Making a Gardener's Floral Gift Box

Benetta
Silver Post Medal for All Time! 408 Posts

August 9, 2018

Gardener's Floral Gift Box - decorated pot with seed packets ready to gift My friend, who is an avid gardener, will celebrate her birthday soon. I want to gift her with a few packets of flower seeds, but I do not want to give only the packets on their own. I found a small unglazed clay pot, which I decided to turn into a themed gift box. The pot can afterwards be used as a floral planter.

Total Time: two hours, drying time included

Yield: one gift box

Supplies:

small unglazed clay pot
several packets of flower seeds
small floral foam stamp
vintage chalk paint: Windsor grey and light green
acrylic paint: yellow and broken white
Dala glass glaze: magenta; emerald green and turquoise
Hard as Nails water-based varnish
thin paintbrush
old saucer
sponge ~ use one that was inside a medicine bottle
newspaper to protect the working area

Steps:

Use the sponge and Windsor grey paint to paint the outside, top edge and top 2" of inside of the pot. Do not paint the bottom of the pot. Allow to dry thoroughly.

Gardener's Floral Gift Box - sponge paint the outside, lip, and a couple of inches down into the pot; allow to dry

Use the floral foam stamp and the magenta glass glaze to stamp random flowers all around the pot:
Use the paint brush to apply an even layer of the glaze onto the foam stamp.
Transfer the image onto the pot and then carefully lift the stamp.
Continue adding more flowers in the same way.
Allow to dry thoroughly.

Gardener's Floral Gift Box - use the foam stamp and glass glaze to add flowers randomly around the pot

Use the paintbrush and the light green chalk paint to paint random leaves all around the flowers.

Gardener's Floral Gift Box - paint on leaves

Use the emerald and turquoise glazes to add some detail to the leaves.

Gardener's Floral Gift Box - use glazes to add details to leaves

Use the yellow acrylic paint to add small flowers to the pot.

Gardener's Floral Gift Box - add small flowers using yellow acrylic paint

Mix a bit of yellow paint and turquoise glaze in the saucer. Use the brush to dab some of the mixed paint on the pot in the open spaces between the flowers and leaves.

Gardener's Floral Gift Box - dab on a mix of yellow paint and turquoise glaze between the leaves and flowers

Use the broken white acrylic paint to add highlights to the flowers and leaves. Also add a border pattern to the top edge of the pot. Allow to dry before continuing to step 8.

Gardener's Floral Gift Box - highlight the leaves and flowers with the white paint; also add a pattern to the pot lip

Gardener's Floral Gift Box - view of top edge paint pattern

To protect the paint from wear and tear, add a coat of varnish over the painted areas and allow to dry thoroughly.
Fill the pot with the packets of flower seeds - and voila!