Terra Cotta Planters - Mottle Style
7 Materials
$10
1 Hour
Easy
Terra Cotta is probably the most common type of planter, don’t you think?
And no wonder – they’re inexpensive, reasonably durable, and won’t topple as easily as a plastic pot will. (I’ve fought this battle one time too many!)
Likely you have a few around already. I sure do and when I decided to give this project a try, I headed to my garden shed to pick out a few.
These three had put in a season or two of service, but only needed a little cleaning up to be ready to go again. Isn't that one of the nicest things about them?
I'm a bit obsessed with mottle painting lately. I love it because it's super simple, but produces a unique look that's so much more interesting than just one plain color.
It's always a good idea to start with a base color. I used an off white for these pots. It was just an latex sample I got from Home Depot last year when I was choosing paint options for our dining room, but any craft paint will work as well. The off white covers well and coordinates with with other colors. That's important since some will actually peek through the top coat of paint.
Make sure to paint a few inches on the inside of the pot too. Just the rim area should work fine.
Mottle painting is so simple! Here's a video showing you how it's done:
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I wanted the colors of the pots to match the plants I used, so I gathered the plants first, then went through my collection of paints to find a few that would coordinate well.
Instead of totally blending them, I let a few of the colors stand out to highlight those of the plants.
After the paint was dry, I gave each pot a coat of clear sealant to protect it all season long, then added the plants.
I love how they turned out and the bright pop of color they add to the steps of our deck.
Don't you think that's much better than plain terra cotta orange?
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Comments
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2 comments
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Sooo pretty!!:)
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Thank you, Brenda. These are lots of fun and so easy to make!
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