Flower Pots

Liven up your garden with these hand-painted flower pots. It's easy and fun  and makes a great indoor hobby on rainy days. You can draw upon ideas for your paintings from different sources - like magazines, story books and even television. It's usual to paint dots and dashes on flower pots, however, we have found that face designs are more interesting and are guaranteed to brighten up your day.  If you want your hand-painted flower pots to last and last, be sure to use a very good quality of clay or terracotta pots and weatherproof paint available at all hardware stores. By the way, do you know that the word "terracotta" comes from Latin and means "baked earth"? ~ Face Designs on flower pots are sure to make everyone smile ~ This Project requires basic painting skills and some adult supervision. By wearing gloves and a mask, you can avoid the ill-effects of paints and lacquers. MATERIAL: 1.   Clay or terra cotta flower pots of varying sizes. 2.   Acrylic Paint - at least three colours. Paint Brushes. 3.   Acrylic Sealant 4.   Gloss polyurethane (glossy final coat) 5.   Sandpaper 6.   Air-drying clay for the ears, nose, etc.   7.   Pencil, design on paper  8.   Clay or terra cotta plates (saucer-sized) INSTRUCTIONS: 1.  Before you begin, spread some newspaper on your work surface to catch spills and paints. 2.  Prepare your pots thoroughly before painting. Scrub them smooth with sandpaper to smoothen out the rough surface. 3.  Seal the inside of the pot before you paint with any terracotta (acrylic) sealer to prevent seepage and also, the paint from peeling. This usually happens because of moisture in the pot. 4. Next apply a coat of acrylic sealer to the  outside of the pot to act as a base. Paint the inside rim to where the soil level will reach for a more finished appearance. 5. Trace out your design with a pencil. 6.  Paint your design with regular acrylic paints, using at least two coats.  Please  make sure that you let each coat dry completely before you go on to paint another coat. 7. When completely dry, use a clear coat (gloss polyurethane) to give the pot a glossy finish. 8.  Place your pots on painted terracotta plates for a complete look! Good luck and hope you have a great time painting pots :-)

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