It’s a bit of paint splashed artistically onto a clay pot, with a bit of whimsy added in, but Marie Gelin says it could spark a connection to nature in children.
Gelin, the children’s education manager at Walnut Creek’s Ruth Bancroft Garden, says painting pots is not only fun for children and adults alike, but it could be a gateway craft. Kits sold through the garden include a 2-inch succulent. For many children, it may be the first living plant they’ve ever cared for.
Pot painting at the garden has long been popular, Gelin says, but in recent months, as parents reach out for activities to entertain their children or grandchildren, it has become even more so.
“Now that everyone is looking for things to do, this is an activity that children and parents can do together,” Gelin says. “When you take a child to a museum, you often have to bribe them with the promise of getting something at the gift shop, and you end up buying something cheap that goes into the corner. This is something better than that.”
Here are the basics for this craft project, plus how-tos for three especially fun projects, including a Cactus Grinch.
Basic materials
Terra cotta pot
Acrylic craft paints in different colors
Paper plates
Brushes
Newspaper to protect surfaces
Plants or seeds
Potting soil (if you’re planting succulents, you’ll need a succulent and cactus soil for them)
Clear spray acrylic
Directions
Wipe the pot clean. Pour paint onto paper plates, paint the base coat and then the design. Let dry, then spray it with a clear spray acrylic — in a well-ventilated area or outdoors — to seal it.
Once the pot is dry, fill it two-thirds full. Add the plant, then fill the rest of the pot and water thoroughly.
Cactus Grinch
Materials
3-inch clay pot
1 foam brush
Green and red acrylic craft paint
Black marker
7 white pom-poms
Glue
Small cactus or other plant
Directions
Paint the base of the pot green and the rim red. Let it dry.
Use the black marker to draw vertical lines. Draw spines on the lines. Then add Grinch-style eyes, a nose and a mouth.
Glue the pom-poms on the red rim. Plant a cactus or other plant in your pot.
Reindeer
Materials
3-inch clay pot, foam brush, glue
Brown acrylic craft paint
Googly eyes
Red pom-pom
4-inch square tan felt
Directions
Paint the pot brown. Let it dry. Then glue on the googly eyes and a pom-pom nose. Draw two antlers on the felt, cut them out and glue them to the pot just inside the rim. Then add a plant.
Penguin
Materials
3-inch clay pot, foam brush, glue
White and black acrylic craft paint
Googly eyes
1-inch square orange felt
Piece of scrap fabric
Directions
Paint a white oval on the pot for the penguin’s face; paint the rest of the pot black. Let dry. Then glue on the googly eyes.
Cut a small triangle from the orange felt to use as a beak; glue it in place. Cut a length of scrap fabric to use as a penguin scarf, about ½-inch wide and long enough to wrap and tie around the pot. Plant a succulent.
— Ruth Bancroft Garden, www.ruthbancroftgarden.org
