint the faces you could collage them and then coat them in clear varnish.
INSTRUCTIONS
1 The FÖRHÖJA box set has four pieces: two small boxes, one large box, and a lid/tray. The lid/tray is not required for this project so place it aside. Turn the boxes so the notch is at the back on the two smaller-sized ones. Lightly sketch the shape of a face onto the upper part of each wooden box. Paint the face shape with skin-color paint and allow it to dry.
2 Paint the corks in a bright color and allow them to dry.
3 Once the corks are dry, lay down newspaper outdoors, and spray a coat of clear varnish over them to seal in the color.
4 When the varnish is dry, glue the corks to the underside of the box in each corner.
5 Lightly pencil in the facial features and use a fine brush to paint them on neatly.
6 Once dry, spray the faces with clear varnish to seal in the colors and waterproof the paint.
7 Take four plastic milk cartons, or similar, and cut them down to 2¼ inches (6 cm) high. Place one in each of the small planter boxes and two in the large planter box to protect them from water damage.