Hello! I hope summer has been lovely for you all so far. My daughter has been out of school for almost a month now, and it feels like time is just flying by!

We made a variety of painted pots for our growing indoor garden, and I wanted to share this How-to. Especially because, it is my first time doing it this particular way. I have been painting on pots since high school and normally I would use a Multi Purpose Acrylic Paint, let dry completely, and then bake the pot in an oven to seal it. However, now that I no longer have a home of my own, I also do not have an oven! I needed to find a way to seal the pots, paint them, and seal them again without an oven, and I didn’t want to ask for help, so this is what I came up with, and it has been great! No seepage, no flaking paint, just lovely perfection. Woo hoo!

Tools For The Trade:

1. Terra Cotta Planters and Saucers- I got ours from Lowe’s

2. Multi Purpose Acrylic Paint- There are so many brands out there. I got ours from Michaels

3. Paint brushes

4. Design Masters Pottery Sealer

5. Newspaper for Spraying Pots

6. Jar with water for cleaning brushes

7. Prang Metallic Bullet Tip Marker- I used this for finishing my rough edges.

The How To:

1. Start out by placing the pots on newspaper outdoors.

2.  Spray even layers of the Design Master Pottery Sealer on all of your pots and saucers, both inside and out. Be sure to use long sweeping motions, to avoid an uneven application.

3. Wait for the pots to completely dry, then give them a second coat if you wish. Do this outside! The is sealer is stinky. I let the pots dry outdoors over night and then gathered our painting supplies.

4. Using Craft Smart Multi Purpose Acrylic Paint and a variety of brushes, I came up with a geometric design. I originally used tape on my pot as a stencil, and was painting cautiously around it. But, after failing at that, I scrapped the tape and just freehand painted my triangles. That worked even better for me and I was all happy and free to make my own natural lines.

5. Because I wanted to clean up my edges, I took a piece of Cardstock and my Prang Gold Marker and drew straight lines between the pink and blues using the cardstock as a flexible straight edge. The marker was a random item to use, but I had it from making my wedding invitations seven years ago and they still worked! Problem solved!

6. Once the paint was completely dry, I took them back outdoors on to some newspaper, and sprayed them with sealer once again. I let them dry at least 24 hours before I filled them with new plants. And there you have it! A fun craft to do with your child that will add color and charm to your indoor garden. Enjoy!

Some notes: You do not have to use the Multi Surface Craft Acrylic Paint. We used inexpensive craft acrylic paint by Craftsmart on some of our pots and after sealing they are doing just fine. I have a variety of brands and honestly they all work just fine.

If you prefer the oven method to avoid spraying sealer. You may place your painted pots in a COLD oven and bake them at 350F for 30 minutes, leave them in the oven until cool to touch. This process can take several hours, but it works well. You may do this to cure acrylic paint onto glass as well. Check with your specific paint before you try. There should be directions on the bottle or company website.

Layering colors: When using multiple layers of colors be sure each layer dries completely before adding more. For Penelope’s pot she painted the base yellow first, then went in and did details the next day. I used 2-3 coats of paint for my triangles because I did not uses a primer and I wanted the colors to be opaque.

Have fun!

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