Practical and pretty, these plant pokes will help keep track of the seeds you have planted - and they cost next to nothing to make!
Broken Clay Pot Plant Markers
big pieces of a broken clay pot
1/8 inch by 12 inch wooden dowels
acrylic paints
glue
sealer (if you're planning to use the markers outdoors, use a sealer recommended for outdoor use)
Broken Clay Pot Plant Markers
Instructions:
Start with a broken clay pot if you have one around. If not, do what I did - take a clay pot that you don't need any more for planting and drop it inside a brown paper bag. I mean take out some of your frustrations and really drop the bag (and the pot) on a hard surface. Now didn't that feel good? You should end up with some great shards to use for plant markers.
Pick one or two pieces that you think will work well. Start painting the pieces - there are no rules, so can paint a rim, like the one we have around the basil marker, or you can paint the shard entirely in one background color.
Draw on some simple vines and little flowers, just like you did in grade school. Use one of the paint colors to paint the dowels.
After the paint has dried, glue each pot piece to a one foot length of dowel, leaving just a little of the dowel showing over the top. You may want to prop the dowel so it stays nice and straight.
Lastly, if you plan to put the plant marker outside, seal the dowel and the marker with an exterior sealer. For indoor use, you can get by with a water based craft sealer in matte or gloss.
I have been trying for YEARS to get a plant marker that wouldn't get lost or lose it's plant name - HA! YOU found a way. Tnanks!
By the way, what kind of glue will hold the clay piece to the woooden dowel?
Reply to Kathy
Jane – Editor of AllFreeCrafts
May 01, 2008 - 12:36
For a waterproof bond, good enough for outdoor use, I would use silicone caulking - the kind used for weatherstripping around windows. You can buy tubes in many colors, even transparent, and it's useful for many bonding applications.
Two-part epoxy would also work, as would shoe-goo and probably gorilla glue. Check the glue section in your hardware store for more options. Good luck!
Pat – Bristol England
March 30, 2008 - 06:51
Take great care with this project - clay pot shards can be extremely sharp and dangerous - I have a friend with an eight inch scar on her arm from falling on one!
