Clay Pot Crafts: Make a Bell for the Porch

Clay pot crafts are simple and yet nice home decors you can do yourself. In clay pot crafts, you can transform simple clay flowerpots into a beautiful piece of art. Plain new pots are usually used for this project. You may decorate the pots with paint or tie them up together with ropes to create different figures you desire.

Clay pots are available in different sizes, from small ones not more than two inches in diameter, to huge ones over a foot across. For your first project, try to start with small pots and start with a simple design. After you have accomplished your first project, you may now jump on to designs that are more elaborate if you wish.

An example of a simple craft to start with is to make a bell design from two clay pots. You will need a bigger pot about 5 or 6 inches in diameter and a very small one. The smaller pot will serve as the clapper for your bell. Prepare also some decorative cords, two large wooden beads, and painting materials to add color to your work. You may also put on some glue-on jewels to add shimmer to your bell. This project will be a nice decoration for your front porch.

Cut a cord two feet (60 cm) long. Fold end over three inches (8 cm) and make a loop by doing an overhand knot. This loop is for hanging the bell on a hook or a nail. Pass the loose end of the cord on the hole at the bottom of the pot. Make sure that the pot is turned upside down to resemble a bell. Lay the pot on its side and string one of the wooden beads to cord until it is about ten inches from the loose end. The wooden beads must be larger than the hole of the pot because this will serve as the stopper so the pot will not slide down.

On the loose end of the chord, repeat the same procedure. Use the smaller pot for the clapper of your bell this time. Now when you lift the entire arrangement by the loop, the clapper must hang freely inside the larger pot, making a pleasant sound when it claps against the larger pot.

It is now time to jazz up your project. If you have a theme in mind, say a Holstein cow theme, paint your pots with black and white patches to mimic a cow skin. You may also put a silk ribbon, dried flowers, and greenery if you desire. Let your imagination play and express yourself.

For a variation, you may make several bells of different sizes and hang them horizontally on a wooden pole or a branch of a tree. You may hang the bells on different levels so they will not strike each other.

Once you are done with the project you may now make some elaborate designs such as a large doll or a scarecrow of nested pots strung together and painted. The doll can sit on a chair or a step of the front porch. You may paint his face to look like a scarecrow, a jack-o-lantern, a gnome, or a child. These clay pot crafts are best displayed outside and display them as garden decorations.


LESSON IN LIFE:
“Like these bells, people around us may differ in sizes, but it does not mean they differ in significance.”