Turn Terracotta Pots Into Adorable Farm Animal-Inspired Garden Decor

Terracotta pots make great outdoor decor. Gardening with terracotta pots is a classic move, but did you ever think of taking things a step further and using them to create fun, colorful yard art? You can turn these inexpensive, easy-to-find garden staples into something unique and engaging that kids, in particular, will love. For example, pair terracotta pots with some basic craft supplies and make a pink pig that can sit on a retaining wall or patio table.

The idea for this adorable farm animal-themed DIY project comes from the popular Facebook page DIY with Hometalk. They used six terracotta pots and one saucer to create a pig that's beyond cute. In order to do this, all you need is some paint, rope, and small embellishments for the pig's face. Pretty much anyone can tackle this craft, and you can even adapt it to make other animals. 

Why toss broken plant pots when there's a clever way to reuse them? Or, of course, you can buy the terracotta pots new. Either way, you'll need four small planters for the pig's feet and hands, two slightly larger pots for the face and body, and a saucer for the snout. You'll also need some rope, which should be about half the diameter of the large pots' drainage holes. Finally, grab a tub of bright pink paint and, for the ears and nose, some black and pink pipe cleaners. For the eyes, two black buttons should do the job. To secure everything in place, get a hot glue gun. That's it!

Paint the outside of the pots pink and let the paint dry. Then fold a length of rope in half and push it into the drainage hole of one of the large pots. Tie a knot to hold it in place. You should now have two strands of rope coming out of the drainage hole — the arms of your cute pig. Thread each end through the drainage holes of two small pots and tie a knot in each end. Now your pig has hands! Attach another piece of rope to the knotted loop inside the pig's body and repeat the process with the remaining two small planters, creating legs and feet. Hot-glue the saucer onto the base of the second large pot and fashion nostrils from a black pipe cleaner. Glue on the black buttons for eyes and two pink pipe cleaner loops for ears. Use hot glue to attach the head to the body, and you're done!

You can set up your adorable new pig decor on the ground, the edge of your deck, the wall of a raised garden bed, or a backyard storage shelf. Terracotta is breakable, so make sure that your planter pig is secure and not at risk of falling off its perch. If needed, you can nail the rope legs to the ledge to hold the pig in place. Adapt this DIY however you want! Paint it in Christmas colors that are on trend (no, not red and green), turn it into a cow with brown and white spots, or go all black for a Halloween cat. If you prefer, create a person instead of an animal by gluing a straw hat onto the figure's head and adding some fun googly eyes.