Archive for April, 2010
Clay Flower Pots
Flower Pots and Their Benefits
Flower pots have various uses, from starting new seeds, moving plants to new locations, indoor cultivation plants, beautifies garden, or charming your room with wonderful flowers. Flower pots have been used since ancient times, the Egyptians were among the first to use pots to move plants from one location to another, later the Romans brought potted plants inside during cold weather. In modern eras, they can be used as a personal gift, kitchen decoration, room beautification, and art object.
Plant pots can be easily found in garden supply stories, grocery stores, home improvement stores and online garden stores. There are different kinds of plant containers, from clay flower pots, plastic, ceramic, fiber glass, hanging pots, window box planters, sandstone urns, and many more; each of them has their own pros and cons.
Out of all these, clay flower pot considered as one of the most popular type of pot. Its structure is suitable for maintaining the freshness almost all type of flowers, in addition clay pots are made from organic raw materials, thus these are eco-friendly products.
Before choosing which type of pot you want, you need to determine where do you want to place the pots. Would you like to lay the pot in your garden? Or do you prefer to place the inside your house? Whether in the living room, kitchen or as window decoration in private room, you must plan and decide the placement of your pots.
With perfect placement and match with surroundings, it will enhance the splendor of home as well as your garden. Type of plants, sizes of flower, weight, qualities and prices also major considerations before picking the right pot for you. Growing your own flowers certainly bring ultimate pleasure, an interesting activity that enlighten your days.
Recycling Clay Flower PotsIf you’ve been clearing out your garden shed and find you have more clay pots than you need, don’t toss them out.Flower Pots by the Window Acrylic on StretchedFlower Pots by the Window Acrylic on Stretched Canvas. I just finished this piece today. It had been a while since I painted a Still Life and several days ago I suddenly got a urge to do one. This piece is painted on studio wrapped.Flower PotsFlower Pots. Jump to Comments. by Kim McLean. Yes please, if you would put the photograph into your page, I don’t think too many people have seen this quilt outside Sydney. With Kim McLean’s permission, here goes.
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Cook Using Clay Pot
How to Cook in a Clay Pot
Clay is a great material for cookware. It is porous, which means that you need to soak it in cold water for fifteen minutes before adding the ingredients to it. As the pot becomes heated in the oven, the steam evaporates slowly inside the pores of the clay and the food forms its own juices.
These juices stay inside the pot as steam until the food is cooked and the pot is dry. Meat cooked in a clay pot will stay really juicy. Wet clay does not heat up as much as metal so you need to use a higher temperature for clay pot recipes and cook them for longer.
100 degrees F more and half an hour more is a good guideline. If you usually cook chicken for an hour at 375 degrees F, you will need to cook it for an hour and a half at 475 degrees F if you are using a clay pot. Clay pots should always be put into a cold oven and heated up with the oven, to minimize the risk of cracking.
Cleaning a Clay Pot
Food does not stick to clay unless it is burnt on, so to clean your clay pot you just need to soak it in warm water, sprinkle salt over it, and use a stiff brush to scrub it. Rinse it and let it air-dry. Do not use detergents on it because it is porous and you cannot rinse them away properly.
For a very thorough cleaning, perhaps after using it to cook a strong-smelling fish, add a few tablespoons of baking powder to a bowl of hot water, and soak the pot in that. Clay pots are hardier than they might first appear to be and they survive many bumps and knocks. Store the lid next to the pot, rather than on it, in case the pot is not totally dry inside and mold forms.
Cooking in ClayClay seals in nutrients–eliminating the need for added fats–and carries seasonings deeper into the food, meaning you can use less salt, making clay pot cooking an ideal for low-fat and low-sodium diets. … moisture retained in the unglazed bottom of the pot, and the unique clay cooking process seals nutrients within the food, rather than boiling them out. Steam-cooked veggies, savory soups and yummy desserts are a snap to make using your oven and a covered clay “baker.Clay-Pot Cookery And Succulent Herbaceous ChickenThe book, published in 1974, touts the benefits of using the cooker to transform humble inexpensive cuts of meat. The book also gives very good instructions for soaking, cooking, and cleaning. There is also a delightful cross … I have owned two clay cooking pots for twenty years. A schlemmertopf and a romertopf. A schlemmertopf has a glazed bottom, a romertopf does not. The soaking is advised for 30 minutes on the unglazed pieces, and you always put them in a cold oven.The Colors Of Indian CookingWhich I placed in one of my clay pot holes in the kitchen, beside two old Weller twin vases. I also found a great serving piece! Today I’m back to my Indian Masters Cooking from Prashad. I’ve got fish, and coconut milk and curry leaves.
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How To Make Clay Pots
Women and the Making of Clay Pots in Tanzania
The Chagga people are mountain people, who live on and in the shadow of Kilimanjaro - Northern Tanzania. They once believed in Sheuta and ancient creator god who formed the human race as a potter creates earthen vessels.
Even to this day people talk of the process of pot making is comparable to the creation of life in a woman’s womb. In the villages of Tanzania, usually the women folk are the potters. This profession is traditionally passed down from mother to daughter. Typically men do not participate in this trade.
The clay is dug out of the earth in large clumps, using a traditional hoe; this is back breaking work. These large pieces of clay are then taken home and broken into smaller lumps, water is added to make the clay more supple to work with. The consistency must be easy to work with - being very careful not to make it too wet. This is achieved by pummeling and needing the clay. A ball of clay is formed, then working quickly, turning and working the clay with the whole hand, fingers, and palms, continually tuning the container in a rhythmic manner - this process is completed surprisingly quickly. Once finished time is spent on the details, some potters marking their pots to make them distinct. The larger pots are made from producing long sausage shaped coils and these coils are wound around and around to from a pot. The sides are smoothed with water to remove the corrugated effect. Many home made tools are used in this process, scrapers, knives twigs and bits of timber.
The pots are then put in the shade to dry which can take up to four days for the larger pots. The pots are fired by covering them with wood and dried fragments of banana tree and the pot is half fired half smoked, this process takes an hour or two.
Once the fire has died down the pots are carefully removed from the ashes whilst still very hot. They are rubbed with leaves to give them a distinct colour and to seal them. Many of these pots will be used to cook food over an open fire.
These women are very talented at what they do although for all the effort and hard work not to mention talent a pot can be purchased for a dollar or maybe two.
How To Make Clay Pot CraftsTo make a painted clay pot you need to have 4″ clay pot, opaque apple green acrylic paint, opaque blue lagoon acrylic paint, opaque yellow acrylic paint, semi opaque pumpkin acrylic paint, semi opaque white acrylic paint.Clay Pot PansiesIf I did sell the pattern for this I would like to sell it with a wool kit too just so the option for the lovely clay colored pots and the mottled green leaf colored wools would be available to anyone who wished it.The Art of Clay PotsAfter collecting the clay, woman of the village spend their days forming and shaping the clay. “Only women do the pottery, while men make the clay,” said Meh Dim, who lives across the street from my family.
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Clay Pot Crafts! Artistic Mind
If you have an artistic mind and you love you make something decorative and attractive for your home then clay pots are definitely a great idea to work with. You can make different items or can also so some painting on the clay pot in such a way that it will make the plant look better. It may also happen that you not even notice the plant just because the pot is so attractive.
To make a painted clay pot you need to have 4′ clay pot, opaque apple green acrylic paint, opaque blue lagoon acrylic paint, opaque yellow acrylic paint, semi opaque pumpkin acrylic paint, semi opaque white acrylic paint, fine point permanent black marker.
Steps to make a painted clay pot:
1. First using a small ruler and pencil, you should measure the height of the clay pot starting just below the rim. Then mark off the halfway point between the top and the bottom of the clay pot. Altogether you should measure and mark off the halfway point at four opposite places on the pot.
2. Now holding the plastic measuring tape up to the clay pot, connect the halfway points and then draw a light pencil line between all the halfway point marks around the pot.
3. Line up the ruler with each of the halfway points around the pot one at a time and draw a light pencil line from the top of the plant pot just below the rim to the bottom of the pot at this point. You will have 8 squares drawn on the pot.
4. Then you have to decide on the color scheme or arrangement of the colors into squares you have drawn on the pot. In one set of squares you can fill any combination of two colors and in the other one also you can fill other set of colors.
5. Squeeze a small amount of the pumpkin acrylic paint on the paper plate and gather a small amount of paint on the straight edge of the brush and paint along the straight lines of one of the squares with a generous coat paint on the paper plate. Outline and fill in one of the square completely with a generous layer of paint. Now paint the square diagonally across from it pumpkin using the same method as you did for the first one and let the paint dry. Rinse out and shape the brush again.
6. When this paint is drying, you can turn the pot around to other set of 4 squares. Squeeze a small amount of yellow acrylic paint on the paper plate. Outline and fill in one of the squares with a generous coat of the yellow paint. Paint the square diagonally across from it yellow suing the same method as you have did for the first one and then let the paint dry.
7. When the paint on this side is drying, turn the pot around to the first set of 4 squares. Squeeze a small amount of apple green acrylic paint and paint the square diagonally across from it green using the same method as you did earlier. Again let the paint dry and you can rinse out and shape the brush again.
8. Again while this paint is drying turn the pot around to the second set of 4 squares and squeeze a small amount of blue lagoon acrylic paint on the paper plate. Next outline and fill in one of the squares with a generous coat of blue paint. Paint the square diagonally using the same method and let the paint dry.
9. When the paint is drying for the last squares you have painted, it is time to paint the edge of the pot white. Squeeze a small amount of white acrylic paint onto the paper plate and paint the edges.
For more information please visit http://wholesaleclaypots.net/
Author: Olivia Andrews
Spending the day in clay
So all afternoon we made these clay pots. None of us were very experienced but Jen guided us and we did great. It was so much fun being in a room with five women doing this creative project.
Recycle broken clay pots
I found these broken clay pots at a junk shop, the guy looked at me pretty funny when I asked if I could buy them. He said take them, and away I ran, or should I say skipped and singing!
Clay Pots
Terracotta Clay Pots & The 50lb Half Pot. All fired up about terra-cotta • Terra-cotta is good for plants. Because it’s porous, it pulls excess moisture away from roots, allowing them to breathe.
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