Let’s Paint a Terra Cotta Pot!

Have you ever found yourself in the position of having forgotten someone’s birthday until it was almost too late? Or have you put off buying a gift until it was almost too late? Or maybe your memory is great and you know it’s almost time for someone’s birthday or special occasion but you don’t even have a clue what to get? What about looking to get a gift without spending a ton of money buy or loads of time to make it? Well, here’s a darling idea that is quick, inexpensive, fun, easy, and adorable! I’ve added a Supply List and Instructions. If you don’t have the supplies on hand, you can shop at a local thrift store or if you prefer to shop from home, I have provided links for your convenience. You will also need to pick up a plant; unless you have some growing in your yard that you can transplant 🙂

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.

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Painting the pot

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.

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Repotting the plant

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!

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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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