Celebrate Grandparents Day with this cute flower pot

What better way to celebrate the amazing grandparents out there than with a heartfelt handmade gift? Grandparents Day is on 3 October this year and we’ve got a seriously cute and thoughtful gift idea for those new grandparents. Share the love with this colourful footprint flowerpot that will memorialise the occasion in a special – and functional – way. Paint your child’s foot with a multitude of Resene colours to create a fun stamp that will be the foundation for beautiful designs. If you want to branch out and create different animals and insects, try experimenting with handprints too – they make excellent wings for birds.  

You will need:

• One concrete flower pot
• A selection of Resene testpots in your choice of colours – Fleur used Resene Tree Frog, Resene Galliano, Resene Daredevil, Resene Poppy, Resene Torea Bay, Resene Pelorous, Resene Black and Resene Quarter Milk White
• Small craft paintbrush
• Your child’s small hands or feet

Step 1: Start with a concrete flower pot – Fleur’s is about 18cm tall and came already painted. If you are using a terracotta pot, seal it first with Resene Aquapel & Terracotta Sealer before painting. 

Step 2: To paint your child’s foot or hand you need to work quickly, as the heat of the skin can dry the paint fast. Be generous with the amount of paint that you put on the foot – you might find it quicker and easier to apply the paint with your fingertip. Fleur created a rainbow effect using Resene Tree Frog, Resene Galliano, Resene Daredevil, Resene Poppy, Resene Torea Bay, Resene Pelorous.

Step 3: Press the foot against the side of the pot.  Be careful that the foot doesn’t skid in the paint.

Step 4: Repeat with the other foot, making sure to put it on the opposite side of the first footprint.  

Step 5: The toes on Fleur’s footprints were a bit undefined, so she touched them up by painting the space around the toes with Resene Quarter Milk White, which matched the colour of her chosen pot.

Step 6: Next, use a small craft paintbrush and your choice of colour – Fleur used Resene Black – to paint on the body and antennae of the butterfly.

Step 7: Finish by painting a flight trail – Fleur used Resene Black. Fill the pot with some good quality potting mix and grandma or grandpa’s favourite plants.

project and images Fleur Thorpe

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