DIY Concrete Heart Planter

This DIY concrete heart planter is a LOVE-ly addition to your home decor for Valentine’s Day. Fill it with a little succulent or floral arrangement, add some heart filler, or display it on its own. It’s a sweet decor piece to display inside or outside your home all year long. You’re going to LOVE this fun, easy, beautiful, and inexpensive home decor DIY.

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DIY Concrete LOVE

Yup, I’m at it again! By now it’s no secret, I love to play with concrete. Once you try it, it’s hard to stop. If you ask me which one of my projects is my favorite, I honestly can’t choose. I love them all!

Creating new concrete DIY projects has become a real passion of mine. Now with Valentine’s Day coming, I couldn’t help but try to think of another one to celebrate the sweet holiday. Guess what? I did it! 

What You Need to Make a DIY Concrete Heart Planter

Making concrete projects only requires only a few materials. Once you have them, making future concrete pieces is easy. You can let your imagination run wild. Here is what you need to make a DIY concrete heart planter.

Materials:

• Plastic heart-shaped bowls that nest (I got mine from Hobby Lobby.)
• Fast-setting concrete mix
• Sifter (Helpful to remove large pieces of gravel in the concrete. I used a plastic colander I found at Walmart for under $1.)
• Water
• Large bucket
• Cooking spray (I used Pam.)
• Rocks for weighting down the inner bowl (I used the rocks I sifted out of the concrete before mixing it.)
• Gloves (Recommended as wet cement has a very high alkaline (high ph), so gloves are recommended to prevent the possibility of chemical burns.)
• Mask for nose and mouth (Recommended)

A drill with a concrete/grout mixing paddle is not necessary, but it makes it much easier to mix the concrete quickly.

How to Make a DIY Concrete Heart Planter

Prepare the concrete:

Sift out the rocks from the concrete. I prefer my concrete projects to have a smoother look. To achieve that, I sift the larger pieces of gravel out of the concrete before adding the water. This isn’t necessary though. If you prefer a more pitted (or rustic) look, you can leave the gravel in the concrete.

To sift out the gravel I used a very inexpensive plastic colander I found at Walmart for less than a dollar. If you sift out the gravel, keep it close by. You’ll understand why shortly.

Prepare the heart bowls:

First, spray the inside of the larger heart bowl generously with cooking spray. Then, spray the outside of the smaller heart bowl. The cooking spray helps to keep the concrete from sticking to the sides of the bowls and makes the forms easier to remove once the concrete is set and dry.

Mix and pour the concrete:

Mix up the concrete. This step needs to be relatively quick because fast-setting concrete begins to set and harden in about 15-minutes.

In a large bucket pour in the dry concrete. Next, slowly begin adding water and use the mixing paddle to mix the concrete and water. The amount of water used in mixing the concrete depends on the amount of concrete being used. A good rule of thumb is to start out with less water and add more until it reaches the desired consistency. The concrete should be the consistency of pudding before it sets.

Then, pour the concrete into the prepared larger heart bowl filling it about 1/3 of the way up. Remember, we are making a shallow heart planter, not a deep heart bowl.

Gently press the smaller heart bowl into the concrete without letting it touch the bottom. If needed, use the rocks that were sifted out of the concrete earlier to weigh down the smaller bowl.

Allow the concrete to dry and set:

Allow the concrete in the heart bowl to dry and set for about 24-hours before trying to remove it from the form.

Remove the forms:

Finally, once the concrete is dry and set, carefully remove the heart forms. If the edges are rougher than you’d like, you can use fine-grit sandpaper and lightly sand the concrete to smooth them out. 

DIY Concrete Heart Planter Styling Ideas

Now that your DIY concrete planter is finished, there are so many ways you can style it. Add some little heart decor filler, design a low-lying faux or fresh floral or succulent arrangement, or display it on its own as a statement piece. No matter how it’s styled, this planter is a perfect way to celebrate Valentine’s Day inside or outside your home. It’s so beautiful that you can leave it out all year round!

Style a DIY Concrete Heart Planter with Succulents

I decided to style my DIY concrete heart planter with faux succulents I found at Hobby Lobby. First, I cut out floral foam to fit in the planter. Next, I arranged the larger succulents first. I was able to fit three larger succulents in my foam. Then, I filled in the empty spaces in and around the large succulents with smaller ones. Finally, I added some hanging succulents around the outer edges to create visual interest and extra beauty. I love how it turned out! What do you think? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Thank you for joining me here today. I had so much fun sharing this DIY concrete heart planter with you. I hope you love this project and make one for yourself! If you are looking for more home decor inspiration, DIYs, crafts, and recipes be sure to follow me on Pinterest and Instagram. I look forward to sharing more with you there. 

Here are some more of my favorite DIY concrete projects:

DIY Concrete Bowls

Concrete Pumpkins

DIY Concrete Jack O’Lanterns