Frida Kahlo DIY succulent planter

Make a Frida Kahlo succulent planter with this simple step by step tutorial.

The finished Frida portrait pot is deceptively simple to make, looks effective and would make a great handmade gift idea for any art-lover or Frida fan.

Who doesn’t love Frida Kahlo? Aside from her artwork being colourful and eye-catching, the lady herself was an inspiration for women in general as well as people with disabilities. 

Frida’s self portraits are instantly recognisable – in fact one third of her paintings over her life time were portraits of herself. They have become so famous that Frida Kahlo’s face is now an icon.

Before we get started on the craft, here are a few interesting Frida facts to share with the kids…

Frida Kahlo facts for kids:

• Frida was born in 1907, with a disability known as Spina Bifida, where the developing spine is weaker than normal
• She suffered a bout of polio as a child which left her with a bad leg. She hid this throughout her life by wearing long, colourful flowing skirts
• Despite her disabilities, she threw herself into life, even taking up the sport of boxing
• Her experience with polio had inspired an interest in healing. Before she became a painter, Frida had her heart set on becoming a doctor and studying medicine. This was most unusual for a woman of her time!
• At the age of 18 Frida was involved in a tragic accident, escaping with her life but not without horrific injuries. Her accident left her with many broken bones, including her spine and she was bedridden for a year.
• During this time, Frida developed her interest in painting. She began by first painting portraits of herself from the mirror opposite her bed.
• Whilst Frida’s self portraits are widely acclaimed as surrealist, she disagreed, saying: “They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.“
• Frida married another famous artist, Diego Rivera
• The house she was born in was also the house she died in. It is now a popular museum dedicated to her life displaying many of the paintings by herself and Diego Rivera

Wow, what a woman! Now, let’s make a Frida planter.

How to make a Frida succulent planter

You will need:

1. A small terracotta planter or pot
2. Acrylic paint
3. Paint brush
4. Pencil
5. Scrape paper or old newspaper

How to:

First of all, lay a piece of old magazine or newspaper or scrap paper over your craft table to protect it from paint. Apply a coat of white paint on the outer surface of the pot. Allow the white paint coat to dry.

You can keep the white base coat or you can apply a different colour if you want to. I’m applying a deep blue shade for the second coat. Once the 2^nd coat is dried, use a pencil to trace the face pattern of Frida Kahlo on the planter’s outer surface.

Use white paint to fill the face pattern (or you can use any colour you prefer).

Apply black acrylic paint for the hair and red acrylic paint for the clothes.

Select 3 to 4 different shades of acrylic paint for the flower garland on Frida’s head.

You can paint any kind of flower you want or you can go for a simple round pattern. Allow the flower painting to dry.

Use black acrylic paint and a thin brush to trace the face details (eyes, eyebrows and nose); red acrylic paint for the lips and golden acrylic paint for the earrings.

Finally, plant a small succulent into your pot and you’re done!

Beautiful! Leave it in a sunny place to remind you that you can surmount any obstacle life throws at you, just like Frida did.

Here are a few more succulent gardening ideas for kids:

• Dinosaur small world garden
• Australian animal garden
• Frog habitat garden
• Fairy succulent garden