It’s a bit of paint splashed artistically onto a clay pot, with a bit of whimsy added in, but Marie Gelin says it could spark a connection to nature in children.

Gelin, the children’s education manager at Walnut Creek’s Ruth Bancroft Garden, says painting pots is not only fun for children and adults alike, but it could be a gateway craft. Kits sold through the garden include a 2-inch succulent. For many children, it may be the first living plant they’ve ever cared for.

Pot painting at the garden has long been popular, Gelin says, but in recent months, as parents reach out for activities to entertain their children or grandchildren, it has become even more so.

“Now that everyone is looking for things to do, this is an activity that children and parents can do together,” Gelin says. “When you take a child to a museum, you often have to bribe them with the promise of getting something at the gift shop, and you end up buying something cheap that goes into the corner. This is something better than that.”

Here are the basics for this craft project, plus how-tos for three especially fun projects, including a Cactus Grinch.

Basic materials

Terra cotta pot

Acrylic craft paints in different colors

Paper plates

Brushes

Newspaper to protect surfaces

Plants or seeds

Potting soil (if you’re planting succulents, you’ll need a succulent and cactus soil for them)

Clear spray acrylic

Directions

Wipe the pot clean. Pour paint onto paper plates, paint the base coat and then the design. Let dry, then spray it with a clear spray acrylic — in a well-ventilated area or outdoors — to seal it.

Once the pot is dry, fill it two-thirds full. Add the plant, then fill the rest of the pot and water thoroughly.

Cactus Grinch

Materials

3-inch clay pot

1 foam brush

Green and red acrylic craft paint

Black marker

7 white pom-poms

Glue

Small cactus or other plant

Directions

Paint the base of the pot green and the rim red. Let it dry.

Use the black marker to draw vertical lines. Draw spines on the lines. Then add Grinch-style eyes, a nose and a mouth.

Glue the pom-poms on the red rim. Plant a cactus or other plant in your pot.

Reindeer

Materials

3-inch clay pot, foam brush, glue

Brown acrylic craft paint

Googly eyes

Red pom-pom

4-inch square tan felt

Directions

Paint the pot brown. Let it dry. Then glue on the googly eyes and a pom-pom nose. Draw two antlers on the felt, cut them out and glue them to the pot just inside the rim. Then add a plant.

Penguin

Materials

3-inch clay pot, foam brush, glue

White and black acrylic craft paint

Googly eyes

1-inch square orange felt

Piece of scrap fabric

Directions

Paint a white oval on the pot for the penguin’s face; paint the rest of the pot black. Let dry. Then glue on the googly eyes.

Cut a small triangle from the orange felt to use as a beak; glue it in place. Cut a length of scrap fabric to use as a penguin scarf, about ½-inch wide and long enough to wrap and tie around the pot. Plant a succulent.

— Ruth Bancroft Garden, www.ruthbancroftgarden.org