ShareThisNearly 10 years ago I wrote about making a birdbath with upside-down clay pots. Of all the craft projects I've done over the years, this one has been my favorite.Reader Carolyn Fritz of Roseville, Calif., recently sent us a photograph of the birdbath she made for her mother-in-law following my original instructions.Fritz wrote that her mother-in-law likes it so much that she uses it as an end table because "it's too nice to go outside." What a great idea!If you plan to make a table instead of a birdbath, all you need to do is flip the top saucer upside-down to make a flat surface.These directions for making the flowerpot birdbath originally appeared in my crafts column in August 1999.Level: IntermediateCost: $50-$75Time: 6-12 hours, depending on designMaterials-- 3 clay pots in increasing sizes: 12, 14, 16 inches-- Clay saucer, 20 inches in diameter-- All-weather latex primer-- Foam paintbrushes, 1 or 2 inches wide-- Indoor-outdoor latex paint in assorted colors-- Sea sponge pieces (optional)-- Artist paintbrushes in a variety of widths-- Transfer paper (optional)-- Construction glue and caulking gun-- Spray lacquerDirections1. It's best to use new clay pots. If you use old ones, scrub them before painting. Stack the pots upside down, largest on the bottom, smallest on the top. Use a pencil to draw a line where the pots overlap so that your design won't be hidden. Unstack the pots.2. Using the wide sponge brush, apply primer to the pots and the saucer in the areas that will show when the birdbath is finished.3. Using sponge brushes, paint the pots and saucer with latex paint in the colors you have selected for the background. When this base coat has dried, paint decorative patterns on the pots.Since I am not good at painting freehand, I used computer clip-art for patterns. The art was printed in a size that would fit on the pots. An outline of the clip art was drawn on the pots using transfer paper, which is similar to carbon paper, but erases easily.To transfer the clip-art design to the pot, I placed the transfer paper against the pot and held the clip art over the transfer paper. Using a regular pencil, I traced around the outline of the clip art. When the transfer paper was pulled away from the pot, the outline of the clip art was clearly visible. The design was filled in with latex paint following the transfer design.4. When all the paint has dried thoroughly, apply the construction glue inside the rims of the middle and small pots and stack them back up again. Glue the saucer right side up, making sure you center it over the top pot.5. Spray the birdbath with several coats of spray lacquer, allowing it to dry completely between coats.NotesThe pots I used were from Pottery World. Transfer paper was found at Michael's Arts & Crafts. All other materials were from Ace Hardware.Ace Hardware sells 2-ounce bottles of indoor-outdoor latex enamel, which is handy when you just need a tiny bit of one color.(Contact Gwen Schoen at gschoen(at)sacbee.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Make a birdbath
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