Dinosaur Planter

I made this planter for a Christmas gift last year and never blogged about it. I saw something similar on Etsy and thought, "Wow, I could make that" and saved the $25 plus shipping the person charged. I started with a dinosaur I found in the dollar bin at Target. It was kind of hard to find a dinosaur that was large enough to stick a plant. I found some on Amazon.com but didn't want to spend $25 to get a bunch of them. No single items. So I lucked out and found it at Target after much searching. I bought 3 at $2.50 each.

Cut a hole in the dinosaur's back. Also easier said than done. The plastic is thick and strong. I thought I'd use a box cutter. No dice. Knife? Exacto knife? Hand saw? Dremmel tool? No, no, no. Nothing worked. I ended up taking a smaller drill bit and drilling holes all around the spot I wanted to remove. Drill them right next to each other and then take a knife and cut the connecting plastic away and remove the cap. It worked OK. I then did take a Dremmel tool (the little spinning sand paper disk thing) and tried to smooth out the opening somewhat. It also worked OK.

After the hole is cut, paint the dinosaur your favorite color. The one I gave my brother for Christmas was painted orange. I painted the one I kept for myself blue. The last dinosaur is still intact and awaiting a transformation.

The animal is hollow inside. Stick some tin foil in the tail of the animal. You don't want a ton of water pooling in the tail and getting all gross. Fill up any cavities.

Add dirt and the plant and voila! Dinosaur planter. I've had my planted since December and it's still going strong. My brother's is also alive. I used succulents that don't require much water - just some good sunlight and a drink every now and then.