Labeled Herb Pots with Chalkboard Vinyl

Last year my roommate grew her herbs on our windowsill in empty Ben & Jerry's ice cream cartons. This year (those having disintegrated), I opted for this instead:

This is super easy, and cheaper than buying a pint of Ben & Jerry's (though, perhaps, not as tasty). Plus, you can reuse the pot as many times as you like and just erase the label since it's written on...bu bu buuuum-- chalkboard vinyl. Using a chalk-marker makes it stay on, even when you over-water the plant and the water comes dripping down on top of it (trust me, I've already done it plenty of times), but can be erased easily with water and a cloth.  Labeling it in this way means that you can reuse the pot as many times as you want to switch "crops."  Plus, it just looks darn cute.

To make this, you only need a few items:

Small pot (about $1)

Craft Paint

Sponge brush

Small piece of chalkboard vinyl, and chalk marker (or real chalk)

I first put a piece of tape around the bottom of the "rim" I wanted to paint, just in case any dripped or ran.  Turns out that wasn't necessary, because I am awesome at painting.  (Or, the paint was nice and not runny; whichever.) ;)

Put on enough coats to make it your desired thickness.  I did two coats, with a third light touch over, which was just fine.  I only needed to wait about a minute in-between each coat.

While that dries, go to your Silhouette and cut out your desired shape out of Silhouette Chalkboard Vinyl, based on your desired image size for your particular sized pot.  You might also be able to do this on your Cricut, using the chalkboard vinyl.  Has anyone tried that with success or no?  My guess is that it would work just fine.  It's just a tad bit thicker than regular vinyl (just a little bit) so adjust for that accordingly if you want to try this using your Cricut.  

Use your scraper to transfer your image to the transfer tape.

Apply your image, fill pot with dirt and plant those tasty kitchen herbs!  Label accordingly.  Or draw a picture.  Heck, just a smiley face would be sufficient for this fresh basil.  Yum.

Obviously this isn't necessary if you are planting just one thing that you are familiar with, but even if that is the case, I think it just looks adorable.  ;)  I love coming down to it on my windowsill each morning.  I also love the delicious, fresh garlic tomato basil angel hair pasta I now make using the above basil.   For a quick and easy recipe that is good as a base or all by itself, try the following: http://www.food.com/recipe/angel-hair-pasta-with-simple-garlic-basil-456846 .  Bon Appetit!