He Turns Old Vinyl Blind Strips Into Professional-Looking Garden Markers With A Clever Upcycle

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Many people use markers in their garden to label and categorize each plant. But you don't always have to buy them. You can make DIY plant markers from a variety of free materials to create different aesthetics. YouTuber Paw Paw's WorkShop shared a clever upcycle that turned old vinyl blind strips into plant stakes that look better than store-bought ones. He painted the blinds that were beyond repair and used a desktop CNC router to carve tidy letters into the surface, resulting in professional-looking garden markers.

Old vinyl blinds aren't always simple to recycle, but they can easily be repurposed.  While PVC doesn't last forever, Paw Paw's WorkShop claims these vinyl stakes will hold up better than wood stakes, which he says only last about a year. After painting the blind strip with a coat of dark green spray paint, he cut six 6-inch sections. Then he carved garden labels like "peas" and "onions" into each piece by utilizing the CNC router.

Not everyone has a desktop CNC router, but they're actually more affordable than you might think. While it's not the same model Paw Paw's WorkShop used for his plant markers, you can get a SainSmart Genmitsu 3018-PROVer V2 on Amazon for $269. If you don't foresee purchasing a CNC machine (and it's not on your Christmas wish list of tools), you can do it the "old-fashioned" way, using a pencil and a handheld rotary tool.

A desktop CNC can be a hobbyist's dream machine, and making stylish garden markers is just the beginning. If you're trying this at home, spray the vinyl blind with a paint made for plastic that bonds without a primer, since painting on vinyl can be fussy. Two or more light coats are better than one heavy coat, and you can spray them a few minutes apart. 

Allow the markers to dry thoroughly before laying them down and clamping them in place so they don't bounce or move during the carving. Exact settings depend on the machine, but PawPaw's WorkShop used a 0.06-inch deep cut setting and made two passes. The first pass clears the bulk, and the second one cleans up the details. He set up his work table exactly the way his design on the computer was set up to carve so he could carve three markers at once. 

To try this without machining, sketch the names in pencil or marker and trace them with a rotary tool using a bit for engraving plastic. Then, carve through the paint to expose the white vinyl underneath. You could also use stencils to paint letters. Or, if you'd rather skip painting and just want to have dozens of plant markers, you can DIY creative garden labels out of vinyl by writing plant names with a carpenter pencil or grease marker. Avoid using Sharpies, which fade after a few months in the sun.