• Five, 2" terra-cotta pots (NOTE: this project can be made with any size terra-cotta pot)
• 2" white pom pom
• Scraps of white and black felt
• One black shoelace or piece of black wool or cord
• Acrylic paint: black, red, navy blue, gold
• Heavy duty craft glue or hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Polyurethane (in a spray can or paint-on variety)

Instructions:

Paint the outside of the pots as follows:
Pot 1: Paint the entire pot black.
Pot 2: Paint the upper band black, with the pot right side up, paint a face on the body of the pot. With black paint, make two little dots for eyes, a dot for the mouth, and with red paint, paint a smiling mouth.
Pot 3: Paint the body of the entire pot red.
Pot 4: Paint the body of the pot navy blue, the band of the pot red.
Pot 5: Paint the entire pot navy blue.

Let the paint dry.

Apply polyurethane to the outside of all 5 pots. You can omit this step if you want a flat finish on the soldier.

Now, you'll stack the pots one on top of the other to create the soldier. Place the blue pot upside down. Apply glue to the top surface (the bottom of the pot) and place the red pot with the blue band on it, right side up. Let dry.

Apply glue to the rim of the red and blue pot and place the red pot on it, upside down. Let dry.

Apply glue to the bottom of the red and blue pot (the topmost surface now) and place the pot with the face on it, right side up. Let dry.

Apply glue to the rim of the pot with the face and place the black pot on it ,upside down. Let dry.

Cut a 1.5" x 1/3" rectangle out of black felt. Glue it just above the painted face of the soldier (lengthwise) to create a hat brim. Create a hat strap by gluing one end of a shoelace to the left most side of the hat brim. Let the shoelace droop in a loop around the face and then bring it back up to the right side of the hat brim. Cut the shoe lace to the right length and glue the end to the right side of the hat brim.

Cut a 1/2" wide rectangle of black felt long enough to wrap around the red band of the red and blue pot. Glue in place to make a belt.

If you like, you can cut two mitten shaped pieces out of white felt. Glue one to each side of the belt to make hands.

Use gold paint to paint a belt buckle on the belt and to paint 4 gold buttons on the red pot.

Glue the white pom pom to the top of the soldier's hat.