Kids love fun art projects that you can do together, especially if it involves getting their hands messy in paint. In my opinion, some of the best memories are made by creating things with your children. In this blog, we will show you how to make a precious keepsake that you can display for many years. Every time you or your children see this uniquely decorated flower pot, you will remember the day you made it together!
What You’ll Need
First things first, let’s gather everything you’ll need:
Plastic flower pot
Paint brushes
Small paper plates
Dixie Belle White Lightning
Sponge
Dixie Belle Clear Bonding Boss
Dixie Belle Silk Mineral Paint (Endless Shore)
Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint (Cottage Door)
Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint (Secret Path)
Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint (vintage Duck Egg)
Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint (Barn Red)
Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint (Rebel Yellow)
Fine point black chalk paint marker
Dixie Belle Gator Hide
Plant/flower
Potting soil
Prepping the Flower Pot for Fingerprint
Cleaning the Pot
You’ll need to make sure the flower pot is thoroughly cleaned so that the paint will properly adhere to the plastic. The best way to clean the pot is by using Dixie Belle White Lightning. The directions on the jar say to dissolve 2 TBSP of White Lightning per gallon of hot water. But you don’t need that much since the pot is relatively small. I used ½ TBSP of White Lightning in 4 cups of hot water. Using a scrubby sponge, clean the outside of the pot. I didn’t bother with scrubbing the inside of the pot since its just going to be filled with dirt anyways, but I did knock any excess dirt out of it. Dump the dirty water out of the bucket and fill it with clean water. Use a clean washcloth in the clean water to wipe down the pot. Let it dry.
Priming
Shake your jar of Clear Bonding Boss to thoroughly mix. Using a paint brush, paint an even layer onto the clean pot. I didn’t bother painting the bottom of the pot I used because it has drainage holes. Let it dry for 24 hours.
Time to Paint
Painting the Pot
The great thing about Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint is that it is safe for little ones to use! That however doesn’t mean that it’s safe for their clothes. So if you don’t want their clothes to potentially be stained, I suggest using a smock. Allow your child to paint the pot with the Silk Mineral Paint in Endless Shore. Let the first coat dry completely before applying a second coat. You can also use a hair dryer to speed up the drying process.
Making Fingerprint Flowers & Lady Bugs
To make the fingerprint flowers, just lightly dip your child’s finger into the Rebel Yellow color and press it lightly on the pot. Make a few other fingerprints around the pot with this color; these will be the flower centers. Allow those to dry for a few minutes. Then make fingerprints around the centers to create the flower petals. Use the Cottage Door, Vintage Duck Egg, and Secret Path colors for this. You can also alternate colors on the flower's petals!
Use the Barn Red color to make the lady bugs. Once these fingerprints have dried, use the chalk paint marker to make them look like lady bugs. Depending on your child’s age, they could do this step with some instruction. In the pictures, you’ll see that I used a black sharpie marker. I think a chalk paint marker would work better, the sharpie didn’t seem to react well to the chalk mineral paint.
Sealing Your Work
In order to protect your child’s precious fingerprints and hard work, you will need to seal the paint. Using a clean paint brush, apply a thin and even coat of Gator Hide. After 2 hours, apply a second coat. Allow to dry.
Potting a Plant
Once 24 hours has passed since the second cost of Gator Hide was applied, you can add a plant or flower to the pot! Fill the pot with some potting soil and place the plant into the soil. Fill the pot with more soil until the base of the plant/flower’s stem is covered.
Comments