Here is a cute summer craft that can be used indoors or out.  Great for all age groups too!

Supplies:

3 1/2″ clay pot

Folk Art Acrylic Paints: Moroccan red, Blue Velvet, White, Burnt Sienna

Crop-a-dile

Darice Rusty Stars

Darice 40mm Rusty Jingle Bell

Darice 30′ Rusty Wire

Directions:

Paint the rim of the pot with Blue Velvet, let dry.  Paint the bottom of the pot with Moroccan red, let dry. (I’m an impatient person so I use a heat gun to speed the drying process!) Splatter the whole pot with white paint.

NOTE: To splatter paint load a stiff brush with paint and with the end of another brush or a craft stick quickly flick the end of the loaded brush causing paint to splatter onto the pot surface. Remember to splatter AWAY from yourself! 🙂

After the splattered paint dries, use a damp sponge and Burnt Sienna and give the whole pot a “wash” of Burnt Sienna.  Wipe off any excess.  You don’t want the wash to be too dark. This helps age it and make it look more primitive.

Cut a 3′ length of rusty wire and put a rusty jingle bell in the center.  I used the barrel of my heat gun as a form to make a large wire loop.  This gives the jingle bell plenty of movement but the big loop also keeps it from pulling up next to the pot where it won’t make any noise at all.  Give the wire a few twists as shown to hold it in place and then thread the wire up through the hole in the pot.

Use the crop-a-dile to put holes in the rusty tin stars.  It takes quite a bit of muscle but it does work!

Use the end of a paint brush and wrap the wire around it a few times to get the “springy” look, thread the stars on and make more of the springs.  Twist the wire together at the ends and make springs on the end.

Hang on a branch, shepherds hook or garden fence post.