Terra-Cotta Birdbath

It's easy to entice birds to your yard--just offer them food and water.

A hand-painted bird bath is a colorful addition to any garden and a friendly welcome to birds.

All About

Product Ideas

If you don't have a birdbath, all you need to do is buy one. They come in a variety of materials such as stone, concrete and metal. Or you can make your own out of terra-cotta pots.

This is a great indoor or rainy-day project. All you need are three terra-cotta pots, a saucer, paints, polyurethane, brushes and stamps.

The first step is to paint the pots. It's important to apply the paint in thin layers and slowly thicken as you go. Apply a minimum of two coats. Be sure to let the paint dry in between each layer.

The next step is stamping. To begin, brush a light coat of paint on the stamp. Too much paint will drip and create messy edges. It's a good idea to test out your stamps first on a paper towel to get a feel for how it works and how much paint you need. Lightly press the stamp onto the painted terra-cotta saucer and pull it off. Just continue the process, placing the stamps wherever you like.

This is the fun part of making this bird bath because your artistic side can come out. If you don't like it, cover it with paint all over again. Once the designs are stamped onto the saucer, give it a finished look by brushing the edge with gold paint.

Now the top is done, and you're ready to work on the base. Stack the pots. See what's exposed and put stamps where you want them to be seen. This part is a little trickier because you're working on a curve. Sometimes it's best to roll the stamp. The key here is trial and error. Don't forget you can always paint over your mistakes.

When your design is finished, make sure it dries completely and then brush on a coat of polyurethane to seal the paint. And finally, put all the elements together, and you have a bird bath that you and the birds can enjoy throughout the growing season.