DIY Aging A Terracotta Clay Pot

​ ​Spring is here, and summer is just around the corner. It’s time to plant those flowers and spruce up our porches.  So off we go, to purchase our flowers. Maybe we will pick up some new terracotta clay pots.  We need something to plant the flowers in and they are cheap enough. Visions of our spruced up porch start to fill our mind. Cue the happy thoughts of spring… birds chirping, warmer weather, longer days, flowers, sitting on the porch sipping on sweet tea.  But wait! Something isn’t quite right, could it be that bright orangey looking thing?   Yeah, that thing! You know that new terracotta clay pot, you just purchased. It has no charm! It seems out of place sitting there with all your other weathered containers, you know, the ones that have patina in all the right places.  Now, what are you going to do?  No worries, I have the perfect solution!  Let’s give it a weathered faux look and add texture using Country Chic Paint.  

​Materials needed for this project include:
Terracotta Clay Pot
Country Chic Paint Texture Powder
Country Chic All-in-One Paint in  Vanilla Frosting,  Lazy Linen and Elegance
Country Chic Paint Waxes: Natural and Dark
Paint Brushes
Wax Brushes
Plastic Cup
Plastic Spoon
Lint-free Rags
Sand Paper or you may also wet distress if preferred

​Step 1:  We will be adding a whitewashed appearance.  Begin by wiping down your terracotta pot to make sure you have a clean surface.  Dip your paintbrush into a cup of water. Then touch the tip of the brush into your paint.  Paint your pot leaving a few places showing through where you think the color may wear off over time. The look you are going for here is the soft white appearance that the clay pot naturally gets after use.  If you think you feel you have too much paint, then dip your brush in the water and go over the pot once again, with no paint.  I take a cloth or paper towel and wipe mine to give it a softer look and help on dry time.

Step 2:  We will be adding the texture using Country Chic Texture Powder.  I mixed the Country Chic Paint in Lazy Linen and Texture Powder using a 1:1 ratio.  As shown I am using a small clay pot for demonstration purposes, so didn’t need a huge amount of this texture mixture.  Disclaimer:  I didn’t precisely measure my mixture.  I added a plastic spoon full of the powder to my cup and then added the same amount of Lazy Linen and mixed it together until I had the consistency of frosting.  Then taking a chip brush I dabbed in pouncing motion the texture mix over the pot in random places.  This depends on the amount of texture you want to add.  I tried not to leave peaks and in some places pulled it down a bit with the brush.  If you do have peaks, no worries after about 10 or 15 minutes or when it begins to feel tacky.  Just take a brush and pull down the peaks.  To get the look that suits you best.  Let dry completely before moving to the next step.

​Step 3:  I wanted to add a little bit of color to my terracotta pot, so I used Country Chic Paint in Elegance for this next step.  After the texture has completely dried.  Simple just add some paint to your pot.  I didn’t add it think and dry brushed spots and left some of the other colors showing through. This is again totally up to you.  Let dry.

​Step 4:  Distressing is optional.  Country Chic Paint All in One is a breeze to distress.  You can distress with water.  I used a baby wipe to take off in spots that I wanted to distress.  If you prefer you can use fine grit sandpaper. 

​Step 5: I wanted it to have a little more of a grungy look.  Like it had been outside in the weather for a few years and dirty appearance.  You can either use Country Chic Paint Waxes or Glazes for this step.  I used the waxes in Natural and Antiquing.  First I used my wax brush and went all over the pot in the Natural wax, wiping off the excess.  Tip this helps to control the darker waxes.  Then I took the dark wax and added it to the pot.  Work in small sections at a time.  Take a small amount of wax on your brush and work into all the nooks and crannies of your texture, let it settle in.  Then take a lint-free cloth and wipe off excess. 

​If you would like to see more on how I completed the clay pot, our Facebook video can be found here. 

You now have a pretty faux aged terracotta pot to plant for your beautiful flowers. 

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