Let’s Paint a Terra Cotta Pot!
Have you ever found yourself in the position of having
Supplies Needed
- Water-based craft paint
- Artist Paintbrush
- Terra cotta pot
- A little soil & water
- Potted plant
Prepping the pot
If the pot you are using previously had a plant in it, like mine did, you’ll want to wash it first. Since the terra cotta pot I had was used, I washed it with water and scrubbed off the old soil with a cleaning toothbrush. (If you have a new pot, you can skip this step) After cleaning it, I set the pot close to a floor heating vent to make sure it was nice and dry before applying any paint. It took all day for the pot to dry. If you can set it out in the sun, it’ll dry faster.
Choosing the colors
Once the pot is nice and dry, you can start painting. Your first decision will be what color or colors to use. When I painted mine, it was for a birthday gift for a coworker, so I chose 2 of her favorite colors. I decided to paint the base of the pot with lavender and the rim, both the inside and outside, pink. I also chose yellow as an accent color.
Pot is clean & ready for paint 
Some of my craft paint supply
Painting the pot
To apply the paint, I used a little 1/2″ artist brush. A little foam brush would also work well. The 1st coat of paint only took about 10 minutes. It soaked in so quickly that I was able to apply the 2nd coat right away. I let the two coats of paint dry for about an hour then painted the rim.
For the accent, I added a pop of yellow by making little dots around the rim to match the yellow centers of the flowers. To apply the dots, I dipped the end of the paintbrush in the yellow paint then tapped it onto the pink paint in several places around the rim.
I also added my initials, a little heart, and the year on the bottom of the pot also using the end of the paintbrush. Whether you are painting this little pot for yourself or for a gift, adding the date and your initials is a great way to keep the memory of when you created it.
Repotting the plant
You’ll want to allow the paint to dry for a couple of hours before adding the plant. So, a few hours after the painting was complete, I repotted the flowers I had bought. As you can see, the roots had already grown out of the container. Using a pair of scissors, I cut along one side of the pot from the rim to the base & along the bottom, being careful not to cut through the roots. I then gently removed the roots from the holes and took the plant out of the container.
I added a little fresh soil to the bottom and set the plant in the terra cotta pot. I added a little more soil t the top and then gave it a good watering.
Finished gift
The plant I bought was $3.99, the pot and paint were free since I had them on hand. If you don’t have a supply of flower pots, you could always go to a 2nd hand store like Habitat/Restore or the Goodwill to pick one up or you could buy a new one, they are inexpensive. If you’re wondering, yes, my coworker loved it!
Pink, purple, polka dots! Finished gift Final specatular result!
YouTube video
Instructions
- Clean pot and let dry (if your pot was previously used)
- Apply two coats of craft paint to the base
- Allow time for the paint to dry
- Apply two coats of craft paint to the rim
- Allow time for the paint to dry
- Add little dots around the rim using the end of the paintbrush
- Allow time for the paint to dry
- Add the date & your initials to the bottom of the pot
- Repot plant into the new container
If you need supplies
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you choose to order through these links, it will be at no extra cost to you
Let me know what you think
Have you painted terra cotta before? It’s such a fun way to customize a flower pot for yourself or to give as a gift! I’d love to hear your thoughts on this little project. Scroll down below the post to the Comment section to enter your thoughts.
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