Make a Clay Pot Bee
Using only a few materials, you can make a clay pot bee using terracotta pots. Of course, as a beekeeper – I see a honey bee but it can be a bumble bee if you wish. Bee lovers everywhere enjoy decorating their home and pollinator friendly gardens with bee décor. Using clay pots to create unique garden projects is also a very popular pastime.
Why do we enjoy honey bee crafts? Because bees are fun. Show off your love for these hard working insects. Your creation will surely be a cute addition to any garden.
Clay Pot Bees (Bumble or Honey)
This clay pot honey bee craft is a whimsical addition to your inside bee décor or outside bee garden. Construction is simple enough to be suited for older children with some supervision.
Now for the design – it is common for humans to anthropomorphize the bees. This means that we apply human emotions, traits, etc to bees. Of course, we know that bees are insects-not people.
Yet, it is still fun to give the honey bee some human traits. We think of them as getting angry and even create images that show them smiling.
As we make clay pot “people” bees, notice that mine only has 4 legs. This bothers me as a beekeeper. Because if you know much about honey bee anatomy, you know that bees have 6 legs.
I could have used more clay pots to give my design all 6 legs. However, I really didn’t care for the look with 6 instead of 4.
Hopefully, you will forgive me for this deviation of true insect form and enjoy the fun of making this clay pot bee craft for your bee garden or yard. Or a gift for a bee loving friend.
Materials
- 2 large clay pots
- 4 small clay pots
- paracord
- paint
- glue
- sealer (optional)
- brushes and/or paint pens
There are hundreds of different craft ideas that can be completed using clay pots. By design, these pots are suitable for outdoor use. They can be painted or left bare – used for plants or other decorative projects.
Spray with sealer to protect your paint, and your clay pot bee will last for several seasons. Be sure to use a clear sealer that is suitable for outdoor projects.
Choosing Clay Pots
In these instructions, I am using 2 six-inch clay pots for the body. Of course you can use any size but this is a good mid size that will create noticeable but not overly large clay pot honey bee people.
These pots are so inexpensive that while you could reuse one you already have, I encourage you to only use clean pots that have not been used for growing plants. Otherwise, the paint may not adhere to the clay surface well.
Cord & Paints
I used 5/32″ black nylon paracord for my bee. It is large enough to work with and does not tangle easily. It is also strong enough to hold the weight of the clay pots.
Enjoy making your clay pot honey bee and use any colors or designs that you like. Though yellow and black are common insect theme colors, you don’t have to use that color combination. Use what you think looks nice.
Expert Tips
Don’t stress out over making the stripes and everything perfect. In fact, some of mine are a bit “cattywampus” but who cares. This is a homemade item-not something that rolled off a machine.
Not a bad idea to buy a few extra pots – they do break. Those used here are inexpensive and easy to find.
Equipment
You need a drill with a small bit or a Dremel tool to make holes in the terracotta pots. This will allow the “legs” of the bee to pass through the pot.
Assembly
1. Use a drill with a small bit (slightly larger than the cord you plan to use) to drill two holes – directly across from one another near the bottom of one of the large pots. When you flip the pot upside down – the bottom becomes the top and you want the cord to come out of the area that we would think of as the bee’s shoulders.
2. Paint all pots (inside and out) with a yellow base coat. Then take a drawing from a coloring book and trace the outline on the large pot (that you did not drill holes in). The top (rim) of the pot should be above the bee face.
3. Use a black marker or paint pen to outline the tracing of the face and features.
4. Then, use black paint, markers, paint pens etc to add black stripes where you want. They do not have to be a certain width just try to be uniform. (Optional) Using blue painters tape helps keep them even.
5. Cut a length of paracord (12″ – 18″) thread it through the two holes you drilled. Insert the cord into the bottom hole of one of the small pots – tie a knot on the inside (double knot if necessary). Now, put the other end of your cord through the bottom hole of another small pot.
6. Adjust the length of this cord as it will determine how long these “legs” are. Tie another knot big enough to hole the pot.
7. Use a strong glue to adhere the bee face pot (large pot right side up) onto the large pot with striped body (this one is upside down). Let glue dry.
8. For the final assembly step of your clay pot bee – I used a large washer to hold my cord ends. But you could just time them into a large knot if you prefer.
Cut a length of cord (about 15″) that will serve as the last pair of cord legs. Feed this cord down through the top of the two large pots you glued together. The cord will hang out the bottom – choose the length you desire and attach the last two small pots in the same manner as before.
Now your clay pot honey bee – or bumble bee is ready to add a coat of clear sealer if you wish.
Protection and Care
Like true honey bees, your creation is rather fragile. It can withstand the elements rather well but will break if dropped – or if you allow the feet to clang together.
Find a quiet safe corner of the garden to place it. Perhaps, you might like to choose a small bee friendly plant for pots to place in the head? Some flowers do well in containers and are attractive to pollinators.
The life of your clay pot bee can be extended by bringing it inside if you live in an area that receives a lot of snow or cold weather. Then, you can polish it up and break it out again come Spring.
More Ideas
Save your leftover paint, you may get a creative urge and want to make a bee garden art pole to go with your new clay pot bee.
Include a bee watering station in the area along with some of the best flowers for bees. Now you have created a small pollinator oasis.
Another great idea, make these painted bee rocks – they look so nice in the garden.
And for a really quick and easy project that is recycle friendly this tin can bee craft is great for a small garden project or gift. A great way to teach kids about pollinators other than just honey bees.
Once the warm season is over, bees go into hibernation or become less active. Bring the fun inside with an indoor craft project?
Create an indoor buzz with this bee themed terra cotta candy dish -it is easy to make and is a really cute gift idea.
And staying with the bee theme- what about gnomes. Gnomes are mysterious little creatures that are very popular – you can make your own honey bee gnome!
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.
Clay Pot Bee Person Tutorial
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Read my Disclosure.Tools
- Drill
- Small drill bit
Supplies
- 2 pieces 6" diameter clay pots
- 4 pieces 3" diameter clay pots
- 1 roll 5/32" Nylon Paracord
- 1 bottle glue
- 1 can yellow base coat- Gloss Sun Yellow – AA
- 2 bottles Craft Paint Outdoors (yellow, black)
- 1 piece pink paint pen
- 1 piece Paint Pen Black
- 1 piece larger washer
- 1 piece template for bee face (optional)
- 1 can outdoor clear sealer spray
Instructions
- Drill holes in clay pot for arm attachment. Use a small bit or Dremel tool to drill 2 holes in one of the large pots.The holes should be near the bottom of the pot and straight across from each other.
- Prime and paint base coat. Use yellow spray paint to put a base coat on each of the 6 pots. For the large pots – you do not have to paint the insides unless you wish. The small clay pots should be painted inside and out with yellow paint.
- Trace a face on one large pot. One of the large pots will sit right side up and be the head of your clay pot bee. If you are talented, freehand the design. If your artistic talents are not all that you wish, find a coloring page with a face outline and trace it onto the pot.
- Outline face with black paint pen marker. After using a pencil to sketch in your design, consider if you are pleased with it.Then go over the pencil marks with a black paint marker.
- Add black stripes and markings. To imitate the iconic idea of how we imagine bees – let’s add some black stripes. It does not matter how many stripes you use or how wide. Paint stripes on 1 of the large pots (not the one with the face) and on each of the small clay pots.For the pot with the face, draw or paint in black wherever you wish. I created a black mask around the face and a black band on top – leave the rest of the pot yellow but it’s your choice.
- Attach arms to body base. Cut a small piece of paracord (12″) and tie a knot in one end. Thread it through one of the holes you drilled in the pot – (the knot will be on the inside of the pot).With the other end of the cord, thread it through the hole in the bottom of one of the small pots. Decide how long you want the “arms” to be and tie a knot to secure inside the small pot – cut off any excess cord.Repeat for other side.
- Assemble the body and head. One large pot will be the base (the one with the stripes), place it top side down on a flat surface.The other larger pot (with the face) sits on top of the first pot. This results in the 2 pots being connected bottom to bottom.Use a bead of superglue (or any fast drying adhesive) to glue the 2 pots together.
- Prepare cords for bottom legs. First, use a large metal washer and attach 2 cords of equal length to it. Cords can be any length – the ones in this project are about 15″
- Attach bottom legs to clay bee pot body. Thread the cords down through the hole in the top pot (the one with the face). The washer will be visible if you look in the top of the bee head.The cording will hang down through and below the bottom large pot that is glued to the head.Use the same knot technique as for the arms to attach the 2 remaining small pots to the paracord. They should hang below the lower base pot.
- Apply sealer. Spray your creation with sealer to add beauty to the project.Use outdoor spray sealer if you plan to have your clay pot bee outside for any amount of time.