Here are three pretty ways to upcycle soda bottles and convert them into lovely planters! Using various sizes of bottles there are a whole variety of indoor plants you can use these for. There’s even one that waters itself! They take no time at all to make and can be a pretty edition to your kitchen or anywhere with some light that allows them to flourish! And these aren’t the only ideas! Check out our Touch of Gold DIY Planters from Soda Bottles and our Metro Modern Self Watering Planters from Soda Bottles.
Supplies Used
- Various size soda bottles. 2 liter, 32 oz, and a tall skinny one. The straight sided ones are best. Walmart has their own soda brand that works great.
- X-acto knife
- Hot Glue Gun
- String
- Goo Gone
- Free printables if desired (below)
- Black dry erase marker (to mark bottles for cutting)
- Thick water absorbent string or cord (for self watering planter)
- Permanent makers (used for decorating if desired)
- Drill (for self watering planter)
BOTTLE SIZES
This shows an example of the 32oz bottle and the tall skinny bottle I used in addition to a normal 2 liter size.
REMOVING LABELS
Remove the labels on all your bottles. After doing so use Goo Gone or something similar to get rid of the residue without marring the surface.
Trough Planter
This planter looks so awesome with a few cut out graphics attached to it. I used a 32 oz bottle. You can grab a download of the graphics seen or use your own. This would make a terrific gift!
FREE PDF OF LABELS
Cut an opening on one side of the bottle as shown.
Put in some small stones on the bottom for drainage. Add dirt and plants. Add your images. 
Herb Planter
Cute standup herb planter. You could have a whole row of these in the window sill. I used a tall skinny bottle for this but any size would work.
Draw an opening on the side of your bottle with a dry erase marker .
Cut an opening where you marked.
I used a permanent marker to make designs on the bottle. Put some stones and soil in. Add your herbs.
Self-Watering Planter
For this planter I used the larger standard 2 liter size bottle cut approximately 5″ up from the base.
Drill a hole in the lid for the string to go through. 
Take a thick jute type cord that will absorb water and feed it though the lid making a knot on the inside to keep it in place. Make it about 14″ long for this larger bottle. 
Attach the lid to the bottle.
Place water in the bottom portion and place the top upside down into it. Add some stones for drainage, your soil and your plant or seeds. IMPORTANT: You MUST water the plant yourself at first as the soil needs to start out damp. After that it should pull water up the string into the soil on it’s own. Make sure it never dries out of the water will not seep up the string.
30 responses
This came at the perfect time to transplant my herbs for indoors-Thank You!
Very nice for decorating!!!
I don’t have soda bottles, what can I do?
This self-watering one was very helpful! Thank you!!
nice that helped
It was for homework and it helped me get a 4.
same
What a cute and whimsical way to brighten up any room. And the best part is keeping reusing items you already have. Great idea Nancy. ❤️
Thank you. Ü
HI JOE
Very Nice!
Thanks Samuel!
The self watering one would look great with a fabric sleeve to match for example kitchen items, oven gloves, tea towels just leave a little window to check water levels.
When I move home I plan on having these in my bathroom and kitchen.
Thanks for the great ideas Nancy.
Lucy ~ England
ps did you get your recent card re changes?
Great ideas Lucy! Not sure what you mean by “card re changes”… can you clarify??
***Such a lovely idea**** You and your family…Are Sooooo Creative. I LOVE YOUR SITE!!! (AND – easy-to-follow instructions) LIFE – must be a BLAST at your house….Such a KOOL family…and EXCEPTIONAL ROLE – MODELS.
That you for the kind words Kamar. It’s interesting at our place for sure. 😛
[…] Kids love playing in the dirt. (As do some adults!) In fact there’s a good bit of science that states dirt is good for us. Here is a pretend kids garden set you can put together for next to nothing. I made one for our daughter little girl Alyssa Mae (seen on the photos). There’s a downloadable pdf with the full instructions below including plant labels plus a Silhouette file. For more ideas kids can also do check out our Unique Planters from Soda Bottles. […]
These are great ideas! I haven’t seen the trench planter before. Love them all, great way to recycle soda bottles. Love the graphic you added.
Thank you Linda! I was pretty proud of that trench planter idea I had. Ü Appreciate you mentioning it!
These are so cool! I love indoor plants and this is such a neat way to plant them.
Thanks Rose. Appreciate your comment. Ü
Very cool idea! Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty – we hope to see you again next week. 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Your welcome Lorelai! Thanks!
These are great, I bet my daughter would love to give these a go. Thank you for sharing
What great ideas! I love the self watering one – very clever, and I really like the decorativeness (is that even a word?) of the others.
So glad you enjoyed them. Hey, I make up words all the time! hehe Thanks so much for visiting and commenting!
Love these, brilliant idea. Popping over from foodie Friday.
Thanks so much Lisa!
These Planters are so cute! I recently used these bottles in my garden to protect new seedlings from the chickens. Fun stuff!
Carole @ Garden Up Green
Thanks Carole! Appreciate you stopping by and commenting!