How to Decorate Flower Buckets and Pots

Cover your flower pots with mosaics of broken dishes, game pieces and small junk drawer finds. It is easy and fun to do, and children will enjoy getting in on the action. You can use old pots from previous plantings, no matter what they look like, because the surface will be completely covered. Have your kids gather odd game pieces, clean out your drawers and enjoy an afternoon of decorating flower buckets and pots.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Sandpaper
• Hot glue gun
• Dishes, game pieces, keys, marbles and other miscellaneous small items
• Grout
• Mallet
• Paper bag
• Putty knife
• Sponge
• Rag

Decorating With Broken Dishes

1. Clean the pots and allow them to dry. Sand off any rough areas.

2. Place the old dishes in a paper bag and tap with a mallet to break them. The paper bag will prevent the shards of the dishes from flying all over. Hot glue the broken dish pieces to the surface of your flower bucket or pot. Cover the entire surface, leaving small gaps between each piece.

3. Mix the grout according to the manufacturer's instructions, or purchase premixed grout. Using a putty knife, cover the broken dishes with the grout and push it in the gaps between the pieces. Allow the grout to set up for a few minutes, then wipe the excess from the surface using a sponge and water. Allow the grout to completely dry and wipe off the rest of the grout film, using a dry rag to polish.

Decorating With Trinkets and Game Pieces

4. Clean the pots and allow them to dry. Sand off any rough areas.

5. Using a putty knife, cover the pot with grout approximately ¼ inch thick. Allow the grout to set for a few minutes.

6. Press the game pieces and miscellaneous trinkets into the grout, covering the pot completely. Press firmly, allowing the grout to ooze around the edges of each piece. This will prevent the pieces from falling off when dry.

Tips & Warnings

• Experiment with flat glass marbles used in flower arrangements. The abundance of colors to choose from will make beautiful decorated flower buckets and pots. To give color to your grout, mix it with a small amount of acrylic paint.