How to Paint Clay Flower Pots With Sponges
Spruce up your patio or porch by planting vibrant flowers in inexpensive terracotta pots adorned with eye-catching textures and designs. You and your children can spend an afternoon together using customized kitchen sponges to add acrylic paint to the plain clay pots. Use the embellished pots as thoughtful gifts for teachers, neighbors and friends, or as decorative containers to hold everything from pens on your desk to spare change on your entryway table.
Things You'll Need
- Newspapers or plastic sheet
- Kitchen sponges
- Marker
- Cookie cutter, stencil or wood shape
- Scissors or craft knife
- Old towel (optional)
- Acrylic paint
- Paper plate
- Scrap paper
Instructions
-
-
1
Cover your work surface with newspapers or a plastic sheet to protect the table from spilled paint. The covering will also simplify clean-up; simply roll the newspaper or sheet up to discard or recycle after the crafting session.
-
2
Create shaped sponges by tracing a shape onto a dry kitchen sponge with a marker. Draw the outline freehand or trace a cookie cutter, plastic stencil or a wood shape. Use sharp scissors or a craft knife to cut the shape out.
-
-
3
Rest the clay pot that you wish to paint on its side on your table. Consider placing the pot on an old towel to keep it from rolling as you work.
-
4
Pour a thin layer of acrylic paint onto a paper plate. Dip the sponge into the paint to coat the surface. Press the sponge onto a piece of scrap paper two times to remove the excess paint, leaving only a light layer on the surface of the sponge.
-
5
Press the sponge onto the clay pot. Lift the sponge straight up off of the pot to avoid smearing the design. Repeat the process to cover the pot with different shapes and shades of acrylic paint. Allow each design to dry for at least 15 minutes before overlapping another shade of paint on top of it, to keep the colors from blending.
-
6
Let the painted pot dry for at least overnight before you fill it with trinkets, plant flowers inside or wrap it as a gift.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If you want to add texture to the clay pots, but the sponge you're using is only producing solid rectangles of paint, use your fingertips to pull off bits of the sponge to enlarge the holes and crevices. If the sponge is still not generating any texture, you may be applying too much pressure when you press it onto the surface of the pot--pushing too hard will cause the paint to spread out and prevent the decorative "mottled" look.
Do not let your children cut the kitchen sponges with a razor-sharp craft knife. Allow them to use only blunt scissors or simply cut the shapes yourself.
If you use a craft knife to cut the sponges, protect your table from the sharp blade by covering the surface with a self-healing cutting mat, sold at office supply and craft stores.
