Make a Claypot Bell for your Porch
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10 Slam-Dunk Crafts For Little Kids -- And Bigger Kids Too!
A Guide to Specialty Art Paper
Gift Giving Ideas For The Family On A Tight Budget
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Make a Claypot Bell for your Porch
Painting Designs On Leather Goods
Clay pot crafts are a cute way to make home decorations. The use of clay pots for your crafting allows you to be versatile and you can then create a variety of decorative things that appeal to gardeners or to decorate your home. Usually, the crafter begins with new pots, but you can also reuse old clay pots that have been thoroughly cleaned. To use old clay pots, make sure that you’ve removed all dirt particles. Dry them thoroughly before you use your old clay pot.
You can purchase new clay pots from any craft store or in your home and garden centers. Clay pots can be purchased in many different sizes, from tiny ones not more than 2 inches in diameter, to huge ones over a foot across. You can even try the flea market or yard sales.
Clean them up and you’re ready to start creating. For a beginning project, start with smaller pots. The beginner should also choose clay pots that don’t use too many pots in too elaborate a design. In other words, start off with a simple easy project before taking on more intricate projects.
An example of a good craft for someone new at creating crafts with clay pots is to make a bell from two clay pots. Buy one pot that is about five or six inches in diameter, and another that is very small. You will use the small one as the clapper for the bell. You will also need some decorative cord, two large wooden beads, and paint in desired colors.
You may also wish to purchase some glue-on jewels to decorate the bell. The bell makes a nice decoration for a front porch.
Cut the cord two feet (60 cm.) long. Fold the end over 3 inches (8 cm.) and tie in an overhand knot, making a loop. This loop is for hanging the bell from a hook or a nail. Now turn the larger clay pot upside-down. Pass the loose end of the cord down through the hole in the pot. Lay the pot on its side and slide one of the large wooden beads up the cord until it is about 10 inches (25 cm.) from the loose end. Now tie the cord around the bead so that the bead cannot slip from its position on the cord. If you have done this correctly, you can lift the pot by the loop. In clay pot crafts, the beads must be large enough to stop the cord from going through the hole in the bottom of the pot.
On the loose end of the cord, you are going to attach the small pot in the same way. Slide the small pot up the cord to make it easier to tie the other large wooden bead on the end of the cord. Now when you lift the entire arrangement by the loop, the smaller pot should hang freely inside the larger pot, making a pleasant sound when it claps against the larger pot.
Decorate the outside of the larger pot with paint as desired. You may like to paint it in black and white patches for a Holstein cow theme. You may also like to decorate the top of the bell with silk or dried flowers and greenery and a ribbon bow.
For a variation on this craft, make three of the bells and hang them from a horizontal piece of driftwood or other interesting piece of natural wood. When making hanging clay pot crafts, always make sure the beads are large enough and are tied tightly in place, because the clay pots will break if they fall to the ground.
Other clay pot crafts include making a large doll or scarecrow of nested pots strung together and painted. The doll can sit on a chair or a step of the front porch. Paint the face to look like a scarecrow, a jack-o-lantern, a gnome, or a child. Clay pot crafts are especially suited to being displayed outside in any type of weather.
Here is a list of claypot crafts you may want to try your hands at crafting:
• Clay Pot Butterfly Bath
• Clay Pot Angel
• Flower Pot Wind Chimes
• Clay Pot Gingerbread Pals
• Clay Pot Santa & Mrs. Claus
• Clay Pot Winter Friends
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