Easter is right around the corner! Easter baskets are a wonderful tradition celebrating the joy of spring and the return of all the growing things. Easter baskets are given to children on Easter, loaded with chocolate and spring-time treats. When I was growing up, we would make our Easter baskets up the night before to look like empty inviting nests. We left the baskets loaded with colorful “grass” in prominent places. That way when the Easter Bunny came by the house, he would be encouraged to leave chocolate and candy in the baskets! In the morning we would race over to see what the Easter Bunny left. All the candy was gently pulled out and set aside. Then, we would use our Easter baskets to gather up all the dyed Easter eggs that had been hidden around the house and the yard by the Easter Bunny. After the Easter egg hunt, we would ravenously devour the candy.
It has been a long time since I made an Easter basket. I was at a Walmart and saw this really fun Pokéball Easter basket. I try not to eat too much candy these days, so I didn’t want to fill it with chocolate bunnies or candy eggs. Those little Reese’s Pieces eggs are dangerously tasty! The Easter aisle was also full of all kinds of toys, fidgets, small plushies, activity books, and even trading cards to put in Easter baskets. I was quite surprised! Apparently, Easter baskets are now more like Christmas stockings, and often include toys as well as treats. It’s a neat change but was a bit of a culture shock for me.
I realized, I really wanted to make an Easter basket, but I wanted to do a fun alternative take on one. I’m a huge Pokémon fan and Oddish is one of my favorite Pokémon. The second I saw that Pokéball I thought, my goodness that would make the cutest planter. There were so many fun plastic Easter baskets that would lend themselves well to this craft project! I saw Minecraft, Bluey, Baby Yoda, and so many more on the shelves.
Planter pot secured, my next step was a Dollar Tree to get a bag of dirt. Planters should never break the bank. At the core all you need is a vessel, dirt, stones, and a plant. I wanted to use an actual potting mix since my little guy is a Rubber Plant (Peperomia Obtusifolia).
HOW TO MAKE A POKÉBALL PLANTER FOR EASTER
Step 1. Remove the Handle
I removed the handle from my Pokéball Easter basket. It is now a worthy vessel! The handle was secured by these little pressure fit hinges that popped right out.
Step 2. Drill the Drain Holes - USE ADULT SUPERVISION
I’m using my Pokéball planter for a living plant so it needs some drain holes to prevent waterlogging and root rot. I used a handheld drill. This step requires adult supervision. For anyone who does not have a drill, a great solution is to use plastic or silk flowers. Then the drain holes are not needed. I flipped the Pokéball upside down, and carefully drilled a random assortment of holes. They do not need to be perfectly spaced, they just need to let water through.
Step 3. Add Rocks
I placed a layer of rocks on the bottom of the pot. This is for a couple of reasons. The rocks help with drainage. Plants send their roots to the dirt where all the nutrients are, and are slow to attempt to root in rocks. Excess water can thus safely trickle into the rocks and prevent the dirt from getting too waterlogged. The other main reason is to weight the pot. This is especially important with pots that have a higher center of gravity like ball-shaped Pokéballs. The rocks prevent the pot from tipping over easily when fully loaded with dirt and plants.
Most plants need dirt to live. I added my Dollar Tree potting mix. I filled the Pokéball most of the way up with dirt, checking the level by placing my still potted Peperomia inside. I wanted to leave space from the rim to allow easy watering. I left about an inch of space from the top.
Step 4. Wet the Dirt
To prevent shock, I wet the dirt in my new planter as well as my little transplant guy. It’s important not to completely flood the dirt, but to just wet it until it is damp.
Step 5. Transplant the Plant
I gently squeezed the sides of the Peperomia’s tiny little seedling pot to loosen the dirt plug from the pot. He then slid out and I was able to set him into his new home.
Step 6. Tamp the Dirt
Using the back of my fingers I gently pressed down, tamping the dirt around the Peperomia. It’s important to be careful with this step, there are a lot of fragile little roots when transplanting young plants. They need to be secured and not crushed.
Step 7. Clean Up and Enjoy!
With that, my new planter was all done and my Peperomia was super happy to have a new home!
If you choose to make a planter out of an Easter basket, I would love to hear about it in the comments! I will definitely be hitting the stores after Easter to see if I can snag some cool baskets on sale to make summer planters and centerpieces.
