I thought I'd be adventurous the other day and do a little DIY in my garden.This project is super easy and affordable too, if you're hoping to dress up your garden or balcony. Even for those of you heading into winter, this is a great way to add colour while your flowers sleep!
Some plain plant pots
I used these ones from ikea, they have a nice stone feel and are cheap as chips
Paint
I chose a Dulux colour and had it mixed in a cheaper brand, using a gloss base, in a sample pot size.
Small bucket or container
This needs to fit your largest pot inside. I found a great paint storage bucket at the hardware store, which I can use to store my leftover paint in.
A drill (optional)
If your pots don't already have holes and you need drainage for your plants.
Paper towels
Bottles
Tall soda bottles or something similar to rest your pots on while they dry
Plants
Some pretty flowers or herbs to plant in your shiny new pots!
*Maggie Cat assistant is optional
I was excited to paint my pots first, so I drilled later, but I think it's probably sensible to drill some drainage holes first up. I used a masonry drill and actually, I used a larger drill bit than pictured here. Let's be honest, I went to borrow my dad's drill and HE drilled the pots for me. Thanks dad!
Fill your empty bucket with paint, a little lower than the depth you want the colour to be on your pot. Think about high school science class and apply your knowledge of displacement of liquids to determine how much you need to compensate (I just guessed, it's not a precise art in my case!) Make sure your paint is thoroughly stirred first, even once mixed the pigment can separate a little.
Decide which end you'd like the colour on. I chose the top rim. But it would work equally well (better?) on the base, it's totally up to you. Once you know where you want the paint to go, simply dip it very gently into the paint bucket. This is where it would have been better to drill my holes first! I had to go very slowly to avoid putting a big air bubble under the pot, which in turn would splash the paint out in a bubble paint-eruption. I did pretty well, just one failure, but I was very patient and didn't just dunk the pot in, I lowered it slowly.
Once the pot is submerged in the paint, you can gently remove it again and let the paint drip off as much as possible. I then blotted my pot on some paper towels to reduce the amount of excess paint.
Time to dry the paint. This part was a little trial and error. In hindsight, the best way to do this would be to suspend the pot in some way until it is completely dry. I used some soda bottles and balanced the pot upside down on the top of the bottle. You need to have a surface underneath that you can throw away that will catch any excess paint drips. Do not turn the pot to have the paint at the top, gravity is NOT your friend here. As you can see below, this is the pot that had the escaping air bubble. I made matters worse by turning it upright after letting it dry for about 30 minutes. The paint started sliding down the pot, making ugly blobs and smears. No DIY is perfect folks, and I'm here to show you my mistakes so you don't make them as well!
Once the pots are thoroughly dry, you can pot your beautiful plants! I just bought a random selection of flower seedlings from the nursery, I can't wait until they are in full bloom! They look pretty now anyway, I just love the splash of turquoise paint against the stone pots, it looks great and really brightens up our garden.
I'd love to see pictures if you get a chance to do this DIY, feel free to share below :)
I hope you enjoy my pretty flower pots! Hopefully in a month or two I can share more pictures once all of my flowers are in bloom.
Kitty
xo
No comments:
Post a Comment