Now that Christmas is over and gifts have been given, I can finally start revealing some of the things I’ve been working on the past few months! I’m so excited!
One of the most loved gifts went to my sister, who lives for 80s nostalgia (even more than I!) – and if it’s anything Nintendo-related, she’s all the more thrilled.
Last year she got Tetris soaps and a Koopa hat.
This year: living piranha chomper plant!
Want to see how I did it?
1. Gather your materials
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 six-inch flower pot, black or painted black
- 1 five-inch length of PVC pipe (or 2 segments)
- 1 piece PVC pipe joint connector
- Green spray paint (I used Krylon for plastics)
- Your favorite epoxy
- 1 large venus flytrap paint
- Potting soil
- 1 cup pea gravel
2. Get ready to paint your PVC
- If you are using separate pieces of pipe, like I did, you’ll need to epoxy everything together before painting.
- I used the Krylon Fusion paint, which didn’t require priming. Any other paint will need a primer because that PVC is capital-S Slippery!
3. Spray paint your pipe
- Even though I didn’t need primer, it still took about three coats to achieve the color I wanted, so plan on having a littl extra wait time on your hands
- It’s super easy to get too much paint on the pipe – make sure you are doing pretty light, even passes with the can to avoid drips
4. Assemble everything
- Layer the pea gravel in the bottom of the pot to aid in drainage (flytraps like bogs, but will damp off if things are too swampy)
- Add potting soil to the lip of the flowerpot
- Nestle the pipe down into the soil until it’s sitting firmly in place. Pack soil around the pipe.
- Fill the pipe with soil, leaving room at the top for the soil and moss that comes with the flytrap
- Plant the flytrap, making sure to get all that good peat moss in there (it’s going to help maintain a moisture balance)
That’s it! You’re done!
I think this is the perfect geek/gamer present – next year everyone might get one!
This is so cute! I’m making it for my son’s birthday. He’s a Mario freak. One question, did you have to sand the top of the “pipe”? It looks a little rough in the third picture. Thanks!
I didn’t sand anything – I think it looks a little uneven due to the cuts in the pipe from the manufacturer. So to get it perfectly smooth you could prime or sand it lightly before moving ahead with the green.
Why has no one commented and told you how awesome this is? Well I just did because I’m definitely making one this week! Thanks for the great idea
Oh, thank you! I’m so glad you like it – have a ton of fun making yours!
Oh I LOVE this! My son would squeal if I made one of these for his room. So, I guess I better get started…
Make one – it is so easy and fun!
This is amazing! I should do this with my venus fly trap!
Oh.My.Gawd.
You are genius personified!
Now I need to check out that DIY lightbox tutorial I see below…
AMAZING! I have to do this, but I think I’ll do it with flowers until my son gets a little older.
This is awesome! Where did you find the Venus Fly Trap plant?
you can generally find them at lowe’s (the home improvement store) – they are inside usually, with other succulents and cacti.