I became obsessed with this project and decided I needed to do it when I saw it on Pinterest. The inspiration comes from The O'Donnell Nest. We approached the project in different ways, but I love both end results.
Clay Pot Christmas Tree
What You'll Need
Clay pots in varying sizes. The second smallest size will be used for the third tier of the tree and the base. I played with all the sizes in the store until I foun a combination I liked. That's right, I sat criss-cross-applesauce in the middle of that aisle stacking pots and it's okay if you do the same.
Clay Dish. To find the right size, I turned all the dishes upside down and set the largest pot on them until I got to the one where the pot resing just outside the ring on the bottom.
Light green paint. Obviously I chose spray paint, but if you want a different color you can use acrylic.
Maroonish red paint
1-2 round sponge brushes. I used two so I could have size variation.
Brown Felt
Wooden star. Mine is from the wooden craft section of Michael's.
Felt
Hot Glue
Yellow paint
Sponge brush
Dowel rod. It needs to be thin enough to fit into the hole in the bottom of the pot.
Pencil
Knife or small saw
What You'll Do
1. Paint your pots. You're going to paint all the pots but the base and the dish. I sprayed a coat of white paint first to lighten up the clay and cut down on green coats. I sprayed them upside down first and then right side up.
2. Once all your pots are dry and looking snazzy, it's time to paint your "ornaments." Dip your round sponges in paint and polka dot the pots until you're happy.
3. Once everything is dry, attach felt to the inside of the pot using hot glue. I just did a strip around the top. This will keep the pots from sticking to each other when you dismantle the tree for storage. It will also keep them from rubbing against each other when they next inside each other. the color doesn't matter because you can't see it once the tree is assembled.
4. Once the glue has dried, stack your tree.
5. Put your dowel rod through the hole at the top of the tree and slide it through all the holes until it hits the plate that the larget pot rests on. Use a pencil to mark the rod an inch above where it emerges from the pot.
6. Using a saw or a knife that you don't plan on using again, saw off the end of the dowel rod.
7. Using a sponge brush, paint the star and the area of the dowel rod that will be visible.
8. Once dry, hot glue the dowel to the star.
9. Finally, assemble your tree. Place the bare pot upside down, place the dish upside down on the bare pot, and then stack the rest of the pots on top. Finally, slide your dowel with the star attached down the center of the pots.
I may go back and add glitter to the bases of all the pots, but I haven't decided for sure yet. I was going to put it on the floor by the fireplace, but when I trie it out it was too small, so instead I put it on my hodge podge of a mantle. This cute little guy would also look great in a kid's room or an office that's in need of Christmas cheer.
