I know what you're thinking. She ruined a pretty cool typewriter.
That fiend!
But you know what? The plants are fake!!!
Or faux. Faux sounds a lot prettier than fake.
They make such lifelike succulents these days that LOOK and FEEL like real ones, there's no reason to ruin a perfectly good typewriter by putting dirt in it and watering the poor thing!
And did you really think I, lover of vintage typewriters and saver of all the vintage things, would do that!
Never in a million years. Unless it was all rusty and crusty to begin with. Then maybe.
But still probably not.
I sort of cheated on this Thrift Store Decor Team makeover, because I've had this typewriter for a while. It's not like I just thrifted it last Wednesday at Goodwill.
I've used it in vignettes or just hanging around my house for a while now. But, as much as I love a good green typewriter, I thought it could use a little "enhancing".
So when I ran across these succulent stems at JoAnn Fabrics (Michaels has similar ones), I though why not!
Some of the stems were a bit long, so I had to snip them off a bit to get them to lay correctly. But other than that it's such a simple tutorial I decided not to do one.
Ha, like you could get off that easy!
How To Make A Succulent Planter Out Of A Typewriter
Grab you a typewriter (can be found at thrift stores, yard sales, estate sales or cheap antique malls)
Find some faux succulents (JoAnns, Michaels and Amazon are good places to find them)
Trim succulent stems if necessary to set in the cavity of the typewriter correctly (mine came with freakishly long stems).
I found that wedging them between the typebars worked to secure them in place (those long metal things that fly up and strike the paper).
If you want to make it more semi-permanent, you could cut some florist foam to fit in the typebar area to stick the stems into.
Sit back and freak out your friends who think you killed a classic typewriter!
(This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. You can read my full disclosure policy here.)
BTW, if you are interested in vintage typewriters there is a fantastic site called The Classic Typewriter Page which is a great place to find out how to date your typewriter and how to clean one. And the author has a book all about typewriters called The Typewriter Revolution.
Although, honestly, he seems to have dropped the ball on how to plant in one. Just saying.
OK, now run over and see what my friends have done with their thrift store finds, because it's Thrift Store Decor Wednesday and I'm ready to par-tay!!!
Refresh Restyle - Vintage Train Case Makeover
Petticoat Junktion - Painting Old Books
My Repurposed Life - Rustic Pottery Barn Mirror Makeover
My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia - Wine Barrel Makeover
Sadie Seasongoods - Mid Century Modern Makeover On A Lazy Susan
Domestically Speaking - DIY Striped Serving Tray
Our Southern Home - Pedestal Bowl Makeover
House Of Hawthornes - Repurposing A Typewriter (that's me)
Check out the web story version of this article HERE.
Other posts you may enjoy:
How To Make Silverware Wind Chimes
Ditch The Urns: Creative Garden Containers For Your Porch
Mel
I found a gorgeous old typewriter recently, and was hoping I could make it at least somewhat functional again--but it's no good. The internals are all so badly rusted that they crumble when you touch them, but the outside still looks great. It's way, way past the point of ever functioning ever again, more's the pity. So I'm going to make a succulent planter out of that--with real succulents. 😀 This post was fantastic: thank you for the great idea!
Maryann
That turned out absolutely adorable!
Diane
It's so springy, Pam! At first, I said nope, absolutely not. I have my mom's Royal from when she was in high school, I learned on it, and the keyboard is not labeled, as in plain black keys - no letters. And it still works well. That said, when I realized the succulents were faux (duh), I loved it! Really cute, and the jadeite-green color makes it even more special! Mine will remain naked though, in honor of how well my mom cared for hers.
Pam
I cannot even imagine typing on one with no letters. I would be lost. Even in typing class I always snuck a peek at the letters every once in a while 🙂
Kathy A
So glad you didn't "kill" a vintage typewriter. Yours is sure to bring a LOT of comments. As a person with black thumbs, I love faux flowers and greenery. The bright spring green is just such an upper after this LONG winter!
Pam
I have a LOT of real houseplants, but I do love these new-fangled faux succulents. They're much easier to care for than the real ones!
Tania
I just love this! I made a planter with faux succulents in an old radio but the radio no longer worked so I could have used real ones too. I would love to find a typewriter like yours!
Pam
That sounds adorable!
Kristin salazar
This is adorable and I love your title LOL! I have those long fake succulents as well and I love adding them to my real ones, you can't tell they are fake or faux 🙂
Pam
Right? I overwintered a huge pot of succulents I had on my porch last summer, but it's looking a bit sparse right about now. I think I'll add some faux ones in to fill it back up!
Ann
Very cute and clever! Man, you scored a GREAT typewriter...kinda jealous....
Pam
I didn't even know they made green ones until I ran across that one!
Rhonda
Dollar Tree has faux succulents too. I am not sing them inside a vintage Gumball machine.
Rhonda
I am using in faux Gumball machine.
Pam
That's a great idea! I try to stay out of Dollar Tree though. I go in for a couple things and leave $40 later!
Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces
I love this one SO much! Pinning! Love that typewriter!
Pam
Thanks Linda!
gail
Whoa! what a cool project and I love that typewriter! It's awesome. I pinned this, and I bet people on pinterest will be mad thinking you ruined a perfectly good (for nothing) typewriter. lol
I like to buy my faux succulents at the $$ Tree!
gail
Dana
So cute! I'm on the lookout for a vintage typewriter but they are all expensive! thanks for sharing!
Pam
Check the thrift stores. I have never paid more than $20 for one and the blue one I have from the 70's was $5.99 I think. A couple of my local thrifts have started marking them up, but the smaller thrifts still don't understand people collect them, so they price them to get rid of them 🙂
Christy @ Our Southern Home
Green is my favorite color so WOW!!! This is such a fun idea! I almost bought succulents at HL yesterday, but not on sale. Now I'm totally picking some up to infuse faux succulents into items for a quick update. Your creativity never ceases to amaze me!
Debbie
Gorgeous!! I love the green 🙂 I have an old typewriter that might just get painted!!! Thanks for the inspiration.
Kari Wagner Hoban
People get offended by the silliest stuff. If you buy a typewriter, it is your choice to ruin it, duh.
But seriously, I love this. Especially the color of the typewriter.
Pam
You HAVE to have a typewriter. It would make writing your movie manuscript so much easier!
Sarah Ramberg
I love this so much (AND YOUR TITLE). I'm all about the fake indoor plants and this is SO up my weirdo alley.