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Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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How-to: Make a Faux Copper Gutter Garden

February 29, 2012 4 Comments

I’ve been looking forward to sharing this project with you guys ever since I bought the supplies for it. Using sections of aluminium gutters is the coolest idea idea for a garden ever. It’s such a convenient setup because there’s no need for tons of pots or ledges to set planters on. One caveat – these don’t have built-in drainage, so you’ve got to be careful not to overwater. So far, I’m having good luck with them as indoor planters.


Supplies

1 long aluminium gutter piece

a pair of heavy duty tin snips

one left and one right endcap per gutter piece

2-3 mounting clips per gutter for attaching the gutter to the wall

(if desired) paint & painting supplies

pebbles

potting soil

your choice of seeds & plants

Directions

Visit your hardware store’s gutter section. Most big box home improvement stores have a section of the store dedicated to gutter parts and accessories. I bought one 10 ft. long gutter and asked a sales associate how to cut it into smaller pieces. The really kind man introduced me to heavy duty tin snips, used to cut gutters. Since I was buying a single gutter piece, he cut it into one 4 ft. & two 3 ft. pieces for me. (Thanks, Home Depot guy!)

With three total gutter sections, I needed to buy three left-side endcaps, three right-side endcaps, and nine mounting clips for mounting my gardens and containing their soil.

When I got home, I painted all of my endcaps and gutter pieces gold to add some color to my bathroom, where I decided to mount them. Plus, I’d originally wanted to use copper gutters for this project, but holy crap! Copper gutters are way more expensive than a can of paint. Note: if you plan to grow edible plants in your gutter gardens, don’t get paint on the inside or mounting clips. Paint is toxic.

Once my couple layers of paint dried, my husband mounted them for me into the studs of my bathroom wall. He made sure to use the studs because soil and plants can be heavy.

He didn’t actually enjoy mounting these at all. ;)

The rest of this project is just using the gutters as planters. I put a thin layer of pea rock along the bottom of the gutters to start. Follow that with your desired soil, plants, and/or seeds. Check out my finished garden today!

When I was buying plants for my gutter gardens, I also picked up this cute (and supposedly lucky) money tree. Check it out!


DIY Club

Filed Under: Home Decor, How-to Tagged With: diy, garden, gutter, indoor, planters

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is an artist, author and crafts designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame. In addition to running the Hands Occupied Blog and Pattern Shop, you can find her making videos & co-hosting the Very Serious Crafts podcast.

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Comments

  1. Patricia in Denver

    June 11, 2013 at 3:48 pm

    What I did for my gutter planters was trace the end of the gutter on a piece of wood and cut it out with a jug saw. Then I placed the wood just inside the edge of the gutter and used several small screws to hold it in place. Works fine, used scrap wood, and it was free.

    Reply
  2. Lillianna Murphy

    March 27, 2014 at 1:01 pm

    Wow! I love this! That breeze you feel is me running to the hardware store to buy some gutters!

    Thanks!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How-to Maintan an Indoor Gutter Garden – Hands Occupied says:
    June 4, 2013 at 12:00 am

    […] How-to: Faux Copper Gutter Garden for instructions on making your own indoor gutter gardens […]

    Reply
  2. Indoor Gardening: Bringing The Gutters Indoors - The Urban Gardening Digest says:
    June 9, 2013 at 11:39 am

    […] here to read the full project article and grab a list of items needed for this […]

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

Professionally I’m most known for: advanced intarsia knitting design & modern latch hook design.

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Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker beh Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker behind Hands Occupied! 👋🏻 I’ve been enjoying making Reels a lot lately, but I wanted to bop in to share a regular photo & say hello. 🤓 
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rather than giving you my bio right now, I have a question. I just got this new sweater & I can’t stop imaging how funny it would be to wear this to a knitting class ... is that bad? 🤣🤣🤣
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Pictured: a blond woman with glasses wearing a sweater that reads “all your sweaters are ugly” standing in front of a Christmas tree.
Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is o Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is one of the most common methods for finishing a knitting project and helping ensure its final size and shape. Learn basic blocking for absolute beginners in an easy-to-follow (non-Reel!) video tutorial! Catch the tutorial on YouTube or the Hands Occupied Blog, link is in bio. 🧶 #handsoccupied #stopswatchandblockit #KPAmbassadorsDec20 #sponsored
Had to share this perfect capture of one of my fav Had to share this perfect capture of one of my favorite weird homemade Christmas ornaments: a simple macramé Santa face with beads for the eyes and nose! My Great-Grandma made it too. 🎄
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Might have to try making a quickie Reel tutorial for this guy - I think it’s the perfect project for it, don’t you? 🎅🏼 #handsoccupied #macrame
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