Small Gift or Favors Idea - Succulents

Every year around this time small gifts start to appear on my desk... treat bags filled with chocolates or cookies, cocoa mix, scented candles, etc.  These are all great ideas, cute, easy and often yummy, and I usually give something similar myself.  However this year I was inspired to do something a bit out of the ordinary - succulents!  I have a few planters on my patio overflowing with different varieties of succulents and they were overdue for a trim anyhow, so I decided to give cuttings planted in tiny pots that I decorated myself. Here is a quick rundown of the materials and process for making them, and some pictures of them finished. They turned out really cute and were a hit with my coworkers too!  You could also use these as favors for a wedding or party as well.  Another great idea would be to use culinary herbs, especially since I love promoting growing edible plants, but I was a bit short on time and would probably have wanted to start them from seed and get them to a good size before gifting them, and they would need bigger of pots for their root structures too. Also succulents are a lot more forgiving than herbs to take care of so even if I give one to someone who has a brown thumb it would be really hard for them to kill, or at least take a while to die so they have longer to enjoy it at least, ha ha!

MATERIALS (available at most craft stores):
mini terracotta pots
outdoor acrylic paint (white)
paintbrush
colored permanent markers in multiple colors
colored string (or natural twine, or bakers twine)
gift tags (you could cut up some scrap paper instead of buying tags too)
stamps (I used present stamps but snowflakes, stars, birds, or anything festive will work)
stamp ink in multiple colors
gel pens in multiple colors (or a pencil or colored pencils)
potting soil
succulent cuttings

DIRECTIONS:
1)  Paint all the pots with the white paint (or whatever color you prefer), covering the entire outside and at least halfway down on the inside.  I found that if I painted the bottom halves first, let those dry, and then did the top half/rim and insides next then I got a lot less paint on my fingers!  Let these dry for at least 1 day before decorating, also I would wait a few days to let the paint cure before planting them too.

2)  Decorate the top/rim of the pots using the permanent markers.  I drew geometric patterns and outlined them in a coordinating color, which looked pretty cool.

3)  Once the paint is thoroughly dry and cured for a few days fill the pots with slightly moistened soil and plant the cuttings from your succulents, watching out to keep the outside of the pots as clean as possible in the process.  It might be good to root the succulents beforehand, but I didn't and they seemed to do fine. Give them a little drink of water after planting.

4)  Stamp one side of your gift tags and once dry flip them over and write your message on the back using the gel pens or a pencil.  I also colored in some of the stamps with the gel pens. Don't use the permanent marker on the tags as they will bleed through the paper and show on the other side.

5)  Punch a hole in your gift tags if they don't already have one. Tie a length of the colored string or twine around the top of the pots, tie a double knot, then loop the string through the hole in the gift tag and tie a bow.  

6)  Now you're done!  Be sure to transport the plants carefully in the car - I set them close together in a box lid and used towels to fill any extra space on the sides and prevent them from tipping over.

PICTURES: