In today’s post: Kids can make these adorable flower pot gnomes out of small terra cotta pots, paint, and wood dowel caps.

How to Make Flower Pot Gnomes

Today’s project is a fun kid’s craft for spring that can be completed in about half an hour. Kids get to paint a pot one pot for the gnome’s body and then another pot for the gnome’s hat. Then they can add a cute white beard using a paintbrush or their fingers! Finally, a parent can help them glue the gnomes together and add a wood nose.

You can make these gnomes in any size you’d like, from large to small! Just check your local craft or home and garden store for terra cotta pots in two graduated sizes. These guys look especially cute tucked into a flower bed or displayed on your front porch.

Supplies

Here’s what you need to make cute flower pot gnomes:

Two small terra cotta flower pots, one just smaller than the other so they will stack when upsidedown. I used a 3.25 inch pot and a 4 inch pot for the largest gnome I made. The smallest gnomes are made with mini pots that are 2.38 inches and 2.68 inches. You can find terra cotta flower pots at Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Home Depot and Lowes, and often at Dollar Tree during the spring.
Acrylic craft paint: I use the cheap small bottles of paint that you can find at Walmart, Amazon, or any craft store.
Foam paint brush (to paint the pots) and small paintbrush (to paint the beard). Kids can dip their fingers in paint to make fingerprints for the beard if you prefer.
Small wood dowel caps for noses. For the larger gnomes, I used 1 inch wood dowel caps (shown in the photo below). For the smaller gnomes, I used .63 inch wood axel dowel caps. Both were found near wood beads at Hobby Lobby. You may also found wood ball knobs, which are solid wood balls with one flat side, and those work great too.
Hot glue gun

Paint brushes, two small terra cotta pots, wood knobs, acrylic craft paint.

Paint the Pots

The first step is to paint both terra cotta pots. I painted the smaller pot in each pair red (for the hat), and the larger pot either blue or green (for the gnome body). To make it easier for kids to paint the pots, grab a red plastic cup. Have them hold the bottom of the pot while they paint all the way around the lip. Then invert the pot on top of the plastic cup and paint the rest of the cup. Let the pot sit on the cup to dry – it will take about 10 minutes. You can speed drying time with a hair dryer.

Paint two coats if needed on each pot and allow them to dry.

Smaller pot painted red and larger pot painted blue.

Paint the Beard

Next, you’ll paint a beard on the larger pot. Make sure the pot is upside down. Use a paintbrush to paint a beard shape on the front of the pot, using two coats if desired. Alternately, kids can dip their fingers in the white paint and stamp fingerprints on the pot in a beard shape, like you can see on our mini Christmas tree gnomes.

Glue the gnome together

Once the beard is dry, it’s time to glue your gnome together. Make sure the blue pot (that has the beard painted on it) is upside down. Run a generous line of hot glue around the top edge of the pot, as shown below. Immediately place the red pot on top. Please note: a parent should always assist when using hot glue.

Now all that’s left is to glue on the nose! The nose goes in the center of the beard right below the red pot. Place glue on the back side of the dowel cap (a parent should do this part) and immediately press it against the pot. Hold for 5-10 seconds until it is secure.

Now your flower pot gnome is complete and ready to display on your doorstep, our on the patio, or in your garden:

Instructions