My niece turned 6 earlier this month and each year I give her a small gift based on gum… she LOVES gum.  This is a well known fact.  She could spell GUM before she was two.  No joke.  She can sniff gum out from a mile away.  This year, in addition to the mini sewing machine I gave her, I also made her a DIY Mini Gumball Machine made with a terra cotta pot and a glass votive holder:

These make great party favors as well! They are easy and inexpensive to make.

SUPPLIES:

2″ Terra Cotta Pot and Bottom Plate
Small Wood Circle for the top and to act as the knob
Acrylic Paint
Paint Brush
Glass Votive Holder that can fit on top of the bottom of your potE6000 Adhesive
Gum or other Small Candy

DIRECTIONS:

Paint your pot, dish and wood circles. I painted the inside of the pot as well, though this is optional. It will take a few pots to get complete coverage on the terra cotta.

Once the pieces are dry, glue the bottom of the votive holder to the top of the flipped over terra cotta pot.

Place the plate on top of the votive holder to act as the top.

Glue the wood circles in to place.

Set aside to dry for several hours.

Once the glue is set, add in the gum and your Mini Gumball Machine is done!

DIY Mini Gumball Machine using a terra cotta pot and a votive holder
I’ve made several of these terra cotta gumball machines in different sizes and they are always a hit. People really seem to love the novelty of them. But I think this mini one is my all-time favorite because it is so dang cute!