Those pots do dry out very fast, but succulents are usually quite happy in terra cotta pots, especially if you want to start some cuttings. If they do dry out, the plants are ok for a while.

I used them as "feet" to raise the painted terra cotta pots I use on my front porch. The porch is painted, and excess water will lift the paint in spots. I just use silicone aquarium glue to glue them to the base of a saucer (the mini-pots are upside down). Then I spray the insides with pot sealant and paint the exterior and then seal it.
The slightly larger pots like 4" I use to make "tee-pee" toppers. I buy a large wooden ball and again, silicone glue it to the bottom of the pot. Seal the inside, paint the outside and varnish it. Then I just make a tee-pee of bamboo stakes for annual vines, pole beans etc, and stick this pot on top. It holds the stakes together and looks cute!

GGG

Very cool idea for teepee topper!!

I put them in my aquariums to serve as hiding places for some of my less-than-social fish, primarily those that tend to come out only around dusk.

Sometimes I break them into smaller peices and use the shards in the bottom of other pots to cover the drainage holes. It's kind of fun to break something (on purpose) and not feel bad about it. :)

Hello Everyone:

I am not sure if you do any type of crafts Lori but there are some great ideas under About.com for making all sorts of craft items from these pots! I like the really tiny ones, I used them to make a set of windchimes I think they are adorable! I am usually over at Garden Junk and right now there is a thread about Fairy Houses and there are some ideas there for using terra cotta pots for that.

Della

My SIL painted some flowers on the small ones and put candles in them for christmas gifts. The family just loved something so personal. I love the idea about 'feet' for the other pots!

Donna

If you sink the little pots in the ground between your plants and fill them with water it's a great way to get moisture down where the roots are. You can even fill them with compost before watering. They need to be unglazed (porous) for this to work.

I use the little pots as markers for my plants. Straighten a wire coat hanger, cut to length you want, and shape one end like a sherperds hook that can be bent over. Then I use a thin flexible wire to attach the pot. I make a knot in wire so it won't slip through the hole. This will be on the inside of the pot. (The pots will hang upside down.) I paint them with a 'likness' of the plant and print the name along the rim. Lots of fun and make nice gifts to friends who love plants. These are cute in house plants too.

Now that sounds like an idea bluebonnet. I've seen some folks on garden tours who have used shards for name labels but this sounds really cool. Maybe my christmas present could be my wife/daughters calligraphing names of my hostas on these things. I've spent a fortune in spendy tags.

bluebonnet: What a neat idea! Now I'm sorry we just threw out all of our old wire hangers!!! I could have used them for this project. Oh well, I'll have to start collecting them now.

I run a local festival and mark vendor spots with the little orange 'flags' which come 50 to the pack. Needless to say the organizer is also the clean up guy (LOL). After years, I finally figured out I can strip the flag off the wire and its great wiring orchids in place and should be just the thing for hanging these little 'pot markers'
I love free/cheap stuff!

I'm a total newbie, so can someone tell me where exactly can you get tiny terra cotta pots for $0.15 each? I tried to do a search of the forum, but it didn't turn up anything. Thanks in advance!

Crafty_Canuck, would you share how you made the windchimes? That sounds like a great idea! Thanks.

I have a little bell made from a tiny 3 inch pot. The pot is upside down, hanging from a length of jute twine that's strung through the hole in the pot. The clapper is a bead tied to the end of the twine. The pot is painted white with red chili peppers painted on the white background. I hung it over my back door so the breeze makes it tinkle.

I put one of these pots in the top of a mason jar, and put a tea light candle in it. You can paint the jar (inside)and pot to match with any design or technique, tie a ribbon to coordinate on the jar rim..makes a cute gift...or can use them as table favors/name cards (make a paper name tag, punch hole and tie ribbon through it). They also look cute filled with sea shells, cranberries, shelled nuts, popcorn, split peas..well you get the idea. Cheap, fast, and practical. Great bazaar seller.
Woodsy

misst25, you can often get those little pots at Michael's, a big craft store, for very very cheap.

with a china marker. It seems pretty permanant.
I leave the pots lying on the soil next to the plant. It's not obtrusive vistually and it gives bugs a place to hide (and me a place to find them, should I want too...)