DIY German Shmear Terra Cotta Pot

Marybeth Santos
by Marybeth Santos
4 Materials
In preparation for a larger project (my fireplace!) I tested out the German Shmear method with some little Terra Cotta Pots today. The pots are .78 cents and I wanted something to plant some herbs in for my kitchen anyway, so this is a cheap and easy practice project which will look adorable on my windowsill!
Step 1
First you’ll need to mix up your mortar.  I scooped about a half cup into the bottom of a 1 liter soda bottle that I had cut in half.  Add some water.  I eye balled it.  Mix well until you have approximately the consistency of yogurt.  Add more water if it’s too thick and more mortar if it’s too thin.  You want it to drip off of a knife, but slowly.  Sort of like pancake batter.  PS, I used a knife to mix the mortar because for some reason at my house I always have way more butter knives than any other silverware.  So I’m fine with never eating off this knife again.
Step 2
Begin to shmear the mortar onto your pot.  I found the easiest way to hold the pot was to invert it over your non-shmearing hand and then you can sort of turn it around as you shmear.  There is a method to the shmearing.  If you want some terra cotta to pop through, you want to add your mortar in random spots at first, so that you can still see the terra cotta coming through.  Continue this all around the pot, including the rim.
Step 3
Using a sponge, dab at the mortar and spread it over the pot.  Leave as much or as little terra cotta poking through as you wish.  Add more mortar if you need to.
Step 4
Allow to dry.  Yup, that’s it. This project took about 20 minutes, maybe?  Really quick and easy.  This was also fairly inexpensive if you only account for the amount of mortar you use.  Home Depot only had 50lb bags and that cost $17, but I only used a half cup of that and I’m hoping I’ll use the rest for the fireplace project to come. I’ve been wanting to have some fresh herbs handy and having pretty pots to look at will make me happy!
Suggested materials:
  • Terra Cotta Pots   (Home Depot)
  • White Thin Set Mortar   (Home Depot)
  • Sponge
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Marybeth Santos
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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