If you want a unique air plant holder, you’ll need this tutorial on how to make the wire air plant holders that make it all possible!
When you last saw our wooden wall art DIY, we used bottle caps to hold our air plants, as you see below. But once you learn how to make our little wire wonders, you can turn just about any thing – or surface – into a unique air plant holder. You can stick them anywhere!
International Bloggers Club – Wired Challenge
It’s time for another International Bloggers Club (IBC) challenge and this month our theme is Wired. The IBC is a group from all over the world who challenge each other every month to make something using a common theme. Our previous challenge was ‘Hooked on Crochet‘ and we created this crochet wall hanging pattern inspired by Windy Chien, the famous knot artist!
You’ll find our friends’ crochet ideas at the bottom of the post. So don’t forget to check them out before you go. And if you don’t have time to browse today, pop back in later in the week to pick up where you left off.
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Unique Air Plant Holder Supplies
* [If you’re looking for some of the things we used, we’ve got you covered (disclosure): Clicking on the affiliate links below means we may receive a commission. But don’t worry, you don’t pay a cent more and it helps us make more unique crafts to share with you! Thanks for helping to support our blog!]
- Galvanized wire (dollar store wire is fine – & cheaper)
- 1/2″ Rubber grommets (these are similar, but make sure there’s adequate surface for the tape to stick)
- Cylindrical bottle
- Pen
- Pliers or needle nose pliers
- Air plants
Wire is always readily available at the dollar store. This 2-pack is great value.
While I found an assortment box at a local electronics and hobby store in our area called Sayal (in Canada), the exact rubber grommets might be a bit harder to come by in the U.S..
The ones I’m using have the tiniest hole in the middle and look like tiny yo-yos with a groove through the centre! That is where we’ll wrap the wire. There’s also adquate surface area for the double face tape to stick.
Cut Wire
To start, separate out a few coils of wire from the spool.
Cut a length the wire. I took off about four rounds or so.
Wind the wire around a cylindrical object. You can go as big or small as you like, depending on the size of your air plants.
Now, use a pen to form a tighter circle on one end of the wire.
You’ll have a smaller circle as shown.
Wrap the Grommet
Wind this part around the slot in the middle of the rubber grommet to attach.
Flip the whole thing upside down. Then use your pliers to bend the other end of the wire as shown.
Pinch the wire loops together. Bring the bent wire around all the concentric circles.
In order to secure it, wrap the wire around a few times and bend closed. Then you can spread the wire out as shown. At this point, it reminds me of a slinky!
Nano tape comes on a roll like this. But you only need a tiny amount for this project.
Wooden Air Plant Holder
Cut up square pieces of nano tape to fit the back of the grommet and stick it on.
Before attaching to a surface, test the fit of your air plants in the wire air plant holder.
Peel the liner, then stick it onto your chosen surface.
Make as many as you need. Isn’t the concept of this wooden clock cool? We upcycled the entire thing using pallet wood and a curb find clock. Practically free!
Actually, the wire around the black grommets even looks good in its bare form without the greenery to mark the time!
Decorate with Air Plants
Now pop in your air plants. The shape of our unique air plant holder will cradle them. You can even manipulate the wire as they grow to hold them! Or swap out for larger wire forms if they outgrow them completely.
There is a big advantage to our wire air plant holder over the bottle caps in our original air planter project. Instead of gluing the plant to the bottle cap and removing that, you can easily remove the air plant from the wire holder to soak them every few weeks. Then put them back in place!
Here’s how they now look to mark the hours on our not so traditional analogue wall clock!
However, you can stick these wire air plant holders onto glass too!
Initially, the earlier version of our unique air plant holder used twist ties. In case you want to see what I mean, check out this air plant holder DIY. There’s a really cool GIF near the end of that post that shows the air plants magically appearing :). It’s fun to watch!
At any rate, I think it’s time for an update to this new and improved wire air plant holder, don’t you?
Because nano tape is reusable, the possibilities are endless for where you can put these! If you grow bored of them on glass, move them somewhere else!
For instance, have an old globe kicking around? Stick a ring of wire air plant holders around the 30 degree N latitude line and joush it up like this! And if the nano tape does eventually wear out, cut new pieces. You really need so little of it.
Want more planter ideas? Check out these amazing upcycled planters!
Pin Unique Air Plant Holder
Pinning is always welcome and appreciated!
Wired Challenge Ideas
International Bloggers Club
Don’t forget to visit these awesome ‘Wired‘ projects from our creative friends below. You’re in for some unique and spectacular wire ideas!
- A Crafty Mix – How to Make a Large Wire Flower
- Unique Creations by Anita – DIY Wire Wind Spinner
- Unique Air Plant Holder – Birdz of a Feather
Air Plant Holder Ideas FAQ
What can I use as an air planter holder?
Absolutely anything can become an air plant holder if you use our wire air plant holders to cradle your air plants. They stick just about anywhere; wood, glass etc. Even your windows can become an air plant holder with our unique wire holders.
How do you keep air plants in place?
With wire air plant holders, you don’t need to glue or permanently attach your air plants. Just give them a twist and they catch on the coils of the wire to keep them in place. Then easily remove them again for watering and put them right back.
Should I mist my air plants?
With our unique air plant holders, you can easily mist them if you wish. But you can also lift them right off, soak them, let them dry and put them right back. Misting can sometimes cause rotting issues, so we only recommend misting on occasion and prefer soaking air plants.
Do air plants need holders?
Air plants are much more beautiful when displayed in groupings, so our wire air plant holders are ideal. You can make as many or as little as you like. Then stick them to any vertical surface for that wow factor.
How do you make an air plant holder?
Our tutorial takes you through the step-by-step on how to fashion a wire air plant holder that you can stick anywhere and to anything you desire.
Can I use glue to hold air plants?
You can use a plant safe glue. However, why use glue when you can make a unique air plant holder out of galvanized wire instead? It’s totally non-toxic to the plant and you can stick them anywhere using nano-tape.
Can air plants live on wood?
Air plants can happily live anywhere because they don’t need soil. But they still do need the basic necessities such as adequate light and water.
Great do over Sara, I love the little wire baskets. I must have a look into nano tape sounds like a great product.
Look for a nano tape that doesn’t mark and is reusable. There are tons of them out there now 🙂
You know how much I love anything to do with Tillies and making a wire coil to hold them opens up so many possibilities. Quick question; is Nano tape like double sided tape?
Yes, nano tape is double sided; it’s clear and very thick and strong compared to other DS tapes. Look for one that doesn’t leave a mark and is reusable; there are so many available now so read reviews before you try one 🙂
What clever idea for holding air plants, Sara! Like you say, with that nano tape, (now added to my shopping list), the possibilities for where to hang them are endless. I really like the pretty glass hanger. Would be so pretty hanging in front of a window.
I used to do stained glass, but this one is from an artist I once took a course with :). I love it in our dining room.
The wore reminds me of the slinky toy I grew up with. Which I may still have somewhere. Beautiful garden basket idea.
It reminds me of a slinky too; that was the inspiration! Hubs actually bought me one a few years ago and it’s still around somewhere lol!
Your wired air plant holders are fun and unique!
I would love to one.
Hope you try it out Kippi; they are so versatile!
I love the look of air plants! This is a great way to display them!
We love finding unique and different ways to display them. Air plants are so low maintenance and look beautiful wherever you put them.