How to Make a Flower Pot out of a Recycled Rubber Boot

Claudia has been writing about crafts online for many years. She is an avid crafter who has been creating for most of her life.

As a crafter and a gardener, I'm always trying to think of fun ways to jazz up my outdoor space. So when one of my daughter's mud boots got a hole in the bottom, I started to brainstorm and came up with the idea of recycling it into a planter.

I have seen cute rain boots planted with flowers before, but they are always the ones that were purchased with a color and design already on them. The boots I have are dull and brown and don't really look all that great. To start the boot transformation, I headed down to my local craft store and bought some supplies. I waited for a sunny day, and then went to work.

The end result is this rubber boot flower pot and I couldn't be happier with it. I have the perfect place already picked out in my garden for it.

If you are saying to yourself that you can't paint, don't worry. I am not a painter at all. I just did some simple flowers with different types of brushes, added lots of polka dots, and a couple of stripes. I can only imagine what someone with good painting skills could do with this project!

Here are the steps you'll need to make your own recycled rubber boot planter. Have fun!

Supplies You'll Need

• Spray paint: primer (if needed) and color of your choice. You'll want to use a product that works on plastic and is suitable for outdoor use.
• Outdoor acrylic paints in a variety of colors. Make sure they work on plastic and are suitable for outdoor use.
• Paint brushes.
• Clear acrylic sealer that is suitable for outdoor use.
• Paper towels.
• Protective covering for the work surface.

Step 1: Clean Up the Boots

Clean the boots with water and a scrub brush. Depending on how dirty they are, you may need to use a little dish soap. These boots are pretty sturdy so they took a hard scrubbing to remove all of the mud with no problem at all.

Rinse off any soap residue and set aside to dry completely.

Remember to clean out the inside too. These boots were sitting in the garage for a long time so there were a couple of spiders crawling around. I just took a damp paper towel and wiped around the inside.

Step 2: Make the Drainage Holes

Because the bottom of this boot had split, I did not need to make a drainage hole, but chances are good that you will need to.

You can use a screwdriver to make a fews holes or, if it's easier, a power drill works too.

I suggest making three holes in the foot area of the boot, with at least one close to the toe area. This will allow the water to drain out.

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Some boots have liners in them. These need to be removed.