Let's Paint a Flower Pot! | My Perpetual Project

Have you ever found yourself in the position of having forgotten someone’s birthday until it was almost too late? Or have you needed to buy a gift and didn’t have a clue what to get? What about looking to get a gift without spending a ton of money? Well, here’s a darling idea that is quick, inexpensive, fun, easy and adorable!

At work, we like to celebrate birthdays. For those who are interested, we each choose a name from the hat and help make that person’s birthday a little extra special. We buy the goodies such as a cake, cupcakes, cookies and a little gift. We also decorate his/her desk with decorations that we have there at the office.

For some reason, almost every year, I forget just exactly when my Birthday Buddy’s day is. I think that’s due to choosing that name at the end of the previous year. This time, when I got the little slip with the name – Katie – and the date – April 7, I thought ‘ok, that gives me LOTS of time’ as I tucked the information in a safe spot in the top drawer of my desk. Inevitably, someone ends up having to reminding me the day before. Well, this year, it was the work day before which was Friday. So, I had all weekend to either shop for or create a gift. With list in hand of the types of treats Katie liked as well as gift ideas, I decided to head to the store after work to see what my options were for a gift and treats. I was on the hunt for white cupcakes (baking is not my forte’ so I knew I would be purchasing the treats) so my first stop was the grocery store.

As I approached the supermarket where I knew they would have those cute little bite-sized cupcakes, I saw a beautiful display of spring flowers. They were so pretty sitting out in the sun. That would be a great gift! I found a spectacular pink pansy with yellow centers and picked it up to take into the store while I shopped for the cupcakes. I found the cupcakes easily and headed home with my purchases.

Once home, I noticed that the little plant had already outgrown its container and would need repotting before giving it as a gift. I looked around my potting bench and found just the right size terra cotta pot. With a little cleaning and paint, it would be good as new. I brought it into the house to work on the next day.

Saturday morning, I washed the terra cotta pot with water and scrubbed off the old soil with a cleaning toothbrush. I have quite a selection of water-based craft paints from previous projects and knew from the list that Katie’s favorite colors are pink and purple. I wasn’t certain I would have either of those colors, but surprise, surprise I did! It took all day for the pot to dry, I even sat it close to a floor heating vent in the afternoon to make sure it was nice and dry before applying any paint.

Some of my craft paint supply
Pot is clean & ready for paint

Sunday morning, with the pot nice and dry, I went to my craft room and began creating! I decided to paint the base of the pot with the purple (lavender) and both the inside and outside of the rim with pink (lilac). I used a little 1/2″ artist brush to apply the paint. The painting only took about 10 minutes and soaked in so quickly that I was able to apply the 2nd coat right away.

Painting supplies
Ready to be painted

I let the two coats of paint dry for about an hour then added a pop of yellow by making little dots around the rim to match the yellow centers of the flowers. To apply the dots, I dipped the end of the paintbrush in the yellow paint then tapped it onto the pink paint in several places aroun the rim. I also added my initials, a little heart and the year on the bottom of the pot also using the end of the paintbrush. A few hours after the painting was complete, I repotted the plant.

Two coats of paint
Drying time
Signed & dated

The plant was $3.99, the pot and paint were free since I had them on hand. If you don’t have a supply of flower pots, you could always buy a new one, they are inexpensive or go to a 2nd hand store like Habitat/Restore or the Goodwill to pick one up. If you’re wondering, yes, Katie loved it! She is a bit concerned about keeping the flowers alive but said her deskmates have offered to help her do so.

Here is the process for creating this adorable painted flower pot