Painting terra cotta pots

Tips for painting terra cotta pots with slight distressing – perfect for rustic farmhouse home decor and outdoor planters with character.  This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of The J.M. Smucker Company. The opinions and text are all mine. @Folgers @Walmart

This post could alternately be titled “how to try to do a messy craft project when two little kids want to participate” because that’s what this project turned into!  I figured instead of trying to deny it, I’d show you guys what real life looks like around here.

FIRST THINGS FIRST – coffee.  Alllll the coffee. I figure that if coffee is the only thing I’m addicted to right now, I’m doing alright 😉  Folgers breakfast blend is my standard go-to brew for every day, but I got to try this new Folgers Simply Gourmet in Natural Caramel and I felt like I was in a coffee shop.  SO GOOD, guys.

OK once I’m all fueled up, I head outside with the terra cotta pots.  You can get these at Walmart (which is also where I got my coffee).  I tried to take pictures of the pots before I painted them – but someone almost broke my little one in the process:

What you’ll need:

• Terra cotta pots
• Paper towels
• Brush
• Paint

This project couldn’t be any easier or cost effective – a perfect way to do a project with little ones around!  I just went into my basement to find some old wall paint, paper towels, and a foam brush.  Here’s the trick – you can use almost ANY kind of paint or paintbrush for this project.  It’s basically foolproof!

Since the terra cotta is really porous, you’ll want to work in small sections.  Begin by brushing on some of the paint (I painted with horizontal strokes).  Then follow up and wipe at the wet paint with a paper towel.  This takes some of the brush strokes away and will wipe off some paint if you’d like.  

Again, the trick is to work quickly.  Just work in small sections and then you won’t risk your paint drying too much to wipe up.

The paint I used was a few years old – I actually think that helped it come off a little bit better.  If you don’t have old paint laying around (tell me your secret – ha!) No but seriously, if you don’t have old paint, go to the local hardware store and get little samples for just a few dollars.  Super simple!

Once my kiddos saw me painting, they stopped playing with their water table and immediately wanted to join me.  I figured I should try to foster their creativity instead of keeping painting as a thing that only I do.  But I’ll be honest…that’s my tendency!  I’m working on it 🙂  

My kids were thrilled to paint the insides of the pots and the little plates they rest on – and yes, they got paint alllll over them.

Once the (gobs of) paint dried, we potted our plants and put them on our front porch.

Think of how you could customize these!  Some ideas I’d love to see or try myself:

• Striped pots
• Adding twine 
• Painting house numbers on the pots
• Adding text (like “welcome” or your last name)
• Different colors – how cute would navy & white stripes look?

I’ll be adding some character to these pots, but keeping this distressed white as a base and I’ll definitely keep some of them simply white too.  

 

 

Give me some other ideas for how you’d personalize while painting terra cotta pots in the comments – I’d love to hear them!  You guys always have the best ideas.

And now I’m off to wash off my kiddos.  And drink allllll the coffee.  Seriously?  Check out Folgers Simply Gourmet (you can buy it in the coffee aisle at Walmart).  I got the Natural Caramel, but they also have Vanilla, Chocolate and Cinnamon.  Um – YUM.