Painted Terracotta Planters

I'm really excited for this first DIY post on our Kindred Home blog, I hope you guys like it! The weather has been pretty drab in Rochester, with cold temperatures, gray skies, and snow that goes from freshly fallen to brown and salty in a snap. Plus, our team has been really busy so we wanted a short break from candle production. I wanted to choose something quick and easy that also focused on bringing some fresh greenery indoors to brighten up these gloomy winter days. When we set out to begin this project it became apparent that when I'm not working I'm collecting terracotta pots, if you're like me you probably have most of the supplies around your house. And if you don't have the supplies you can buy everything you need for less than twenty dollars.

The supplies:
1. Terracotta pots, size is up to you, I used what I had around my house
2. Paint brushes, one big + one small brush work well
3. Painters tape
4. Indoor/outdoor acrylic paint in white
5. Indoor/outdoor acrylic paint in black
6. Spray gloss 

What to do:

1. Tape the bottom of the pots with painters tape (alternatively, you could tape the top instead). I took my time with this step because the curved shape of the pots makes it difficult to get the tape around evenly.  Once you're done taping, paint your pots white (I applied about 4 coats). You'll want to paint over the inside edge of the pots as well. Let the white paint dry completely before moving on to step 2.

2. Note: it's not a bad idea to wear a smock for this step. Mix your black paint with some water so that it splatters off your paint brush. I found this step harder than I anticipated, it's not impossible to do alone however another pair of hands is helpful. Splatter the black paint by flicking your brush OR by tapping it on the edge of the pot.

3. This is a forgiving project because if you find any black splatters you don't love it's super easy to cover them up with white paint. I definitely had to do this a few times!

4. Optional: spray your pots with a glossy finish. Finally, add your plants. I chose two different varieties of Ivy because a nice lady at Wegman's told me that Ivy is low maintenance and doesn't require a lot of bright light (I don't have the greenest thumb). 

 Author's note: we discovered this project here and followed many of the same steps yet we added a few more notes after going through the process ourselves. Enjoy!