Hand Painted Pilgrim Bell Ornament

Can you imagine cooking the first Thanksgiving dinner? I’ve been cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my family for over 10 years now, and I still get nervous. It’s a big deal! All Thanksgiving cooks want their meal to live up to the glorious reputation and history of this very American holiday. There were only four adult women alive to cook that first Thanksgiving dinner. Those amazing Pilgrim gals cooked all the food for 50 colonists and the 90 Native American men brought by Chief Massasoit. In honor of those hard-working women, I made a Hand Painted Pilgrim Bell Ornament to set out during our feast this year.

Materials Needed:

• 2″ terra cotta flower pot
• Apple Barrel 21954E White, 20404 Black, 20359E Pumpkin Orange (not pictured), 2608 Country Tan, 20354E Real Brown, 20366E Dark Gray, 20637E Hot Rod Red, 20361E Bright Green
• 1″ sponge brush, 1/4″ flat paint brush, liner brush
• 8″ metallic stretch cord
• 8″ rust orange jute string
• 1″ piece of a Pioneer Woman reusable straw
• 1″ silver jingle bell
• acrylic sealer (get one with a gloss finish)

Instructions:

Paint the flower pot with several coats of White using the 1″ sponge brush. Let it dry between coats. You can use a blow dryer to hurry things along, if desired. Paint an oval face using the 1/4″ flat brush along with A dime-sized squirt of White mixed with a drop of Pumpkin Orange.

Paint two oval eyes on the face with the liner brush and White. The eyes will probably need several coats of paint.

Don’t forget to rinse your brushes and dab them dry on a paper towel anytime you have a color change in the painting process. Paint the nose with Country Tan and the mouth with Hot Rod Red using your liner brush.

Mix a very small dot of Hot Rod Red with White. Dip the ends of the 1/4″ flat brush into the paint mixture and swipe the end bristles gently under the eyes to make a blushing cheek for our Pilgrim princess.

Finish the eyes with a Bright Green Iris, then a Black pupil. Use Country Tan to outline the eyes and paint the eyebrows. Place highlights in the pupils with White. Use the liner brush for all the steps listed above.

Using the 1/4″ flat brush, Paint the bottom rim of the flower pot Black. I also painted my Pilgrim lady’s hair black. Then I added White to get a salt and pepper look. I used Country Tan and Real Brown for my other Pilgrim woman’s hair.

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Paint the collar and bow with the liner brush and White. Paint the hat with White, Dark Gray, and the liner brush.

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Take the girls outside, and spray them with acrylic sealer. Let them dry while you make the bell.

Now its time to turn this flower pot into a bell! Place the 8″ metallic stretch cord through the loop on top of the 1″bell. Slide a 1″ piece of a Pioneer Woman reusable straw over the cord. This will keep your jingle bell where it’s supposed to be, rather than allowing it to slide into the flower pot when hung. My Jack-of-all-trades husband came up with this genius idea. Tie the cord, like you would tie off a balloon.

Push the metallic stretch cord string through the hole in the top of the flower pot from the inside.

Slip the cord through a pearlized bead. Run the 8″ rust orange jute string between the top of the pearl and the knot on the metallic cord. Tie a bow (tightly!) with the jute string.

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You’re done! I hope you enjoyed my Hand Painted Pilgrim Bell Ornament tutorial.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kristie

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Read my companion guest post on Fluster Buster- Hand Painted Pilgrim Hat Bell Ornament

Read It’s Finally Fall At Our Little Cottage and Becoming A Holiday Meal Matriarch (this was one of the first posts I wrote when I started my blog in 2016. I didn’t even own my own domain back then).