How to Make Painted Terracotta Pots: Watermelon Painted Planter Ideas

May 18, 2021

Learn how to make painted terracotta pots with a cute watermelon design for fun painted planter ideas for your outdoor home and garden decor.

Painted Planter Ideas

Need painted planter ideas? These painted terracotta pots are a fun and fresh way to decorate your clay pots for use on your porch or patio. Discover how to paint terracotta flower pots with a cute watermelon design with this easy craft tutorial for painting terracotta pots. Plus learn tips and tricks for cleaning and prepping your clay planters for paint.

If you’re looking for fun painted planter ideas to decorate your garden or patio, then this watermelon painted planter is a must! This painted terracotta pot idea is decorated using acrylic paints for a super cute painted terracotta plant pot. Once painted, add herbs or flowers for a unique way to decorate your favorite outdoor spaces. Or gift these adorable painted flower pots to neighbors, friends, family or teachers.

Can You Paint Terracotta Pots?

Yes, you absolutely can paint terracotta pots. Painting pots or planters is an easy way to elevate your planters for a fresh new look that matches your home decor. I painted my terracotta pots to look like watermelons. However, the design ideas for painted planters and literally endless! You can also paint abstract designs or patterns on your planter pots. Basically anything you can dream up you can use paint to decorate your terracotta flower pots.

What Paint do You Use on Terracotta Pots?

You don’t need a specific type or brand of paint to use on terracotta pots. In fact, you can pretty much use ANY paint you like to decorate your planters.

Types of paint you can use to paint terracotta pots include:

Leftover interior or exterior house paint
Acrylic craft paint
Latex paint
Chalk paint
Stencil paints or stamps
Spray paint

Once you’ve painted your terracotta flower pots, you should seal the paint with either a matte or gloss sealer to protect the integrity of the design.

How to Decorate a Terracotta Pot

You can easily decorate a terracotta pot using paint. However, you do need to prepare the terracotta flower pot prior to painting. Once your clay pots are clean, they are ready to be decorated with your choice of paint and your favorite design ideas.

How to Clean a Terracotta Pot

In order to prepare your planter for paint, follow these steps to decorate your pots with acrylic paint:

Prep your clay planters for paint by first removing loose dirt and debris. You can do this using a heavy duty brush, such a flower pot brush.
Next, wash the terracotta pots to remove any remaining substances. To do this, soak the planters in a tub of warm water and vinegar for up to an hour. Is use 1 cup of white vinegar for every 3 to 4 cups of warm water.
Check the clay pots at around 30 minutes. If the rest of the dirt scrubs off easily, remove the planters from the water. Otherwise, soak the terracotta pots for additional time.
Now wash and rinse the planters using warm, soapy water. Alternately, you can also run the clay pots through your dishwasher.
Once the flower pots have been cleaned, allow them to dry completely prior to the paint application. This can take one or two days. After the planters are dry, they are ready for paint.

How to Prep a Clay Pot for Paint

You can prep a clay pot to paint in one of three ways, depending on how you will be using your painted terracotta pots. The first step, however, is to clean your flower pots. Once the clay flower pots are clean, you can choose to use a sealer or primer. Alternately, you can also paint directly onto the clay pot.

Here are the three ways to prepare your planters for paint:

To paint a terracotta pot without any additional steps, simply start with a clean, dry terracotta pot. Apply the paint directly to the pot.
If you want more vibrant colors on your planter, you can apply a water based primer before the paint. This will help your colors pop while still allowing the pot to breathe. You do not need to use a primer, however, if you are using chalk paint.
Finally, you can seal the flower pots prior to painting using a waterproof sealer. This will give your outdoor planters more durability. However, it also affects the clay pots ability to breathe. Therefore, if you use a waterproof sealer, take care not to overwater your plants.

How to Paint a Terracotta Flower Pot

Once you’ve primed or sealed your terracotta flower pot, it is ready to be painted. Here is how to paint a terracotta flower pot once it has been cleaned and primed:

To paint your clay planters, first decide on the planter design you’d like to use to paint your flower pots.
Once you’ve settled on a design, sketch out the design on the primed pot using a pencil. (This step is optional and may depend on the complexity of the design.)
Now set up your workspace and lay down newspaper or similar to protect the surface you will be painting on.
Next, simply paint the design you’ve chosen onto the pot using a foam brush and your paint of choice. For more intricate designs, you can also use a small paint brush.
Allow the planters to fully dry. This can take several days.
Once the painted planters have dried, apply either a matte or glossy clear acrylic sealer to your painted terracotta pots. Allow the clear coat to dry.
After your painted terracotta pots have been sealed, you can plant flowers in your painted planters as you normally would.

Watermelon Painted Planters

If you’re looking for easy painted planter ideas, then you must craft these cute watermelon painted terracotta pots. Not only is this design simple to recreate, it looks absolutely adorable when displayed with flowers or herbs as part as your home and garden decor.

Supplies and Materials

These are the supplies and materials you need to make watermelon painted planters:

Terracotta pots
Green acrylic paint: You will need several shades of green paint for these painted terracotta pots. I used Deco Art Americana Festive Green, Irish Moss, Pistachio Mint and Forest Green paint.
Pink acrylic paint: You can use a pink of your choice. Or, to use the same color I chose for my painted planters, use Deco Art Americana Wild Berry paint.
Small to medium size foam brush
Small paint brush
Black permanent marker or paint marker
White paint marker, optional
Clear acrylic sealer: This supply is optional, however, it will help your painted planter designs last longer if using outside as part of your home and garden decor. If your painted terracotta pots will be displayed in full sun, I recommend using a UV-resistant sealer.
Paper plate or artist’s palette

How to Make Watermelon Painted Terracotta Flower Pots

To make painted planters with watermelon designs, follow these steps to make watermelon painted terracotta pots:

1. Pour small amounts of several shades of green acrylic craft paint onto a paper plate or an artist’s palette. I used four shades of green for this home and garden decor project. While you don’t need to use four shades of green paint, I do recommend using at least two shades to decorate these watermelon painted planters.

2. Once you’ve selected the green paint colors, paint the lip of the terracotta flower pot with a medium green paint using a foam brush. Don’t forget to cover the very top of the clay pot. Allow the first coat of paint to dry. Then follow with a second coat of the green paint.

3. After the second coat of green paint dries, you will use the tip of the foam brush to dab the other green paints onto the painted surface. Dip the brush into the green paint color of your choice, then again onto a clean area of the palette to remove any excess paint from the brush. Then dab vertical lines of paint onto the top of the base coat to create the outside pattern of the watermelon rind. Repeat the process with each additional green paint color until you have a design you like.

4. Once the painted top of the terracotta pot is dry, use a clean foam brush to paint the lower section of the clay planter using the pink acrylic paint. Allow the paint to fully dry. Then apply a second coat of pink paint if needed.

5. Next, use the small paint brush to apply a light green line of paint where the pink and green areas meet. Let dry.

6. Now use a black permanent marker or a black paint pen to draw seeds onto the pink portion of the planter. Simply use the marker to create small teardrop shapes to mimic watermelon seeds.

7. If you’d like to create a face for your watermelon painted planters, use a black paint pen to draw two eyes and a smile onto the front of your painted terracotta flower pots. Then place a dot inside each eye using a white paint pen.

8. Finally, spray the watermelon painted planters with a clear acrylic spray to seal the design, if desired.

Now all that’s left is to fill your watermelon pot with dirt and plant herbs or flowers inside. You can also use your painted terracotta pots to make a DIY succulent container garden.

Yield: 2 painted terracotta pots

Watermelon Painted Terracotta Pots

Learn how to make painted terracotta pots with a cute watermelon design for fun painted planter ideas for your outdoor home and garden decor.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Active Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Materials

Terracotta pots
Green and pink acrylic paints
Black and white paint markers
Clear acrylic sealer

Tools

Paper plate
Foam brush
Small paint brush

Instructions

Pour small amounts of two to four shades of green acrylic craft paint onto a paper plate.
Paint the lip of the terracotta flower pot with a medium green paint using a foam brush. Once dry, apply a second coat.
Use the tip of the foam brush to dab the other green paints onto the painted surface. Dip the brush into the green paint color of your choice, then again onto a clean area of the palette to remove any excess paint from the brush. Then dab vertical lines of paint onto the top of the base coat to create the outside pattern of the watermelon rind. Repeat the process with each additional green paint color until you have a design you like.
Use a clean foam brush to paint the lower section of the clay planter using the pink acrylic paint once the green paint has dried. Apply a second coat of pink paint if needed, allowing paint to dry between coats.
Now use the small paint brush to apply a light green line of paint where the pink and green areas meet. Let dry.
Use a black paint pen to draw seeds onto the pink portion of the planter by randomly drawing teardrop shapes.
Then use a black paint pen to draw two eyes and a smile onto the front of your painted terracotta flower pots. Place a dot inside each eye using a white paint pen.
Spray the watermelon painted planters with a clear acrylic spray to seal the design.

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