How to Make a Birdbath With Terra-Cotta Pots

Terra-cotta pots work well for making a birdbath.

Adding a birdbath to the landscape represents a step forward in making your yard a wildlife sanctuary. Garden centers and home improvements stores carry them, but they can be pricey. Making your own with terra-cotta pots is a relatively inexpensive project. You can create your own design to fit your personal style and taste. Making the terra-cotta birdbath requires few tools and little skill. By the end of an afternoon it should be finished and holding water waiting for the birds.

Things You'll Need

• Tarp
• Drop cloth
• Cloth
• Terra-cotta pots
• Terra-cotta bottoms
• Polyurethane spray
• Spray paint
• Pen
• Pencil
• Water-resistant craft paint
• Paintbrushes
• Glue
• Tile pieces
• Mirror pieces

Instructions

1. Spread out a tarp or drop cloth in a well-ventilated area. Use two terra-cotta pot and bottom sets that differ by one size. For example, use a 5-gallon set and a 7-gallon set.

2. Wipe the pots and bottoms off with a damp cloth. This removes any dust or particles and allows paint to stick better. Allow them to dry completely.

3. Spray a light coating of polyurethane sealer over interior and exterior surfaces of the pots and bottoms. Allow the sealer to dry.

4. Spray-paint all surfaces of the terra-cotta pots and bottoms with solid color paint. Allow them to dry thoroughly.

5. Turn both bottoms upside down. Place the matching pot upside side down on the center of each matching bottom. Trace around the pots making a mark onto the bottoms using a pen or pencil and remove the pots from the bottoms, setting the bottoms to the side.

6. 

   Use pieces of tile or shells to embellish the pots.

   Paint designs on the pots, or embellish them and allow them to dry. Consider drawing various shapes such as flowers or squares and paint them. Use mirror or tile pieces found at craft stores and glue them onto the pots.

7. Apply glue around the pencil mark on the largest bottom. Apply glue around the top lip on the largest pot. Place the pot upside down on the glued area of the bottom and allow the glue to dry, sealing them together.

8. Apply glue on the bottom of both terra-cotta pots. Place the smaller pot's bottom on top of the larger pot's bottom, gluing them together. Allow the glue to dry.

9. Apply glue around the upper lip of the smaller pot. Apply glue around the pencil mark on the bottom of the smaller bottom. Place the bottom on top of the pot and glue them together.

10. Spray the entire birdbath with a final coating of polyurethane sealer once the glue has dried. Allow the sealer to dry before moving the birdbath and filling with water.

Tips & Warnings

• The polyurethane spray will seal the painted designs, making the paint stick longer and not wear off. It makes the painted pots, as well as plain terra cotta, more water-resistant.

References

• Crafters Love Crafts: Make Your Own Clay Plot Birdbath with Terra Cotta Pots