Last summer, I was heavily pregnant and on bedrest. I was dying for things to do and I was also limited in my garden abilities. Since I could easily plant flowers in pots while sitting up (I was lucky and had a modified bedrest- sitting up tasks were O.K.), I had to plant almost exclusively in pots. This presented a couple of problems- I couldnt spend a lot of time picking out pots, and the pots I had were all pretty ugly (or plastic from the nursery). I needed a solution to use what I had on hand, and these painted pots perfectly fit the bill. Not only was it incredibly easy, all of my pots look the same, and I think the results were amazing. I will post some pictures when I can plant new blooms this summer (dead plants arent the most attractive subjects), but start this idea now before you go to buy your plants!
Tools you will need:
pots, planters (terracotta pots work the best, but plastic and faux finish pots work well too!)paintbrush
paint sponge
Outdoor paints in at least three colors that complement each other (I used beige, cofee, and mocha but the sky is the limit here). Outdoor paints can be found with acrylic paints in your local craft store and for not much more.
**You could use regular acrylic paints as well, but I can personally testify that the outdoor paints lasted a summer season and a winter season in the elements with little to no wear. The pictures posted here are ALL of pots painted LAST summer. I need to do a few touchups on the plastic pots, but they are otherwise in perfect condition!
To start, wipe off any dirt or debris from your pots (I used very worn and old terracotta, they were free from my husband's grandparents and a green way to decorate your patio for summer!). Start with your lightest color paint, and coat the entire pot. You might find you will need to let the first coat dry and add a second coat if you are painting a plastic pot. If you are using terracotta, you should only need one coat, though you will use a LOT of paint as the clay will suck a lot of it up. Don't worry if your pots look rough. You dont need to worry about perfect bruskstrokes- just cover up the base color. I even had some grass and a little dirt fly into mine as I was painting outside- and I just painted over it. It gave a unique texture, and after the rounds of spongepaint, you can't really tell.
Once you have the pot covered with your base coat, start with your darkest accent paint color. Sponge around the pot, but don't cover too much of the basecoat. I like to use a very rough sponge (pictured) so that you can control how much paint goes on. After this step, your pot will look a little wierd. Don't worry yet!
Take your middle shade paint, and sponge over the whole pot. This step will blend the darker color and your basecoat. If you find you have covered up too much of the darker color, go ahead and add some back. If you feel like your pots need a little more blending, you can make a fourth color out of blending the middle shade and your basecoat. It is really up to you- the sky is the limit here. There is no right or wrong! Also remember, when you have dirt and a plant in the pot, you wont see some of the imperfections that will be glaring at you while you are painting.
This is about re-purposing old pots and finding a use for those big plastic pots you get at the nursery, as well as creating a uniform look for all of your odd colored/shaped pots!
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