DIY Painted Toad Houses for the Garden

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Let’s get colorful and whimsical and create some DIY painted toad houses for the garden!

The toads have already started to serenade us at night and I just love that sound of nature. I didn’t have time to make any toad homes last year, so I got busy this week and completed two.

I look forward to sneaking a peek to see if either of the clay pots will be occupied, especially in the summer when the heat comes and they are in need of some shade.

I remember seeing a mommy and baby near a corner downspout last year, so I’ll be placing my toad homes near that spout and some plants.

Find out how I painted these terracotta pots to make adorable toad houses!

diy painted toad houses for the garden in the ground

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DIY PAINTED TOAD HOUSES FOR THE GARDEN

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

  • 6 inch clay pot
  • 4.5 inch clay pot
  • matte acrylic or multi-surface craft paint
  • 2 foam paint brushes ~ small and medium
  • artist paint brush
  • cardstock or paper
  • scissors
  • pencil
  • dotting tool
  • spray sealer

HELPFUL TOAD HOUSE INFORMATION:

A toad house is a shelter where toads may lounge, protected from the sun and potential predators.

  • Location is key when establishing toad houses. Find a shady spot adjacent to the garden where they can hunt for protein-rich insects or other prey.
  • Easy access to water is also important to these garden friends and may be as easy as placing a shallow reservoir nearby.
  • Use a trowel to expose bare soil and make sure the house does not rock when bumped.
  • A small handful of leaves may be placed inside the house to provide bedding material.
  • Via ~ Mick Telkamp ~ HGTV.com

HOW TO PAINT TOAD HOUSES FOR THE GARDEN

STEP 1 – PAINT THE BASE COLOR

Use the medium size foam brush to paint the larger pot and the smaller brush for the small pot. Two coats of paint will be needed for both pots.

supplies needed for the diy garden toad houses

STEP 2 – PLAN THE FLOWER DESIGN

I drew my own flower pattern, but you can Google “flower coloring pages” and find an easy flower to print on cardstock and cut out to use as a pattern.

  • Tape the pattern to the pot and hold in place while tracing.
  • I painted a simple circle for the main pattern on the small pot.
flower pattern for the painted garden toad houses

STEP 3 – DRAW AND PAINT THE DESIGNS

Ya’ll know how crazy I am over polka dots, like when I painted my bluebird birdhouse, so I’m using dots again on my toad houses. Love me some polka dots!

LARGE CLAY POT:

  • Start painting the base color of the flower light green….let dry.
  • Paint yellow petals on the green flower….let dry.
  • The yellow paint doesn’t give an opaque color so paint up and down the petal so some paint is in more areas than others.
  • Add a turquoise circle in the middle….let dry.
  • Paint the center pink and add pink swoops….let dry.
  • Use the end of the artist brush or a dotting tool to outline everything in dots.
  • Add larger dots in the center of the flower.

SMALL CLAY POT:

  • Paint a pink circle in the center.
  • Outline the circle with pink dots.
  • Add multiple rings of different colors of dots.

STEP 4 – APPLY THE SEALER

Spray a sealer to protect your painted design. This is optional but recommended to protect the pots from the elements.

So what do you think? Won’t these DIY toad houses be fun to paint for your garden? Paint some for your yard or give them as gifts!

graphic saying pin for later
graphic for diy painted toad houses for the garden

MORE PAINTED OUTDOOR PROJECTS YOU MAY LIKE:

PAINTED POLKA DOT BIRDHOUSE

PAINTED PLASTIC FLOWER POT

CRAFT IDEA FOR GARDEN LOVERS – EASY DIY GARDEN SIGN IDEA

It’s time to join in again with my blogging friends for “10 on the 10th,” where we make a craft that cost $10 or under to share with our readers. The theme this month is “Gardening or Outdoors!” You’ll find their craft links at the end of this post, so be sure to visit their fun projects. Don’t miss out! UPDATE 2024 – Craft supply prices have increased so these projects may no longer cost less than $10.

SEE MORE GARDENING/OUTDOOR PROJECTS FROM MY BLOGGING FRIENDS!

blog challenge 10 on the 10th graphic logo

PATINA AND PAINT ~ Outdoor Coasters

THE APPLE STREET COTTAGE ~ Herb Sign

DECORATE MORE WITH TIP ~ Tablecloth for a Patio Table

PANDORA’S BOX ~ Gardening

FRENCH ETHEREAL ~ Quick Garden Craft Idea

Sharing my painted toad houses at these fabulous blogs!

author of the southern sunflowers blog

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Allyson

Allyson is the founder and content creator of Southern Sunflowers. She shares tutorials for DIY crafts and decor on a budget.

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38 thoughts on “DIY Painted Toad Houses for the Garden”

  1. Lisa

    Hello,
    May I use painted plastic pots for the toad shelters! I don’t have any clay pots. Love yours! Thank you for sharing😊

    Reply
    1. Allyson

      Hi Lisa! I think a plastic pot could also be used as a toad house. I would place it in a shady spot since plastic would probably heat up more than clay pots. I’ve found that I have to use extra coats of paint on a plastic pots, whether using spray or craft. Using a “multi-surface” paint, like Apple Barrel, may solve that problem since it’s thicker. Apple Barrel also makes an “outdoor” paint, but I’ve never invested in it. Regardless of what kind of paint you use, I would spray on an extra coat or two of sealer (outside only) just to be on the safe side since paint on plastic has a tendency to crack/peel off if sealer isn’t used. Have fun painting your pots and thanks for visiting!

      Reply
  2. Cara

    These are so cute Allyson! Just the other night our pup found a toad in our yard. He licked it, and shook his head like YUCK! Maybe they need a house to keep them safe, thank you for your inspiration!

    Reply
  4. Two Chicks and a Mom

    So cute! When i was young and lived in Florida, I would make “frog houses” as I called them in the white, moist sand but i used my fist and pounded the sand around my fist and then would pull my fist out slowly and thought the frogs would sleep there that night lol. Your version is cute and more grown-up! Pinned to our Crafty Ways board.

    Reply
    1. Allyson

      Alexandra, I’m so happy you think my toad houses are cute! They were fun to paint with designs and I hope to find the time to make some more for my flower beds.

      Reply
  11. Barbara Chapman

    Allyson, these pots for your toads are adorable!!! We had a toad in our house in a 20 gallon tank for 6 years and we enjoyed his antics. 🙂 I have had a very few outdoor ones here at our new home since we’ve moved to Texas and it would be nice to have them stay. The small house I had with pebbles all over it I think got left in California at our last home (I haven’t seen it since).

    Enjoy your cute pots and it’d be fun to make these with my daughter when she comes up to visit,
    Happy hopping with you,
    Barb 🙂

    Reply
  12. Patti @ Pandora’s Box

    I have never considered little homes for roads!! We have a pond near us and the bullfrogs are very noisy. I imagine the roads stay close to there as I haven’t seen any in our yard! The pots are cute!

    Reply
    1. Allyson

      Patti, glad you think my toad houses are cute. 🙂 The majority of our toads are in our ditch, but I have seen some in other wet areas in our flower beds. They like to hide under our mulch.

      Reply
  13. Ann

    These little toad houses are adorable, Allyson. It’s important to take care of all the little critters- noisy or not!

    Reply
    1. Allyson

      Thank you, Terrie! They get in the houses to shade themselves from the summer sun, too. Last year, I found some of our toads hiding under our mulch.

      Reply
  16. Cindy

    In our old house we had tree frogs and they kept us up for nights when they were mating. Amazing is doesn’t make you crazy

    Anyway these pots are adorable and it’s great to have you back!

    Reply
    1. Allyson

      We must not have many males in our ditch as their deep throaty sound is not overbearing. I love the sound ~ call me crazy! Happy you like my toad houses and good to be back after Covid. Thanks!

      Reply
  18. Tammy

    Allyson, we had a pond put in right by our bedroom window at our old house. One night about this time of year we heard the LOUDEST ‘Screams” in the middle of the night. Turns out it was a group of frogs doing their mating call in unison. This went on for DAYS! Lots of sleepless nights. I had never heard of such a thing. Even the neighbors were calling asking us to keep whatever was in the backyard quiet. Needless to say it took us days but the frogs were relocated down the street to a lake. I like to think both they and us were much happier! lol. I love these toad houses. So pretty and colorful! They would be perfect in a garden!

    Reply

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