Memory Pots

I wanted something special for each of my students who was graduating, so I made several memory pots. First I went through digital pictures of field trips, projects, and happy classroom moments.

I printed them from the computer, cut each one out, and decoupaged it to a terra-cotta pot. This is a very simple process of painting the pot quickly with Mod Podge, sticking the pictures in place and then painting Mod Podge on top. It will look white at first, but dries clear. It seemed to work better if the pictures were small and positioned at an angle, although, I'm sure larger images would be fine as long as they were tapered at the bottom to avoid wrinkling. I used 6" pots and it took 5 or 6 pictures that were about 3-4" wide.

I used paint pens to decorating the rim, and then the horticulture teacher planted a flower in each pot so the gifts could be from both of us. I ended up spending about $3.00 per student. I hope it will bring back memories of things learned and shared during our last several years together. Next time you can't think of what to give for Mother's Day, Father's Day, Secretary Appreciation Day, or birthdays etc, give this a try and wait for the smiles.