Inexpensive Flower Pot Makeover Tutorial

So I dropped the ball for a little bit after starting this blog with such enthusiasm. I was wrapped up in this thing called "life". It has a tendency to distract a person. But, here I am and I am so excited to finally get to post something. Woohoo! 

Flower pots. Never thought much about them until I thought it would be a great idea to do something for teacher appreciation week. I have been a terrible parent in regards to doing something for my children's teachers for the last 5 years, so this year I decided to do something special to make up for all the missed years LOL. Well, that and I wanted to do something crafty and practice for my upcoming bigger projects. Hahaha!

Stuff you'll need:

• Flower pots - any size will do!
• Primer - I had some left over spray filler/primer
• Paint - leftover paint from a bathroom job recently
• Sandpaper (for distressing) - you'll need about 150 or even 120 grit
• Chalkboard Paint - spray or even paint on would work
• Stencil (optional)
• Stain (optional)

I started with the plain old terra cotta pots from our local Lowes. They were like $3/ea. I had paint left over from the bathroom that was a pretty off white color, and I've been dying to try out chalkboard paint. I went to Wal-Mart to just see if they carried it, and ironically someone had returned a can. Can of chalkboard paint, $1. Yes, ONE DOLLAR. Score!

Ok, here's the primer I used. It worked great for filling in some of the pits in the pot.

First Coat of Paint

Distressing using sandpaper

This is the stencil I made. I got a package of 3 square sheets of vinyl
from Wal-Mart (about $4) I literally found a shape I liked, traced it
from my PC screen and used an Xacto knife to cut it out

I taped stencil to pot, then sprayed the chalkboard paint
It went on very smooth!

I used the original plant markers and decoupaged on some
fancy paper and wrote on them

And here are the two pots complete!
Actually just needed to actually plant them in the pots.
(Yes that's a towel because I had nothing else handy
and because that's how I roll ;oP)

Here is another variation: Painted White,
Distressed, Then sponged on and rubbed off
some Walnut wood stain. Love this antique look!

Up close and personal to show details

And there you have it folks! Plain Jane pots turned lovely personalized and shabby chic very inexpensively!