How to Make Hand-Painted Flower Pots

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With just a few simple art supplies, you can create charming hand-painted flower pots for your home or garden.

To see more on this style of painting, check out The Art of Stone Painting for a tutorial using the same art materials.

With just a few simple art supplies, you can create charming hand-painted flower pots for your home or garden.

Let No Surface Go Unpainted

After trying out some painted stones like the ones shown in The Art of Stone Painting tutorial, I thought I’d try a similar style of painting on clay flower pots since the method works on just about any surface.

The Art of Stone Painting bird project by Sehnaz Bac

Artist Sehnaz Bac, author of The Art of Stone Painting, has all sorts of design ideas to choose from. These videos show time lapses as she paints her famous decorative stones. You can see how the design starts with an outline and the background colours and then progresses as more intricate details are added.

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How to Hand-Paint Flower Pots

Materials

I did this project with clay flower pots. Many primers or base coats work on a lot of surfaces, so you could paint wood, plastic, canvas, glass, or metal as well. Paint the world!

These are the art supplies I like to use.

  1. Acrylic Craft Paints
    I like the all-purpose ones (wood, plastic, canvas, glass) intended for outdoor use.
  2. Uni-posca Paint Marker Pens
    I love these pens. They apply nicely, the colours are lovely, and, they do not bleed when varnish or another protective surface is applied.
    The ones I use are sold as ‘ultra fine’ but the tips are thicker than the ultra-fine Sharpies. I wish they were finer but the benefits far outweigh this one small complaint.
  3. Sharpie Pens – Ultra Fine Points
    The set I linked to is a good price and offers a nice selection of colours. Be sure to get ultra fine for fine details. Also, test them out first. Some Sharpies bleed when top-coated in varnish or other similar products if they have not been left to cure for a long period of time (weeks).
  4. Pencil and eraser for sketching your design
  5. Craft Paint Brushes 
    Get various sizes. I use sizes 0 to 3 for fine details, and 12 or higher for covering larger surfaces (on small pots).
    I find you do get what you pay for with brushes. I like to shop in-person and feel the bristles, to be sure I’ll like them. Also, with proper, immediate cleaning, they can last a good long time.
  6. Protective Product
    You could use a spray varnish, polyurethane, or Outdoor Mod Podge. I use whatever I have on hand.

Need Design Ideas?The Art of Stone Painting by Sehnaz BacBuy it Here

The Art of Stone Painting has 30 different designs to choose from.

Step One

  • Prime the areas you want to decorate, using either proper primer (for painting walls) or white acrylic craft paint, which is what I used here.
  • You don’t have to prime the entire surface. If you are painting a flower, for example, you could just sketch the outline of the flower in pencil on the side of the pot, and then fill in that area with the paint or primer.

With just a few simple art supplies, you can create charming hand-painted flower pots for your home or garden.art inks in various colours.

  • The Uni-posca Paint Marker Pens are my favourite. They go nicely on top of paint and do not bleed when sealant or varnish is applied later.
  • If you don’t like something you’ve done, it is possible to paint over it and start again if your original paint is not too thick.

    • With just a few simple art supplies, you can create charming hand-painted flower pots for your home or garden.Outdoor Mod Podge to protect the surface.

  • If the flower pot will never be getting wet or exposed to direct sunlight, you can leave it unprotected.
  • If your flower pot is going outside, pick a sealer or spray varnish with UV protection to prevent any fading from the sun.
  • Also, be sure you’re choosing the finish you prefer. These products come in various glossy, matte, satin, and clear finishes.

    • If you become addicted to drawing and painting on objects like these, be sure to try hand-painting stones. This shows you how to paint a bird and this tutorial shares how to create an owl.

    ~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛

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    Comments

    1. Bernice says

      February 17, 2017 at 5:17 pm

      Hello, I have seen elsewhere that if you don’t want your Sharpies to run, put a light coat of spray adhesive first. I cannot say that I have tried this as yet, but I have seen it mentioned numerous times. So I guess if you want to give it a try.

      Regs,
      Bernice

    2. Mary Coakley says

      January 28, 2017 at 6:16 am

      Love your painted pots so different must try it on mine,I have checked out the Video painting on stone wow she is brilliant.Thanks for the strawberry container ideas.

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