Personalized Homemade Craft: Flowerpot or More!

Homemade gifts can be very special and affordable. Some of the favorite gifts that I have received and given have been made by my children. One such gift, that I gave, was a personalized flower pot. The flower pot was given to my mom for Mother's Day by her grandchildren. The pot was decorated by the children's handprints and pictures of each child.

Not only did this make a wonderful Mother's Day gift, it would also be perfect for Grandparents' Day, Birthdays, Father's Day, and more!

I chose to use a flowerpot. However, I have also seen this project carried out with wooden birdhouses (maybe more appropriate for a male for Father's Day), wooden chairs, vases, etc.
The directions below are for a flowerpot. Again choose anything that you wish. It will work! Also be creative and use your own ideas to your liking!

Materials

Flower pot- any size depending on how many pictures you want to display

Pictures

Decorative scissors (cutting design type)

Paint (Acrylic not washable)

Jar of Mod Podge (sold at craft stores as well as Wal-Mart in the craft section)

Clear sealant or sealant spray

Decorative items such as those used in scrap booking

Paintbrush

Begin by choosing your pictures and decorative items

Layout a design for your pot. I chose to use handprints, two pictures of each child, and scrap booking butterflies.

I used a different color paint for each child's handprint. The handprints went all of the way around the pot.

I then used decorative scissors to cut around each picture.

I used Mod Podge to stick the pictures onto the pot. Be certain that the pictures lay flat. Each picture was placed at or on the handprint of the child that it corresponded with. I covered the handprints up slightly but it still looked great.

After all of the pictures were in place, I used precut scrap booking letters to write "Grandma's Pot of Love" around the top. The o in love was a heart that I printed from the computer.

I then added scrapbook butterflies around the words.

I printed each child's name in design letters from the computer. I use Mod Podge to attach the name at the child's pictures.

I then began painting Mod Podge over the entire pot. After the first coat had dried about fifteen minutes, I added another coat. I continued until the pot had about six coats.

Be sure to also coat the inside of the pot.

Use extra Mod Podge around any areas that do not lay flat against the pot. Try to smooth those areas out with the Mod Podge.

After the last coat of Mod Podge is dry, spray with a clear sealant.

Add dirt and a flower and you have a beautiful personalized flowerpot!