Make Your Own
Flower Pot Garden Bells
Level of Difficulty: Easy - Kids of all ages
will enjoy this craft. Younger children will
need adult supervision with the paint and
assistance in assembling the bells. If you
have any questions while doing this craft,
please click on Contact Us and we will
respond as quickly as possible.
Estimated Completion time:
Approximately 45 minutes per bell depending on the complexity of the design and
allowing time for the paint to dry.
List of Materials you will need:
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4" terra cotta flower pot with a drain hole in the bottom
Acrylic paint
Paint brush
Sturdy string or cord about 24" long
3 wood, ceramic or glass beads (these must be bigger in diameter than the drain hole)
Clear acrylic outdoor glaze (optional)
Introduction:
Add some color and gentle sounds to your garden, porch or patio with an original bell that you
can hang anywhere. Terra cotta pots come in lots of shapes and sizes and in addition to being
planters, they make great garden bells. A good size to start with is a standard 4" pot. It’s easy,
just paint it, string it together and hang it! If you hang it in a place where the bell will be in wind
and rain, we recommend that you coat the painted bell with a clear acrylic glaze, (available at
any craft or paint store).
We will show you a step-by-step way to paint and assemble a single bell as well as options for
wind chimes and a chain of bells.
When you are done we would love to see your creations. Please go to our gallery and upload
your finished masterpieces so that others can see what you’ve made.
Instructions:
1. Cover your work surface and wear an apron as you'll be using permanent paint which
stains and bonds to clothing and furniture.
2. Wash and dry the pot and let it dry thoroughly.
3. Paint your design on the pot. Remember, the pot will hang upside down when the bell is
assembled, so the bottom of the pot will become the top of the bell.
4. Some people prefer to lightly draw the design in pencil first and then paint. Others paint
directly on the pot and create the design as they go.
On this pot, the leaf shapes were drawn and painted first, the
blue background was filled in and finally, a black outline was
painted on.
This example began with a sky blue background,
then puffy white clouds were added.
On these bells, we made colorful lines
and dots following the shape of the pots.
5. When the painted pot is completely dry you can assemble the bell. Tie a bead to one
end of the string or cord. This will be the "clacker" that makes the bell chime.
6. Measure the height of the pot and tie a second bead that distance away from the first
bead so the "clacker" bead is at the right level to hit against the rim of the pot when you
ring the bell.
7. Push the other end of the string up through the drain hole on the inside of the pot until
the second bead is touching the roof of the pot.
8. Slide the third bead onto the string so that it rests against the top of
the pot.
Here we added extra beads to the hanging cord.
9. Make a loop at the end of the string and hang the bell.
Options:
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Create a set of garden bell chimes. For this project you will need:
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3 terra cotta pots with drain holes
Acrylic paint
About 60" of cord or string cut into 4
pieces
9 wood, glass or ceramic beads which
are larger than the pot drain holes
Twig, wood dowel or a chopstick
Craft glue
Permanent marker (optional)
In this example we painted the pots and when
they were dry, used a black permanent marker
to outline the design.
Attach the cord and beads as described above.
Tie the bells onto the twig at slightly different
lengths and close enough to gently touch each
other when there is a little breeze.
Tie the fourth piece of cord to both ends of the
twig so you can hang the chimes. A drop of
glue was added at all 5 knots to hold the
bells in place.
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Create a chain of bells. For this project you will need:
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3 or more miniature terra cotta pots (all the
same size) with drain holes.
Acrylic paint
1 piece of cord or string that is twice as long as
the combined height of the pots
5 glass, ceramic or wood beads which are
larger than the pot drain holes
Permanent marker (optional)
In this example we painted each pot a light, bright
color, added the dots and then outlined them with a
black permanent marker.
Tie a bead to one end of the cord, and push the other
end through the hole so the bead hits against the
inside of the bottom pot as described above.
Next, space and knot the second bead a pot's length
away and push the end of the cord through the drain
hole in the second pot.
Repeat with the third bead and pot. (It may be
necessary to adjust the beads so that the pots line up
with the rims just touching the next pot in line.)
Finish the bell by tying on two more beads and then
making a loop to hang the chain.
When you are done we would love to see your creations.
Please go to our gallery at
http://www.creativityforkids.com/gallery/gallery.aspx
Upload your finished masterpieces so that others can see what you’ve made.