Fitting for the season I’m sharing this giant pot of gold project today because sometimes you need an enormous pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Perfect for a St. Patrick’s Day party or any rainbow themed party.
A DIY tutorial to make a giant pot of gold with rainbow. Create this large rainbow with enormous pot of gold for your St. Patrick’s Day themed party.
I actually made this giant pot of gold for the Spring auction at my kids school. Â We had a shamrock race whereby each class was raising money to move across the rainbow and get to the pot of gold in first place. Â And we had 24″ large wood shamrocks the kids decorated and hung them in the school. Â So we added this pot of gold to the shamrocks for the actual auction event for decoration purposes only.
The gold coins are my favorite part and a super simple craft project for you hot glue gun lovers.
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Giant Pot of Gold:
- St. Patrick’s Day party
- rainbow theme party
- school play prop
- event decoration
I used a plastic black cauldron for the pot and foam pipe insulation pieces for the rainbow. Â You could use pool noodles too but they are definitely thicker and stiffer compared to the foam insulation.
Down below I will share the steps to make a giant pot of gold with a rainbow and cloud. Â As always please follow all safety precautions with power tools and be careful with kids and hot glue.Â
Supplies:
- black plastic cauldron
- 2×4 scrap wood
- 1/2″ scrap plywood
- 3″ wood screws
- drill & drill bits
- jig saw
- gold gift bag
- scissors
- hot glue gun
 & glue sticks
- 6″ craft styrofoam discs & 4″ foam discs
- 6′ foam pipe insulation
- primer & latex paint
- E6000 craft glue
- clamps
- scrap wood (rainbow holder)
- 2″ wood screws
- 3/4″ pvc pipe or wood dowel
- 1″ foam sheathing / underlayment
- foam hot knife
Â
- stuffing
 & glue sticks
Step 1: Build an open cube out of 2×4 scrap wood to fit inside the plastic cauldron. Â This provides weight and fills the space. Â Then cut 2 half circles from 1/2″ plywood and attach to the top of the 2×4 cube leaving a 1″ gap in the middle. Â This gap is where you’ll shove the rainbow down into the pot.
Gold Coins:
Step 2: Cover the plywood with gold gift bag pieces. Â This is the false bottom and makes the pot look full of gold.
Step 3: To make the gold coins trace the foam circle onto gold paper and cut out a top and bottom piece. Â Then cut long strips wider than the foam thickness to cover the sides.
Step 4: Use the long strip to wrap the sides of the foam disc using hot glue to attach. Â Snip the gold paper then fold down and glue flat. Â Then attach the top and bottom circles for complete coverage. Â Pile the gold coins on top of the frame previously built and hot glue them in position, be sure to keep the middle portion clear of coins.
Giant Rainbow:
Step 5: To prepare the foam insulation for paint you must use primer. Â Spray primer is probably easiest but I had some helpers just paint it on with foam brushes. Â Once the primer is dry then paint each piece a different color to create the rainbow.
Step 6: Layout the foam pieces in rainbow order and apply E6000 glue in between each piece then form the arch and clamp to hold while glue is drying.
Step 7: To keep the rainbow arch in position build a wood trough for the ends. Â This trough keeps the ends of the foam together and provides a place to attach the cloud portion.
Step 8: Â Predrill holes for the wood dowel posts then glue and screw into position. Â This is the frame for the cloud pieces and holds the rainbow arch.
Step 9: Use a hot knife the cut the foam sheathing into a basic cloud shape. Â Cut 2 identical pieces.
Step 10: Prime the foam pieces to cover any labeling that may show through the batting. Â Then attach the foam pieces to the wood trough. Â Lastly use hot glue and attach stuffing to make the cloud fluffy.
Thanks for joining me for this giant pot of gold project. It makes a huge impact and it’s a fun craft project too.  Please leave any questions in the comments below and be sure to follow me on social media for sneak peeks, tools and project inspiration:
What an interesting idea! My children will be excited with this. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for sharing this tutorial. It is almost exactly what I have been searching for for two days!
Where did you find the cauldron?
Amazon
how much do you think you have invested in making this? the end result is fantastic.