Use old flower pots for craft activities.
A clay pot man is a nice way to add some character to a garden and reuse old, damaged flower plots. Clay pot men can be constructed fairly simply and positioned in whatever pose you like. You can also add interest by planting plants in some of the pots or by giving your clay pot man some accessories. Broken or rusted garden tools are good for this and you can arrange the pose to show the man carrying or using the tool.
Instructions
1. Lay an 8-inch pot on its side. Lay another next to it with the bases flush with each other. Tie a knot larger than the holes in the pots in the end of a length of rope and thread the rope through the holes in the bottom of the pots. Tie another knot in the rope to hold the bases of the two pots close together. Allow a gap between the two pots as thick as the rope. This will be used to attach the arms later.
2. Lay another 8-inch pot on its side. Drill two holes in opposite sides of the pot half way between the base and the top. To do this you will need to hold the curved piece of wood inside the pot against the surface you are drilling. Apply gentle pressure on the drill while drilling with the masonry drill-bit.
3. Lay this pot next to the pot with the rope running out of it. Position the open ends of the two pots facing each other and thread the rope through the hole in the bottom of the pot with the holes drill in it. Bring the rims of the pots flush up against each other and tie a knot in the rope to hold the pots together. This gives you the body and head.
4. Make the arms and legs separately from the body. Tie a knot at the end of a length of rope and thread the rope from the inside of the pot to the outside. Tie another knot in the rope to hold the pot in place.
5. Position another pot as if you were going to stack it on top of the first. Tie another knot in the rope and thread the rope through the hole. Tie another knot against the base of this second flower pot. Make the first pot sit just inside the second to make a flexible joint.
6. Join six pots together in this way to make an arm. Join another six to make the other arm. Join a further two sets of eight to make the legs.
7. Position the three pots that make the body and head with the open end facing up and the closed end facing down. Place the arms on each side of the join made by the two adjacent pot bases. Join the rope that runs through the arms to the rope that runs between the larger pots.
8. Run a length of rope through the holes drilled in the side of the larger pot. Tie it to the ropes that run through the legs. Position the man into a pose. If necessary, you can hold the pose together with more lengths of rope. For example, if you want the pot man to put his arm along the top of a bench, you can staple, nail or tie the end of the rope to the top of the bench, or you could position his arm to look like he's scratching his head. Fill the head pot with soil and plant a creeping plant in it.
