How to Paint Your Own Flower Pot

Flowers are even more beautiful when they are in an attractive container. You can custom paint your own terra-cotta flower pot to match your patio and garden theme in a few easy steps. Why spend the money on a fancy planter when you can make one yourself!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Acrylic paint
• Paint brushes or sponges
• Polyurethane
• Terra-cotta pot
• Sandpaper

1. Seal the inside of a terra-cotta pot with 2 to 3 coats of polyurethane and let dry completely.

2. Clean the outside of the pot and sand any rough or uneven areas. This will give you a smooth surface to paint on.

3. Apply a base coat of acrylic paint to the outside of the pot using a paintbrush or sponge.

4. Decorate the outside of your flower pot with colors and designs that compliment your plants, garden furniture or garden theme. Your decorations can be as simple as squiggles of paint in different colors.

5. Let the paint dry completely. Drying time will vary depending on the environment, but acrylic paint will usually dry overnight.
   

6. Seal the outside of the flower pot with at least 2 coats of polyurethane.
   

Tips & Warnings

• The porous surface of terracotta can soak up some of the paint, so you might have to touch up the paint. Allow all touch ups to dry before sealing.
• If you intend to burn candles in your pot, it must be glazed and fired.

[kidsgardener]

on 6/7/2009 I found a cool activity to paint your own TickleMe Plant flower pots at http://www.ticklemeplant.comTickleMe Plants will close their leaves and lower their branches when tickled