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How to Make DIY Plant Markers for Labeling Your Garden

How to Make DIY Plant Markers for Labeling Your Garden
Project Overview
  • Working Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 3 hours
  • Skill Level: Beginner
  • Estimated Cost: $30
  • Yield: 1 set of plant markers

Say goodbye to the days of little plastic plant tags spoiling your garden aesthetic or planting something sans marker and forgetting what it was. Now you can keep all your vegetables, herbs, and flowers clearly labeled with charming DIY plant markers. You'll need just a few simple tools and inexpensive supplies to let your inner artist loose and turn everyday items into fun, colorful plant markers. Whether you're all about the modern farmhouse look or prefer a more rustic style, one of these five types of plant labels is sure to hit the mark.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

Canning Jar Lid Plant Markers

  • Needle-nose pliers

Colorful Wood Stake Plant Markers

  • Painter's tape
  • Paintbrush

Decoupaged Farmhouse Plant Markers

  • Wood glue
  • Hot glue and glue gun

Rustic Wood Disc Plant Markers

  • Pencil
  • Wood burner
  • Drill and 1/8-inch bit
  • Wood glue
  • Yarn needle

Materials

Canning Jar Lid Plant Markers

  • Acrylic paint
  • Canning jar lids (wide mouth works well)
  • Decorative stickers (try the scrapbook department of your local crafts store)
  • Paint pen
  • Outdoor sealant
  • 16 gauge brass wire, cut to 15-inch lengths

Colorful Wood Stake Plant Markers

  • Wooden garden stakes, sanded
  • Acrylic paints
  • Paint pen
  • Outdoor sealant

Decoupaged Farmhouse Plant Markers

  • Scrapbook paper
  • Outdoor decoupage
  • 2x4 board sliced into 1/4-inch-thick pieces, sanded
  • Paint pen
  • Bamboo garden stakes, cut to 1 foot
  • Jute twine

Rustic Wood Disc Plant Markers

  • Wooden disks roughly 2-1/2 to 3 inches in diameter, sanded if necessary
  • Outdoor sealant
  • Wood glue
  • Bamboo garden stakes
  • Jute twine

Watercolor Polymer Clay Plant Markers

  • White polymer clay (roughly 1 package per 4 tags)
  • Alphabet stamp set
  • Acrylic paints
  • Outdoor sealant
  • .062 armature wire

Instructions

How to Make Canning Jar Lid Plant Markers

  1. Paint Lids

    Using acrylic paint, apply two coats to each jar lid.

  2. Add Plant Names

    Once the paint has dried, apply the decorative stickers and use the paint pen to write your plant names.

  3. Seal Paint

    After the paint has dried, apply 2 to 3 coats of the outdoor sealant and allow to dry.

  4. Prep Wire

    Using the needle-nose pliers, bend a flat coil at the top of a length of wire.

  5. Secure Wire to Lid

    Once the sealant has dried, secure the lid in the flat coil.

How to Make Colorful Wood Stake Plant Markers

  1. Determine Height

    Mark the height you want the paint on your stake and wrap the demarcation line with painter's tape.

  2. Prep Paint

    Dilute a small amount of your acrylic paint with water, roughly a 1:1 ratio. Add more water if you want more wood grain to show through.

  3. Paint Stakes

    Apply paint with paintbrush and allow to dry.

  4. Add Plant Names

    Once the paint has dried, use the paint pen to write on each stake.

  5. Seal Stakes

    Once all the paint has dried, apply a coat of outdoor sealant.

How to Make Decoupaged Farmhouse Plant Markers

  1. Cut and Decoupage

    Cut scrapbook paper into your desired shape and apply outdoor decoupage to the face of the 2x4 pieces to adhere.

  2. Add Plant Names

    Once the decoupage has dried, use the paint pen to write the names of your plants on each tag.

  3. Repeat Decoupage

    After the paint has dried, apply 2 to 3 more coats of outdoor decoupage to seal the tag.

  4. Glue Tag to Stake

    When the decoupage has dried, add a small bead of wood glue to the back of the tag and place the bamboo plant stake along it.

  5. Wrap Twine

    Once the wood glue has dried, place a dot of hot glue on the back side to hold the jute twine, then wrap the twine around the tag and stake in an X shape, securing it with hot glue again on the back.

How to Make Rustic Wood Disk Plant Markers

  1. Add Words or Patterns

    Use a pencil to draw the words and any pattern you wish to burn onto the wooden disks. Then carefully use the wood-burning tool to apply the pattern to the disks.

  2. Drill Holes

    Above the plant name, use a pencil to mark the location of the four holes you will need to drill for the twine. Drill through the marks using a 1/8-inch bit.

  3. Apply Sealant

    Once the holes are drilled, apply 2 to 3 coats of outdoor sealant, if desired, to protect the wood from the elements.

  4. Glue Disk to Stake

    After the sealant has dried, apply a thin bead of wood glue to the back of each disk. Place a bamboo stake along the glue, temporarily securing it with painter's tape.

  5. Add Jute Twine

    Thread a length of the jute twine through the yarn needle, and coming from the back side, stitch an X in the four holes you drilled. This should leave the throw ends of twine on the backside. Tie them off and apply a dot of glue to secure the twine.

Watercolor Polymer Clay Plant Markers

  1. Prep Clay

    Roll out the clay to your desired size and smooth the edges. Take a length of the armature wire and impress it around the edges to make a groove for the wire to rest in.

  2. Stamp and Bake

    Use the stamp set to impress the word you want on each tag. Bake the clay according to the manufacturer's directions. Allow to cool.

  3. Prep Paint

    Dilute acrylic paints heavily with water, roughly a 2:1 ratio of water to paint.

  4. Paint Clay

    Apply paint lightly to achieve a watercolor effect.

  5. Apply Sealant

    Once the paint has dried, apply outdoor sealant. Allow the sealant to dry and apply a second or even third coat.

  6. Add Wire

    Once the sealant has dried, wrap a 2-foot length of wire centered around the edges of the clay, and twist it together at the base of the tag to secure.

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