A Nostalgic Father's Day

Soon we will be celebrating Father’s Day.  My

Oliver W. Madden,Sr.

Dad has been gone for quite a number of years now, since the fall of ’87 at the age of ninety-one.  He was almost twenty years older than my mom and was in his early fifties when I was born.  I still think of him often. He was a wonderful, hardworking, intelligent husband and father who generously provided for his seven children.  I am the youngest.  

                                                                  
My sister, Sandra, moved to California shortly after college and would receive letters from Dad.  Somehow I never thought much about this, not until Sandra downsized and moved into a senior community.   She told me she was digitizing all of her important papers and asked if I wanted the last few letters my father had sent her shortly before his death.  I welcomed the letters feeling a bit envious, for my father had never written to me.  I lived in driving distance of my parents, looked after them as they aged, and became my father’s caregiver after my mom died. 

 
We all have areas in our homes where we display family pictures and mementos, honoring those in our past and present.  



For this Father’s Day, I copied one of my father’s letters to my sister .  . .

on vintage looking paper and .  .  .


 pasted a cropped family photo of Daddy sitting in a chair surrounded by family. 

 My family, left to right:   Sister, Sandra, brother Bill, Mama, niece, Patricia, brother, Oliver,Jr., me, nephew, Oliver,III and Daddy.   Unfortunately, there are only three of us left in this picture, Sandra, Patricia and me.  I have an older sister, Margie, still living, whom I've given the title of Family Historian.

                              The real letter was placed just behind in a frame.  

 Having scripted paper in the handwriting of my father as the background for this family photo means so much to me, and I will cherish this keepsake always.  I'm so glad I thought of doing this.

                            

                        

                       Happy Father’s Day!

                                                         

                          

Raffia Pot Characters

Sometime ago I saw the cutest pictures of raffia pot figures somewhere on the internet and I've searched pinterest and other places, googling raffia ???,  in hopes of finding more about them. I should have pinned it.  Unfortunately I haven't had any luck, but if someone out there finds the info please drop me the link.  When I saw the raffia figures,  I immediately thought of the corn husk dolls we made way back when. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?  

Anyway, these were the cutest  - made out of raffia and small terra cotta pots that you've ever seen.  I did my best in duplicating them with items I had gotten from the dollar store and things I had in my stash. I had so much fun putting these together and wanted to share them with you.

Materials 

• Clay pots 2 1/4" (pkg of 3) dollar store
• Raffia  natural & red  dollar store  Pkg of 6 colors  
• Wooden Balls  1 1/2" diameter
• Sharpie paint pens  black, red, white          
• Wobbly eyes 
• Glue gun                                          
• Flower petals
• Asst. decorative accessories

How To
I made several different ones - having fun putting them together.  Follow along, but don't get too confused. I go back and forth with photo illustrations.

First off, I started making the arms by gathering a bunch of raffia a half inch thick and approximately six inches long. I tied the bunch with a double piece of raffia 12 inches long in the middle. When you tie this make sure one end is longer for suspension. Tie each end with shorter pieces of raffia. After tying, you can cut the raffia to make them neat or even. I passed the raffia ends through the hole of the pot for added support.

To make the skirt or legs, evenly gather a bunch of raffia about 6-8 inches long and thick enough to fill in the bowl of the pot. For this I doubled the raffia until it looked thick enough and tied one end. 

I tied the skirt bunch thread with the raffia thread from the arms and pushed them back through the hole to the top. I also put hot glue on top of the raffia bunch before pushing it all the way into the pot.

I decorated this pot with glass gems and added wobbly eyes and painted a nose and mouth on the wooden ball with a fine point waterproof sharpie pen. Then attached raffia hair with a hot glue gun onto the ball. I added a smaller pot that Joann's had on clearance for 10 cents and managed to cut the raffia into a "hair do" with bangs. All of the wooden balls used as heads were glued onto the arms and top of the pot. (It would be best to use balls with holes but I couldn't find large enough balls with holes so that the raffia could pass through them for suspension)

 For legs on another character, I divided the raffia and tied them into two sections.

 Painted on all the facial features for this one.  Used toothpicks to do the center of the eyes.

 

Tied a thick bunch of raffia in the middle and glued it on top, cutting the ends off for a cute short "do".

Then decorated the pot with rhinestones glued on for buttons

For the green one, I glued flower petals on top of small pieces of raffia on the wooden head and added one just below the arms.  Decorated the pot using a q-tip and green paint to make the dots.  

Aren't the eyes adorable!

Naturally, my favorite of the group is this little purple cutie with a sheer petal hat and pot adored with metal ribbon trim. I inserted a cut floral wire into the raffia arms and was able to bend it a bit.

                                        

And, oh, a pigtail going down her back!

                                       

                                               Hanging outside among the flowers in all their glory!    

                                                         

                                              

                       

 What's your favorite?

 I think I like them all!  

What a great way to spend time with the kids this summer especially on a rainy day making these!

Whatever you do, have fun!

Thanks for stopping by

and take a little time to enjoy,

Happy Crafting!

                           

 

 

Terra Cotta Flower Pot Girl

                             

  Terra Cotta Pot people are so cute and adorable and easy to make.  They are a wonderful addition to any type of garden.  Just take a look at this cute little flower pot girl I recently made.

You Will Need:

• 12 Clay pots - 5" for legs
• 12 Clay pots - 4.25" for arms
• 2   Clay pots - 8.25" for body
• 1   Clay pot  -  8.25 for head
• 1   Clay saucer - 6"
• 1   Pool Noodle
• Jute rope - approx. 6 yards
• Outdoor acrylic paint/sharpie paint pens  or terra cotta paint pens
• Accessories to decorate pots
• Glue (E6000 or non porous outdoor glue or wood glue)
• Clear acrylic sealer

*Update (2015) As a result of the harsh winter, and leaving the pot girl outside, I would use nylon rope instead of jute twine.  Unfortunately, the twine deteriorated in places.

The directions might seem lengthy, but it really isn't. Once you get started, you'll be zipping through in no time.

Begin by painting the "face" onto the 8.25" head pot.  I found a pattern online, copied, and lightly traced with carbon paper onto the side of the pot. Next, I filled in the eyes with sharpie paint pens and outlined the nose and mouth. I smudged paint on with a q-tip for the rosey cheeks.

                                                                  
If you want to paint the body and or arms and legs, now is the best time to do that.  It will be difficult to go back and paint after you assemble. 
You can paint the pots to look like clothes or add different designs and shapes. Any accessories, such as the apron, can be added after assembly.
Let the paint dry and then spray with several thin layers of acrylic sealer. 

Mark the pool noodle foam in 1 1/2" increments and cut into 26 pieces with a large knife. You will need these to string onto the jute rope and fit into the inside bottom of the clay pots for spacing and support.                                                                 

Assembling the Legs:  (5 inch pots)

I braided three strands of jute rope approximately three yards long, sealing the ends with glue and taping one end to make it easier to pass through the holes in the bottom of the pots. Tie a knot (I double knotted) in one of the ends of the rope and string one of the cut noodle foam onto the rope, pushing it down to the knot. Push the taped end of the rope through the hole inside the bottom of the pot and out. The foam piece and knot should rest against the bottom of the pot on the inside. (this is the first of six pots)
                                                           

 

Push the taped end of the rope through another piece of foam and through the inside hole of the second pot.  Make sure you push the second pot all the way down so the inside of the pot is on the foam.  The second pot should be overlapping the first pot a bit because of the thickness of the foam.  Continue to string on more foam pieces and clay pots this way until you have all six pots lined up on top of one another.   

                                     This is the first terra cotta leg.

Leave about 12 inches of rope between the last (#6) pot and this pot.  String another pot onto the rope, but face this pot in the opposite direction of the other six pots. Do this by pushing the rope into the outside hole into the pot, adding a piece of foam to the rope like before.  Add another clay pot, then foam.  Continue doing this until you have strung all six pots going in the opposite direction of the first 6 clay pots.

                                
Your legs should look like two sets of 6 pots separated by rope approximately 12 inches long (in a upside down u shape).  Tie a double knot in the last pot and cut off any extra rope.

Assembling the Arms:  (4.25 inch pots)
The arms are made the same way as the legs.  Follow the same directions for making the legs, first braiding the jute rope, using the pool noodle foam pieces and the twelve smaller pots.


Assembling the Pot Body:
Place one of the 8.25 inch terra cotta pots, right side up. Using what is left of the braided rope from the legs, wrap it under the exposed (12 inches) rope of the legs and insert it into the bottom hole of the body pot, pulling both pieces through the hole, and through a foam piece inside the pot. Double tie a knot. 

                                              

 

Do the same for the second 8.25 inch pot, only upside down,  using what's left of the rope from the arms, etc.  

To put the two body pots together, I laid everything (arms and legs) gently on their sides on a padded surface, so I could glue the two pots together with E6000 glue.  This is what I had on hand - not thinking that clay pots are porous.  After running a bead of glue around the top edge of each pot, I then placed the body pot with the arms upside down on top of the upright pot with the legs.  And let it dry overnight.  The body pots stuck together, but the glue stained the pots. This can easily be hidden using accessories.

Finally, to finish the Terra Cotta Flower Pot Girl, glue a six inch saucer over the top of the body pot (not shown) - this is optional, and place the painted face pot on top.  For an added touch, flowers can be planted in this pot.

To dress up my flower pot girl, I cut out an apron from an old printed plastic shopping bag and glue it to the body. I also tied mesh tubing to the top of the face pot for a bit of whimsey.

There are so many creative things you can do with making terra cotta pot people.  You can add an outfit, hat, gloves and shoes - even hair out of raffia.  It's unlimited and the choice is up to you. 

                  See where I added a little fabric butterfly onto the strap of the apron.

                                

                                                           Cute, Cute, Cute!

If you don't want to invest in getting all those pots, decorate just one by putting a face on it, adding flowers, and giving it as a gift.

Just know that with a little bit of imagination and creativity, this is a fun and eye catching way to create charming decorative figures to sit in any garden or landscape!  Have fun!


And take time to enjoy,