Painted pots. Using rubber stamps and decorative paint.

I have just made a few more decorative pots to sell at craft fairs.

The technique used is really simple. You need to start off with  basic terracotta pots, from  garden centres. Use the ceramic ones not plastic. I painted the main part of the pot with 2 layers of acrylic paint. You need to leave about 30 mins to an hour between layers.

 I painted a selection in different colours. Using the potters wheel makes life easier, but it is not essential. I used some pearlescent and metallic paints. Some of the pots I put a different colour on for the second layer, and then rubbed the paint back a bit ( with a cloth ) to expose some of the underneath colour.

I then used a rubber stamp to produce a couple of  rows of  pattern. This was stamped on to thin coloured paper. Do not use card, as it is far too thick for this technique. This was cut out, with a matching punch. These are products from Stampin Up. I used a set called Mixed Bunch, and the matching punch called Blossom.

I also cut out some small flowers out of coloured paper, with a punch.

I chose one of the painted pots and attached the flowers to it. I stuck these on with PVA glue, making sure the whole flower was covered and I flattened it smooth on to the pot. As you can see, I cut some of the stamped flowers in half for the lower layer of pattern.

I  did the same for my other pots, choosing different colours and flower shapes, for variety.It is important to let the glue dry, so you need to leave it for at least 30 minutes.

I then covered all the pots with a layer of  matt varnish to fix everything together. This is not the final layer of varnish.

 I added some glitter glue and some irridescent paint over the surface of some of the pots. Here and there I also added a glaze of watered down coloured acrylic. I tried to break up the surface and give a slightly weathered look. These techniques were used over the whole surface, to try and blend the stuck on flowers with the actual pot.

 I painted the rim with a copper acrylic paint, because it is quite close to the original terracotta colour, but it just gives it a lovely shine. I aged this a bit with dark brown when it was dry ,by applying and then rubbing back with a cloth.

The last thing was to add 2 more coats of matt varnish to the whole pot, including the inside rim. You need to leave time for the first coat to dry before adding the second. The varnish makes the pots a bit more waterproof, and hardwearing.

Here are the finished pots.

It is a fairly easy technique to do. You can really experiment with mixing different colours, stamp designs and paint effects to produce really original pots.