A few weeks back, I spotted this planter on Etsy. And I loved it. Adored it. Wanted to hang it in my living room and whisper sweet nothings in its ear.

But, despite its awesomeness, it was $65.

Which is a little steep for my plant-killing tendencies.

And no matter how much I despise the stereotype that girls suck at math, I actually DO suck at math. And taking out the garbage. And mowing the lawn. Susan B. Anthony would not be proud.

My math suckage made me cower in the corner for about twelve seconds. Then I thought; hell, I was decent enough in geography geometry – and this can’t possibly be THAT hard. So I decided to make one out of drinking straws before I headed to Home Depot. Despite its flimsyness, it looked pretty good. So I packed up the brood and embarked on an exciting adventure to the hardware store to pick up supplies.

I haven’t the slightest idea where one can purchase brass tubing like the Etsy planter, but I have seen copper tubing and figured it would make a decent enough stand in. Copper tubing is sold coiled up in the plumbing section. This particular tubing is 1/4″ thick and runs about $10 for ten feet.

I used one of my retired Ikea bowls; it is about 6 1/2″ in diameter.

To cut the tubing, I used a pipe cutter. We have one from our many bathroom remodels, but they can be picked up for less than ten dollars for a cheap one. I found that the easiest way to cut it was to straighten out a small section of the tubing and cut it one piece at a time. Then straighten some more, and cut another. And on and on and on. For this size bowl (6.5″), I cut nine 6″ lengths and three 9″ lengths. I wouldn’t go much bigger than this – copper tubing is flexible and will bend…

After all the tubing was cut, I set to work stringing it together. I used some craft hemp-y sort of lacing that I had lying around. I have no idea where I picket it up, but it seemed strong enough not to break under the weight of the bowl and plants.

To assemble it, I strung three of the short tubes on to one length of lacing and tied it off with a square knot. Then I tucked the loose ends back in.

Then I tied three lengths of lacing to each corner of the triangle, knotting it in the middle. I’m guessing they were about 3 feet long. Then I strung the remaining six short tubes on like this…

Still with me? For the long tubes, I did it like this… Two strings into each tube.

Then I tied all the strings together and tied on a random washer I had nesting in my toolbox. I wrapped the loose ends around the washer and called it a day.

To hang it, I twisted some twine I had together… I’m still thinking about getting something a little more polished, but I have yet to think of what.

Once I was done, I was super excited! And then I totally had no idea where to hang it. So for now, it is sitting on my kitchen counter. And has been for two weeks. Sure, it isn’t quite as pretty as the Etsy one, but now that I have no place to hang it, it is a bit of a moot point.

I planted a few succulents in the bowl. Wouldn’t ya know? They have only lost a third of their leaves so far. I’m a gardening failure.

But I can add the valuable skill of cutting copper tubing to my repertoire. And if you want, you can make a hanging planter, too. No geometry required.