TWO Videos: Succulent Planting + Gift Tags

Hello! Today I have two videos for you… and they are a bit different. As some of you may know from my posts on Instagram, I’m a big fan of succulents… so I’m excited that there are now succulent stamps available! The first video shows how to create some fun succulent gift tags using some colored ink, pencils and gamsol. The second video shows how I (very simply) plant and care for succulent plants. They are addictive!

I so very much love filling my craft room with small and sweet succulents (and cactus). They are gorgeous, inexpensive and easy to care for. Since I am a crafty blog, let’s first chat about the succulent gift tags I created…

These new Simon Says Stamp Succulent stamps make me so very happy! I stamped the images using SSS inks since these inks work well with Gamsol. I also added a heart to two of the images. I quickly colored the images using my colored pencils and used Gamsol to do all the blending. Gamsol makes coloring effortless with pencils!I really like the colored outline of the image instead of just black.

I also did some partial die-cutting with the matching dies to cut out my images. I made sure to cut out an extra image for the back side of my tag. I applied a strong adhesive to the back of both the die-cut pieces and sandwiched a stick in between. If you don’t have the kabob skewers that I used, you could always use a straw or a toothpick instead.

Now… time for info on the succulents themselves! Please know that I am NOT an expert on this. Not at all. I don’t really have the time to be an expert, but have found great luck by keeping it simple. And my guess is you are all limited on time… so simple would be best for you too. Yes, I have lost a few succulents along the way. But overall, my method of planting and caring for succulents (and cactus) has worked really well for me.

Here is really all there is to it:

• Pick a container. — Any container! It really is best to use one with a hole in the bottom. However, I tend to ignore this rule. (The small pots I used in this video are no longer available, but you can find similar things.)
• Get some pebbles. — I like to use both medium sized pebbles (like these) and small pebbles (like these). They are good to have in bottom of the container fpr drainage and at the top for a nice, finished look.
• Get some good soil. — I use an organic cactus soil. It works like a charm! However, in the past I have used a non-organic option that is very inexpensive. (Half the cost, twice the amount!) Both work well.
• Get some succulents or cactus. — I get mine at local florist shops, Home Depot, Lowes or on Etsy. Get whatever appeals to you. Have fun with it!
• Water with ice. — I find it best to water my plants with an ice cube once every two weeks. Ice slowly melts and prevents the plants from being “flooded.” These guys don’t need much water at all! I put a timer on my calendar to remind me to water them.
• Sunlight! — Theses guys LOVE sunlight. Put them near windows!

Again – you can Google search to get more (and better) info. But if you want to keep it simple… there you have it.

Small planted succulents make a great gift for friends, teachers, etc. I hope this is helpful!

SUPPLIES

Below are the products featured above. Click on the letters below each picture to go to a favorite store: Simon Says Stamp (SSS), Ellen Hutson (EH), Etsy (ETSY), Dick Blick (DB), and Amazon (AZ).