St-Patrick's Pot of Gold Planter

St-Patrick's decor project: Create Your own Celtic Pot of Gold

Hands-on time: about 1 1/2 hours
Skill: Moderate

Materials & Tools:

• Terra-cotta planter (available at garden centres and dollar stores)
• A soft fibre 2" paintbrush
• Pébéo Porcelaine 150 Filler Undercoat
• Porcelaine 150 by Pébéo, white 43, gold 44, malachite green 26, peridot green 30, amazonite green 29 and amber 36
• Crackling medium (only phase 2 is necessary for this project) Vitrea 160 by Pébéo
• Stir sticks and paint tray
• Gold Sculpey or Fimo polymer clay
• A rolling pin and a kitchen knife
• Plastic mold for soap or plaster mold of a Celtic symbol
• Clear silicon glue
• Sprouts, earth, plants, decorative grass, moss grapevine ball, decorative wire (optional)
• A hairdryer

Make-it-yourself directions:
Invite a little Irish luck in by creating your own pot of gold. An ordinary terra-cotta planter is given Old World charm with an aged crackle-leather finish. This textured finish is achieved by combining a crackle medium and layering shamrock greens, amber and gold porcelain paints. The planter is then ornamented with a Celtic symbol made of gold polymer clay.

For the first few painting steps, use a hairdryer between each medium and color application to speed up the drying time. Using a hairdryer will also deepen the crackling effect.

Following these steps in order is crucial to achieving the textured effect. Apply the Filler Undercoat Porcelaine 150 to the exterior of the planter and dry it with the hairdryer. Apply a white basecoat of Porcelaine 150 and dry. Apply a coat of gold Porcelaine 150 and dry. Apply a coat of crackling medium (phase 2) Vitrea 160 and dry. You'll see the crackling effect right away. Add more crackling medium if desired and dry.

Put the three green, amber and gold Porcelaine 150 paints in a paint tray. Apply the colors to the body of the planter only. The rim remains gold. Using a criss-cross motion, lightly apply each color around the planter, one at a time, layering each color over the last, leaving exposed areas of each color.