FaveCrafts

1000s of free craft projects, home decor ideas and DIY tips

Paint and Plant: Earth Day 2016 with the FaveCrafts Team

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earth day fcb

The first Earth Day in 1970 was coordinated to organize a nationwide teach-in to not only celebrate but empathize the need to protect our green spaces. Now, forty years later, people across the USA still celebrate this important day by taking time out of their day to plant trees, teach special lessons on environmental conservation, and more. Never one to skip a great opportunity to get creative, we here at Prime Publishing LLC (the team behind FaveCrafts.com!) decided to do our part by combining planting pretty flowers and crafting!

This year, we painted adorable itty bitty terra cotta pots in beautiful colors before planting charming petunias in our brand new creations. The pretty and purple Wave Pansies and other green cuties we picked up at Home Depot looked lovely sprouting out of our painted masterpieces. One editor, Jesse Carpendar said of the experience:

Decorating flower pots was a relaxing way to welcome spring into our office. It was nice to see everyone’s creative side emerge. It’s been even nicer to have cute pink flowers greeting me at my desk every morning since.

Check out our video below!

Earth Day with Prime Publishing LLC and the FaveCrafts Editors

Our Terra Cotta Pots and Pretty Plants

Purple Wave Pansies

Terra Cotta Pot Craft

Petunia Painted Pot Crafts

As you can see, we have an office of crafty editors with green thumbs. The petunias and pots are still blooming beautifully on plenty of desks. Spring is here and we reveled in the chance to bring some spring indoors.

It was wonderful to bring some of the beauty of the outdoors inside. The purple Wave pansies were gorgeous and immediately brightened up my desk!

– Erin Jones from our Marketing Team

31 Clay Pot CraftsMore Painted Pot Crafts and Flower Planting Tips

Do you have a green thumb, a black thumb, or somewhere in-between?

Gotta Make These Terra Cotta Pot Crafts

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What very few people know about me is that I have a knack for gardening. I’m talking about the flower kind of gardening, not the food kind of gardening. When it comes to trying to grow food it almost never works out. Plants die, I over water them, or, at least in Missouri, there’s a nasty dry-spell that seems like there is never enough water. My favorite flowers are hydrangeas. The only thing about my gardening is that it needs to adapt to the city life. I wish I could live in both the city and the country. I know, it’s called the suburbs, but the city has so much life and culture, but then the country has some good soil for my hydrangeas. I always have to make-do with good ol’ terra cotta pots. They are the staple item for gardeners both food and flowers. The best thing about terra cotta pots is that you can leave them their burned-orange color, or you can decorate them to match your decor, inside or outside.

Terra Cotta Pots

Terra cotta pot crafts especially became popular when the DIY fairy garden theme came about. You remember: the broken pots with miniature houses and cute stone paths made out of pebbles, with tiny foliage to make the “fairy” have her own garden. They were such cute little fairy themed crafts. I’ve seen people go so hard core on their fairy gardens that it would take up an expansive amount of space—as in half of their backyard. Don’t get me wrong, I love themed gardens as much as the next person (my plan is to have an English countryside, with stone walls and everything) because it takes some serious dedication to think of and construct them.

What frustrates me is when my veggies die mid-season, and I have an empty pot with nothing to plant in it. Oh I know, I could plant more, but I work like a train. I have a schedule and I stick to it. Sometimes, though, I don’t want to just plant more stuff. I want to create more things to put into my garden. Even upcycle pots and place them around my apartment as some rustic decor. These are the cutest terra cotta pot crafts I have ever seen. If you have leftover stuff from your own fairy garden that has magically become a ghost town, just recycle the pot and make some fun pot crafts.

 

Gotta Make These Terra Cotta Pot Crafts

Garden Turtle

Clay Pot Critters

Vintage Paper Flower Pot

Ivy Leaf Mosaic Hanging Pot

Clay Saucer Bird Feeder

Chalkboard Style Terra Cotta Planter

Upcycle Wallpaper Flower Pots

Dipped in Gold Planter

 

And if you want to recreate your fairy garden, DIY Indoor Fairy Garden is an easy tutorial that even the kids can get in on. 🙂

 

What is your favorite food or flower to plant?

 

16 DIY Country Crafts for You and the Young’uns

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DIY-Country-Crafts

The best thing about this time of the year is that everyone has fresh produce, cute animals, county fairs, and gardening on their minds. Wouldn’t it be lovely to live on an apple orchard with free-roaming chickens? Of course, not all of us are lucky enough to have that simple country lifestyle to themselves. However, with a few rustic crafts like a Carved Wood Farm Plaque, you can bring that farmhouse charm  into your own home. No matter where your crafting skills lie, you will be able to find a DIY country craft that suits your talents and your lifestyle. You don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to make these cute crafts!

One of these days, I’m going to be able to rise early in the morning and tend to my garden (and rabbits and ducks). I will have myself a hearty lunch and spend my free time enjoying the sights and sounds of farm life. I’m probably over-romanticizing it, but hey, a girl can dream! Until our country dreams come true, we can create DIY country décor and cute farm animals crafts. The simple life is just a craft away.

 

Farm Animals Crafts

Clay Pot Farm AnimalsSit your little ones down at the table and watch them create a whole barnyard full of animals right before your very eyes. Don’t you think your daughter would look extra cute in a Little Farmer’s Market Dress while she works? You might even want to whip up a Lacy Anytime Vest to wear for yourself as well. With the right attire, you will have all your new critters following you like Little Bo Peep.

 

DIY Country Décor

State Fair Farmhouse CupboardYou can add a touch of vintage charm with these beautiful farmhouse-inspired decorations. You will fall in love with your home all over again once you add a hand-painted cupboard or whimsical veggie figurines. From beautiful decorations to adorably useful knickknacks like Metallic Keys Stamped Clothespins, the aesthetic of rural living can be yours. Roll up your sleeves and transform your home into a picturesque paradise.

 

 

 

Garden CraftsEven if you don’t live on a farm, you can still care for your own little garden. So what if your only “animals” are earthworms and butterflies? This free eBook Garden Crafts will show you clever ways to decorate flower pots, plant stakes, watering cans, and more. Everything a suburban farmer (like you) needs is in this nifty free eBook.

 

 

 

 

What types of animals and produce would be found on your dream farm?

 

Dress Up a Clay Pot & Add Some Color to Your Patio

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This tutorial is brought to you by Latrice Murphy for Any Occasion.

There is still time to spruce up your outdoor space with fun handmade pieces like colorful DIY succulent pots. I’m lucky to have a landscape designer husband, but he’s not into decorating that space. I wanted to add pops of white and aqua to our patio, so I decided to make these fun little pots to put around our space.

Materials:

  • 2 clay pots
  • Various succulents
  • Spray paint in the color you would like
  • Ribbon
  • Hot glue gun
  • Various ribbons and gems
  • Box or drop cloth

Instructions:

First, you want to spray paint the pots and let them dry in between a few coats.

Next, choose your ribbons and create bows by bunching layers together in the center and tying it together. I finished my bows off with a giant gemstone.

After your pots have dried, it’s time to decorate them. I started with ribbon and simply hot glued it around the top portion of the pot.

Next, I took my bow and added it to the center. My bow matches my other handmade summer decor, so I love that it flows outside too.

Plant your pot or do as I did just simple keep your plant in the pot it came in and sit it inside. That way you can change the plants later is you would like to.

 

Succulents have swept the nation all of a sudden. They are such fun and unique plants and I feel like they needed a unique pot. I hope you try this soon since summer’s almost to its end. Have fun creating before it’s over!

Crafty Fiesta: Painted Terra Cotta Flower Pot

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It’s a Crafty Fiesta all week long here on the FaveCrafts blog, and we’re joined by I Love to Create to get you geared up for Cinco de Mayo with some fun and festive craft projects! Be sure to keep tuning in every day through May 6th for all our amazing Cinco de Mayo craft ideas, DIY inspiration, and a giveaway each day. Check out today’s colorful terra cotta clay flower pot tutorial, and then be sure to scroll down to enter our giveaway below!

 

Crafty Chica Loteria Flower Pot

Whether you’re throwing a fiesta or just brightening up a room, there’s no better way to decorate than with some beautiful flowers. And this Crafty Chica Loteria Flower Pot from I Love to Create is just as bright and cheerful as the flowers it’s holding! Add a festive floral touch to any room or occasion with this simple terra cotta pot craft idea. All you need is some paint and fun Lotería game cards to turn a plain old terra cotta pot into some eye-catching decor!

Materials:

  • Crafty Chica® Little Chica Paint Packs™
  • Crafty Chica® Loteria Game™
  • Crafty Chica® Chunky Glitters™ (Glamour Queen Green)
  • Aleene’s® Original Tacky Glue™
  • Crafty Chica® Glossy Gloss Varnish™
  • Paintbrushes
  • Scissors
  • Terra cotta pot and saucer

Instructions:

  1. Paint base of pot black; paint rim red. Paint inside of saucer green and the outside yellow. Let dry. If desired, add vertical purple painted stripes on base of pot.
  2. Cut out four of your favorite pictures from the large deck of the Crafty Chica™ Loteria Game™ and use Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue to affix them around the body of the pot.
  3. Add painted accents between the images and along the rim of the pot and saucer. Let dry.
  4. Seal pot with a weatherproof high gloss varnish.
  5. Use glue to add glittered accents on the images and on the painted accents.


It wouldn’t be a celebration without a chance to win something! We’re giving away a Crafty Chica Empowerment Shrine Kit from iLovetoCreate! Wouldn’t this be perfect for chasing away the blues on dreary days? Well you can win one of your very own! All you have to do is answer the question below in the comments section to be entered for your chance to win! How easy it that? Enter now and get back to celebrating!

Empowerment Shrine Kit from Crafty Chica

Contest Rules:

  • Contest open to US and Canada residents 18+
  • One comment/entry per person.
  • Contest closes May 2, 2012 at 11:59p CST.
  • Please answer the question below in order to be entered.
  • Winners will be posted on this blog and notified by email

 

Do you plan on doing any fun activities on Cinco de Mayo?

Kids Saturday: Painted Pots

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These crafts are for the older kids who have a little more patience and talent; painted clay pots. There are so many different ideas that can come out of these pots. If you let them use their imagination they can fly freely. Here are some of my favorite painted pots:

Cute Bee Pot– This is such a cute little clay pot. The kids can not only help paint but they can put the foam wings on along with the googly eyes and antennae.

cute-bee-pot

Purple and Green Spider– A similar approach with the pipe cleaners and googly eyes. The kids will love making these creepy crawlies. It’s great for Halloween-time.

purple-and-green-spider

Flower and Pot Project– The kids can get creative with their flower designs on this clay pot. This is a great craft if you’re a teacher looking for some ideas.

flower-and-pot-project

How to: Make a Christmas Craft with Clay Pots

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Making your own Christmas crafts can be so much fun. I’ve started making my gifts, which are ornaments. They aren’t the greatest as I just bought glitter glue and ribbon, but they’ll do. There are so many easy Christmas crafts out there that you can make, especially with clay pots.

Clay pots don’t just have to be for planting and flowers, but they can be pretty and creative decorating ideas. The more popular ideas I’ve seen for Christmas clay pots are Christmas trees and snowmen, but we’ll get to that later. You can also make little clay pot friends for holiday decor. What you need is:

  • Shimmery blue and white pom poms (One each)
  • 2 1/4″ diameter clay pots (Two)
  • 1 1/2″ diameter wooden balls (Two)
  • Acrylic paints- pink, light blue, flesh and white
  • Material scraps in a light blue pattern
  • Small and large paintbrushes
  • Clear coat spray
  • White plush felt
  • White hot glue or craft glue
  • Black fine tip marker
  • Button

Once you have all these materials we are good to go. Follow these instructions:

  1. Put newspaper down where you will be crafting.
  2. Turn the first clay pot over and glue the wooden ball to the bottom of the pot. When the glue is dry, take your large paint brush and paint the whole outside of the clay pot with the light blue paint.
  3. Then paint the whole wooden ball with flesh paint.
  4. Let it all dry before you apply a second coat.
  5. Then you cut the plush felt into strips long enough to go around the bottom of the clay pots and glue in place.
  6. Make scarves from material, wrap around neck, and glue in place. You can then fringe the ends of the scarves with scissors if you wish.
  7. Use the material to make hats by wrapping enough material around the “forehead” to go all the way around the wooden ball. Glue in place.
  8. Trim, tuck and glue material to form the hat and then glue the pom pom on top.
  9. Glue a strip of plush felt around the border of the hat to create a brim.
  10. Once that is done you then glue a button onto the front of the body.
  11. To create a hand muff, all you need to do is roll a piece of material around a small amount of cotton batting and glue in place.
  12. Trim small strips of plush felt and glue to the ends of the muff. Glue hand muff to the body.
  13. Almost finished.
  14. Using the black marker you are going to create the eyes just by drawing a dot and then you draw a mouth.
  15. Using a small sponge, gently dab on a thin amount of pink for the cheeks if you’re going for the rosy look.

This makes for a cute little clay pot decoration for your village or anywhere in the house. I also like the little Christmas trees you can make out of clay pots. We have one of those on our site in case you missed it. All you need is

  • Patio Paint
    • DCP56 – Bright Lime Green
    • DCP29 – Petunia Purple
    • DCP58 – Azalea — NEW!!
    • DCP57 – Marigold — NEW!!
    • DCP63 – Blue Bahama — NEW!!
  • Foam plate
  • 1″ wood star
  • Four clay pots: 1/2″, 1.7″, 2.75″, and 3″, Michael’s
  • 3/4″ flat brush
  • 3/8″ round foam pouncer brush
  • E6000 industrial strength adhesive

For the rest of the directions go to Painted Christmas Tree Pot. Again, this is such a cute craft to present during the holidays. It also makes for a nice gift if you’re going to a holiday party or gathering.

63 Days Till Christmas: Christmas Clay Pot Crafts

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Simple clay pots are inexpensive, freely available and make a great base for a variety of Christmas clay pot crafts. At the simplest, you can paint and decorate clay pots with Christmas colors to hold holiday treats (candy canes would be perfect). Use the base of clay pots as a lid and tie with ribbon to create a re-usable Christmas gift box. Here are some more intricate Christmas clay pot crafts for home decorating and gift-giving this holiday season:

Be Merry Pot– This is a great Christmas clay pot craft for a kind of Christmas tree. Fill the pot with colorful miniature ornaments or holiday candies to disguise the foam base.

Candy Cane Santa– This adorable Santa, emerging from a chimney bearing candy cane gifts, actually disguises an air freshener. How clever! For even more Christmas clay crafts that disguise air fresheners, check out the Clay Pot Snowman, Rustic Country Snowman or Christmas Oops.

Yuletide Table Accents– Turn clay pots into attractive candle holders with this great Christmas clay pot craft.

Christmas in July?

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Christmas will be here before you know it. You might as well start putting your thoughts together. Every year Christmas comes and I have more and more people to shop for. My family is growing and it’s getting insane. I try to start my shopping early every year, but sometimes I go into panic mode if I can’t come up with anything. So this year I’m going to start early, now, in July. Yes, I said July. Since I’m trying to save money, since I’ll be a homeowner in a few days, I think I’m going to try and make some gifts this year. I thought a cute Merry Pot would be a nice gift for my sisters, all of which are married and have their own homes.

be-merry-painted-pot

Whatever I end up getting my nieces and nephews I’ll probably try to wrap them in a cute santa wrap. They can then play with it later. My mom really likes ornaments, so I might make her a clay snowman ornament, I know she’ll enjoy it and cherish it since I made it myself. I have some great ideas happening right now. You should start thinking of what you want to do this Christmas. Yes, it’s July, but Christmas is pretty much tomorrow! There are tons of great ideas for you to check out. These crafts are much like the yo yo Christmas Advent Calendar. Merry Christmas!

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