Materials:
Terra
Cotta Flowerpots (any size you’d like, I used 6" diameter pots)
Terra
Cotta Saucers for Pots (optional)
Acrylic
Paints
Paint
Brushes
Pencil
Wax Paper
or Newspaper (to cover your work area)
Clear Sealant
Spray (I used
Matte, but Glossy works too!)
Stencils
(optional)
Scotch
Tape (optional)
Sketch
Your Ideas
First, I
sketched out a loose idea of what I wanted my flowerpots to look like. When I
made the sketches, I was quickly jotting down ideas and I forgot that you could
also get the little saucer for underneath! When I bought my flowerpots I decided to get those as well,
so I had I adjust my designs slightly.
But I liked them better in the end!
Base
Coats
Paint your
flowerpots in the base color. The
base color will be whatever color is most prominent on your flowerpot. For example, Mickey and Minnie are red,
Pluto is yellow and Donald is blue.
I decided to try to include more colors of each character by painting
the lip of the flowerpot a different color than the bottom part of it. I also used the saucer to incorporate
the colors of some of the characters feet! The sky is the limit!
Working on the base coats. |
Touch
Ups
After
you’ve applied a few base coats and you are satisfied with the paint coverage,
you can go back and touch up anywhere that you accidentally overlapped colors,
had paint splatters or had any other mistakes.
My work area before starting on the details. |
Design
the Details
Now you can
draw the details in pencil over your base coat. I hand drew the lines for Pluto’s green color. I also hand drew the ovals for Mickey’s
buttons. I used my circle stencils
to draw Minnie’s polka dots since I wanted to make sure that they were more
uniform throughout the whole flowerpot.
For
Donald’s collar details, I used Scotch tape to tape off the area that I wanted
to paint yellow. I knew that I’d
need quite a few coats to make it show up over the blue so I decided that would
be the best way to keep the paint consistent. I also used this method for the line between Goofy’s orange
“shirt” and his blue “pants.” Make
sure that you put the tape everywhere that you need to cover and press down
hard on it to make sure that it’s adhered to the pot. Otherwise, paint will creep into the crevices and you’ll
have to do lots of touch ups.
Note: If
you’re using the tape to separate two areas that are horizontal like Goofy’s
shirt and pants, you will need to use small sections of tape to ensure that the
line you’re creating will be as straight as possible. The outside of the flowerpot is tapered so using one long
piece of tape will not line up correctly.
I had a hard time doing this for Pluto’s collar so I decided I’d put my
interior design drawing skills to use and I freehand drew the collar lines.
Drawing and taping out the design of the details. |
Paint
the Details
If you’re
painting freehand, slowly paint along the lines that you’ve drawn. I found that it’s easiest to paint
along the outside lines and then fill in the outline with color. If you’re freehand painting a line,
slowly rotate the flowerpot keeping your brush level. (I freehand painted the black line of Goofy’s hat since it
was an afterthought.)
If you’re
using the tape method, paint within your taped area or along the line of
tape. Once the paint is thoroughly
dry, take the tape off and you should have a straight line. Make sure that the paint is fully
dry. I’d recommend letting it dry
overnight. If you take it off too
soon, some wet paint might sneak through the crevices in the paint and mess
your lines up.
Touch
Ups
After
you’ve painted all of your details, you can go back and fix any mistakes. I had to fix a few places where my hand
went a little crazy on freehand painting Goofy’s hat. I also found out that part of my Donald base coat of blue
paint peeled off when I pulled the Scotch tape off of it. I had to go back and carefully re-paint
around Donald’s collar details. Luckily, his bow hid a lot of the peeled part.
Spray
with Sealant
Once you
are absolutely sure that you’re satisfied with your paint job, it’s time to go
outside and seal the paint!
Acrylic paint is water based so you’re going to need to seal it to make
sure that the elements and watering your plants won’t mess up your hard work!
Make sure
that you are outside or in a well-ventilated area since sealant is toxic and
pretty smelly. I sprayed my pots
out in our driveway. Follow the
directions on your sealant. Most
sealants will have you spray 2-3 thin coats. Make sure that you cover the inside and outside of the pot,
as well as your saucers if you painted those.
Admire
All of Your Hard Work
Once your
sealant is dry, you’re all done with your flowerpots! Now go get some flowers for your new flowerpots! J
I hope that
you enjoyed my tutorial! If you
decide to make some flowerpots of your own, please feel free to share
pictures! mydisneylifeblog@gmail.com J
These are so cute, Melissa!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kathleen! I had so much fun that I bought more pots and I've started on another round of them! :-)
ReplyDeleteKathleen where did u get ur paints
ReplyDeleteI got my paints at my local ACMoore craft store. I use the Folk Art acrylic paints. I've also seen them at Michael's, JoAnn Fabrics, and Wal-Mart. :-)
DeleteI just LOVE these! They look like they're fun to make, and I like your design process. Fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rebecca! The flower pots are so cute! They're still looking great two years later! :-)
DeleteMelissa this is so creative thank you. I am going to try and do one today. If you have any other ideas PLEASE share. Enjoy your magical life. Cindy frankcindy@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteHi Cindy! I'm so glad you enjoyed my post! The flower pots are really fun and so easy to make! I'll definitely be sharing more DIY projects soon. I've got a whole list of them! Have a great night! :-)
DeleteHi Melissa! I used your tutorial to create a set of my own pots. I'd like to share them on Instagram and give you credit for the idea. Do you have one for the blog?
ReplyDeleteHi Jamie! I'm sorry I'm just seeing this now. Yes! My Instagram is @mydisneylifeblog. I'm so glad you enjoyed my tutorial! :-)
DeleteMelissa Can you tell me the name of the colors you used for Goofy, especially the orange and green and blue?
ReplyDeleteYes, of course! I don't have the paints right here, but I know I used an "apple green" similar to a lime color. The orange was just a standard orange color and the blue was a royal blue color. I think it was Folk Art brand in "True Blue." I hope this helps! :-)
DeleteH?ow did you make your dots
ReplyDeleteHi. I would like to know if your paints are waterproof and it is good to stay this info of the sunlight? What kind of the paints should I use to make a sure it will good for emerytury weather condition? Thanks a lot! Mother's Day is comming ....
ReplyDeleteBest wishes form Poland
Maciek
'Every ' not 'emerytury ' ;)
ReplyDelete