DIY Painted Clay Pots for Spring

Spring time is such a beautiful time of the year! Everything is blooming, the trees are putting on green foliage, and I'm enticed to plant a few clay pots with some of my favorite spring bedding plants. Dusty Miller, Impatiens, Marigolds, Begonias, and Pansies, just to mention a few of the ones I bought. 

For these clay pots I used DIY paints and Artisan Enhancements products. Both companies have all natural products and they are very easy to use.

I purchased my clay pots and my plants at the local Lowe's. They have a good selection of pots to choose from. 

Here is the supplies you will need to make one of these pots:

Clay Pots

DIY Chalk and Clay Paint (Old '57) and (White Swan) and (Gravel Road)

Crackle Tex by Artisan Enhancements

Scumble by Artisan Enhancements

Clear Top Coat Sealer

Leaf and Foil Size by Artisan Enhancements

Foil by Artisan Enhancements

Sea Sponge 

• Paint the clay pot with the Clear Top Coat Sealer and let dry. This product is a great sealer and is all natural. 
• Paint one coat of DIY Old '57 for a base coat and let dry.
• Next stipple Crackle Tex to different areas of the pot. Crackle Tex is a medium that will react with paint after it has dried. For this pot I will be painting White Swan on top of the Crackle Tex. Apply the White Swan thickly on the Crackle Tex and you will see the beautiful crackle unfold. Do not overwork!
• After the coat of White Swan has dried, apply Leaf and Foil Size to different areas of the clay pot. Let it dry for about 45 minutes until tacky. With the shiny side up take the foil and lay it on the tacky Leaf and Foil. I take a stiff bristle brush to rub the foil. This will help adhere the foil to the pot.
• Next apply one coat of Clear Top Coat Finish.
• Let the Clear Top Sealer Dry. Mix Gravel Road DIY paint with the Scumble. I used 1 part paint to 4 parts Scumble.
• Apply the Gravel Road mixture with a sea sponge. Use a twist and turn movement when applying this step. Let dry.
• Apply two coats of the Clear Top Coat Sealer. This sealer is exterior grade and will protect your pots.
• And you are now finished with your DIY pot. Add potting soil and plant away!

I hope you enjoy your clay pots as much as I do. I made several last year and they are still very pretty. Use your imagination and create and please let me know how they turn out!

We sell all products used for this project at Fresh in Jasper, Texas. We are open everyday from 9-5 with the exception of Sundays and Tuesdays. We also sell these products online here. Please email or call us if you need any information on our product lines and we are always happy to help you. We ship weekly and stay fully stocked on all of our supplies. Have a wonderful week - Nancy

Antique Vanity Turned into Two Side Tables

I bought an antique vanity from a friend a few months ago and as we were loading it into my trailer it became two side tables. Instead of a vanity I gained twin tables with veneer damage and several other hiccups! But I could see potential in these ugly ducklings and the challenge was on. I immediately went to work on the twins using my sander, removing hardware, adding putty, and adding wooden appliques. 
Several weeks later, another friend came by the store looking for one side table for her sweet daughter and I mentioned that I had two at my house that I had been trying to revive but that they were in pretty sad shape. I sent her a picture and she adopted one of them to restore. She did a beautiful job and I was inspired by her success in restoring her "adopted twin". So I set out to finish what I had started with the vanity turned side table. You can go here to see her make over.
I opted to do lace embossing on the top and the drawer fronts. Embossing has become one of my favorite applications on furniture. 
I used Paint Couture's embossing medium along with a lace curtain that I purchased at a thrift store. It gave such a elegant and delicate look to this antique table. 
I applied Color of Sweden's Gustav along with Paint Couture glazes, Zinc and Weathered Wood. Artisan Enhancements Clear Finish was applied for a nice matte finish.
If you are interested in learning the art of embossing, I teach a class and you can go here to register. 

Twins

I've worked on many projects that have had issues but this was by far the worst yet! I am going to share several photos with you on this make over. Remember if you have a piece that is damaged you can make it look totally different with just a few tricks. 

BEFORE

Putty added to some of the damaged sides

Embossing Before Paint

Embossed Drawer Fronts Before Paint

Painted and Glazed with Wooden Applique Added

Glass knobs added to the completed table

I invite you to leave a comment or question on this post. I would love to hear from you. We are open every Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 9-5. New items are arriving daily and we have completely flipped the store recently. Our web store is open everyday for your shopping convenience. You may go here to shop.