DIY Vintage Pot Tutorial

5 Materials
$10
2 Hours
Easy

There is nothing like a little bit of sunshine to get your creative juices flowing. A few weeks ago I took a trip to Dollar Tree and found these small terra cotta pots three for $1. My DIY heart starting craving a fun, quick, easy tutorial. I love to take new pots and age them, giving them a vintage antique finished look to them. Head to the blog for videos and more details on this project.

Step Buy Your Terra Cotta Pots


I found these at the Dollar Tree and they had a variety of sizes. You can find terra cotta pots at most stores including Walmart.

Step Grab Your Brush and Chalk Paint


You want to make sure you have a brush on hand, depending on the size of the pot you may want a small or larger brush.

Step Pour Your Paint Into Jar


I had this old jar on hand you could also use a cup. The amount of paint you will pour in will depend on how many pots you are working with.

Step Water Down Your Paint


This step is very important. Chalk paint is very thick, which makes it a great product to work with. It will adhere to almost any surface, but for this project we walk it to be a little thinner. So I add equal parts paint and water. Use your paint, and mix well.

Step Paint The Pot


At this step you want to completely cover the entire pot with the paint/water mixture.

Step #6 Paint the Inside


Be sure to paint the inside and bottom of the pot.

You want to cover every surface!

Step Wipe Entire Pot Down


At this step we want to take a dry paper towel and wipe down the outside and inside of the pot.

Step Let Pots Dry


You want to make sure to let the pots dry completely. This may take a few hours depending on the temperature.

Material: Waverly Antique Wax


This is the wax I will used for reference. You can find this at Walmart.

Step 9: Antique Wax


You want to wipe/or use a paint brush to cover entire pot with the antique wax. This dries very quickly, so you want to use dry paper towel to wipe wax off as soon as your done adding it to the pot. You want to take off any excess wax.

Once It's Wiped Down


This is what it should look like after you wipe off the wax. If you have some darker spots, I recommend using a damp paper towel on those spots. The water will help remove the wax that has dried darker in those areas.

Step Let Them Dry


I would recommend letting the wax dry over night. You want to make sure it is completely dry before moving on to the next step.

Step Time To Sand


You can find sandpaper at Dollar General or any local hardware store. I had this sandpaper from my sander on hand, so I just used that. I take the sand paper and run it over the sides of the pot. Go around all the creases and top of the pot as well. Then sand the inside and bottom of the pot.

The Finished Project


I hope you enjoyed this fun and easy DIY. This is truly an affordable project that can be done on any size pot. You can choose to seal these pots if you like, I don't because any wear and tear on them, just makes them look more vintage!


Be sure to head over to my blog and watch videos of my working on this project!

Resources for this project:
See all materials
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Wendy Zock The Curated Farmhouse
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 4 questions
  • Diane Diane on Apr 15, 2020

    It seems like you went through a lot of different steps, why chalk paint? Kids dollar paint would’ve worked. Not sure what sanding it done either but nice outcome.

  • Terry Wilcox Terry Wilcox on Apr 16, 2020

    Won't even need a plant? I don't see where these are great enough to not need a plant? Unless you plan to make something more of them?


  • Chuck Benson Chuck Benson on Apr 20, 2020

    I'm curious why you painted the inside of pot?

Comments
Join the conversation
6 of 36 comments
  • Bet61609191 Bet61609191 on Apr 16, 2022

    i have done this technique and love the look especially in a grouping. I have them

    on my plant shelf in the kitchen. Tried to download the pic but didn’t work. I think your work is beautiful. Thank you for sharing your passion.💕

  • Barbara Barbara on Apr 22, 2022

    I thought this was a place where people show you what they did and enjoy not a place to criticize and say what they would do instead. A lot of effort goes into these projects. Please be respectful. People are sharing not asking for criticism. If people would do it differently than do so to show the rest of us. I love seeing everyone’s projects.

Next