Fun with Faux Succulents

Succulents should be easy care houseplants. As members of the cactus family, they actually prefer neglect and small amounts of water. So why would anyone want fakes? Well, maybe they already have too many plants. (Me) And can’t resist the opportunity to do something that doesn’t work so well with live plants. (Also me.)

I blame this project on the dollar store. I actually went in looking for something else and came across the plastic dish garden now containing the succulent arrangement in the attached photos. Since it’s clear, how could you not put some fun, plastic ice “crystals” and LED fairy lights in it? Obviously, I couldn’t resist. Another bonus? Faux plants can stand having a bit of glitter glued on them.

The succulents, crystals and lights weren’t available at the dollar store. Bummer. So the project did cost a few more dollars. I considered making it more permanent with resin poured into the stones, then ruled it out in case the lights die at some point. The resin did add to the cost, but I have pendant molds and was out of resin. It won’t go to waste. Without the resin pour, this is a quick project. The tiny LED lights on metallic wires work best, especially when they have an equally small battery compartment. It’s easier to hide. Besides hiding the wire as the bowl was filled, I also added 2 bags of large faceted plastic beads from my stash. The crystals are turquoise colored. The beads are purple, blue and green. They tied the bowl filler with the succulents I chose. After the bowl was filled with lights and filler, the plants were arranged and a second strand of lights was interwoven into them. They were added after doing a test in a dark room. While the bowl looked nice, the succulents themselves were hard to see. Since I purchased a set of ten LED strands from a certain internet retailer, I had extra to play with. Battery compartments are stashed between a couple of the plants at the edge of the bowl, where they’re still easy to access.

Now, I have a fun night light which can also travel with us in our Airstream. (Bottom shelf in cabinet while on the road.) At home, I can enjoy it upstairs in my studio, without having to worry about whether or not I remembered to water the plants.

The Project Queen