Painting Clay Flower Pots

I promised a tutorial on painting flower pots and it's time I deliver.  We've had crazy rain storms the past few days so I took advantage of today's storm and worked on painting some new pots for my tiny front porch.  Once again, I was inspired by pinterest.  Here's my disclaimer...I am by no means an expert on how to do anything, this is just me showing you how I completed my own flower pots.  I hope it helps!  Okay, so here is the inspiration picture:

Aren't they adorable?!  I finally got around to checking out her blog (you can see it here) and OMG, she is amazing.  She used a silhouette machine (super $$$) and outdoor vinyl to cut out the label, which is why it looks so professional.  I don't have the equipment she used so I just free handed my own stuff.  You can do either depending on the amount of time and energy you want to put into it.  Here's how mine turned out:

Not nearly as professional looking but not too shabby for having free handed it.  I once again used leftover paint I had from some of the rooms I painted when I first purchased my home.  In order to complete this project, you will need to start with a clay pot or whatever pot you may already have in mind.  I choose clay pots because they're super cheap and easy to paint.  I also use foam brushes to apply the paint and purchased a cheap baggy of spouncers (little round foam brushes) to paint on the polka dots. 

Here are more of the materials I used:

I chose a Krylon indoor/outdoor clear sealant to help protect the paint since these pots will be out and exposed to the elements.

I started with the small pot first and gave it a coat of cafe latte paint

Here's what it looked like after one coat:

After the second coat, I plopped it on top of one of my spray bottles (super high tech) to keep from smudging the paint or getting it on the counters.

After about 20 minutes, the paint was dry enough to allow me to start painting on my polka dots.

Just dip your spouncer in some paint, dab off any excess and dot around the pot in semi-even spaced rows.

  
Here's what it looked like with all the polka dots done. 

Then I decided to get brave and free hand the number label....not the best idea.  The white paint didn't cover the polka dots well.  

  
I learned my lesson and painted the white area before applying polka dots to the bigger pot.  

After the white paint had dried, I free handed the numbers and outline with a small paint brush.  They came out so-so.  

I gave it about 30 minutes to dry then took it outside (once the rain stopped) and sprayed on the sealant.  

I left the pot out for another hour or so to completely dry.  Later in the evening I ran out and bought some white lobelia and a succulent to plant in the pots.  I'll be doing that tomorrow and will edit this post with a picture of the tiered pots.  All in all, I was happy with this project.  It was a bit time consuming but I like the idea of personalizing my own flower pots instead of paying high $ for pre-painted ones.  I think the polka dots give it a bit of a whimsical feel and that makes me happy.  I hope this tutorial is helpful if you are considering painting your own flower pots.  What do you think, worth the time and effort or a complete waste?  

Update:  Added the lobelia & vincas then topped it off with a succulent.  Here's what it looks like:

It is too much Lobelia, and it just looks a big mess!  I will be moving them to my flower bed and will just stick with the vincas.  So I guess there will be yet another update picture tomorrow :)