Camouflage Plant Pots

by Jacki
(Grand Forks, B.C. Canada)

I inherited a whole lot of plastic pots after a friend died, and passed them on to me. They are several different sizes, and are made from the kind of plastic that is a little bit flexible. I like the shape, which is the same as my favorite terracotta pots, but they are either green or peach color, so they weren't getting used much. After my project painting my camouflage chaise, I decided that this was so similar in texture, that I would try painting the pots in the same way.

First, I sanded the pots, to rough up the surface - in most cases, these are well used pots, so they have some tooth already. I dusted them off with a rag, then proceeded to paint them.

I use acrylic craft paint from the dollar store - it's cheap and comes in many colors, or you can do what I do and just get the primary colors, white and black and mix your own.

For most of the pots I used a dark background, by mixing black with brown and a little bit of white. Some have a paler background, using mostly yellow and white mixed together, and then using the same brush as the dark background gave me mingled and mixed colors. The aim was to make them camouflage, so they fit the ambiance of my garden.

Once the first coat was dry, the fun began. I like leaves, twigs and other natural textures, so that's where I started. Some of the pots got dark leaf shapes painted first, as a shadow effect. It took all of them about four different coats to achieve the look I was after, and they're all unique.

Try it; this is a really expressive and creative way to use old worn out plant pots.

Comments for Camouflage Plant Pots

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Paint??
by: Anne

Do you glaze the pots after you paint? What keeps the paint from peelin off?

I don't glaze them after but there's no reason why you couldn't.

I often use a urethane spray which gives a lot of protection. The paint on these seems to be fairly stable because I did sand the pots before painting.

I noticed on my chaise where I used the same technique, but didn't pay as much attention to preparing the area first, the paint has peeled - so, my advice would be, either move the pots indoors for the winter, or be prepared to touch them up in the spring.

Great question, I hope I've answered it to your satisfaction!
Jacki

I have to have these...
by: June

I hope I'm as handy as you are so I can make some of these - off to the recycle center as soon as the snow's gone so I can find some of the same kind of plastic pots to paint.

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