Friday, April 9, 2010

1 Pot 4 Ways

So I was trying to come up with an inexpensive but cute gift idea for a family member who loves to garden. I found plain plastic pots at the dollar store, they came in a 4 pack. You know the ones, they are terracotta colored and about 6" in diameter. I picked up a pack and brought them home with me.

I'm on a scrapbook paper kick lately, trying hard to come up with ways to use some of my huge stash up without actually scrapbooking (yeah..makes perfect sense, right?). So I had a bunch of scraps to use up, and started to play around with them on these pots and decided to go for it.

I present to you....one pot, four ways. I started by giving all of the pots a quick coat around their rims with paint. I didn't want to have to mess with trying to cover those with paper. I used Kilz in "Antique White", one quick coat and I didn't bother sanding, priming, or even giving it a complete coat. I was going with the "shabby" look.

Then each pot got a liberal coat of Mod Podge (I used gloss) followed by the scrapbook paper. I thought that strips would be the way to go as opposed to trying to cover the pot with a solid piece of paper. Definitely made it easier.

After giving each pot a coat of the same Mod Podge to seal it, I went to work on the embellishments. Jute rope, ribbon and silk flowers are what I ended up using. I waited until the pots were completely dry before decorating them. I used a hot glue gun to affix everything.

I really like how they all turned out the same, but different. I like how I rotated between two different papers on each pot, makes it a bit more fancy. However it would be cute to use all the same paper on one, I'm going to try that next time.

This project couldn't have been less expensive, especially if you have the tools on hand. Besides the $1 for the pots (well...$1.09 with tax) I didn't spend another dime and used things I already had. You could even get ultra creative and try to use pots you already have. Think black gallon nursery pots or metal cans (like coffee or from canned goods). Just make sure to add drainage holes if needed.

I put another smaller pot inside of the finished product. If the Mod Podge got really wet well then all bets are off. I still don't know if I'd trust it with a heavy coat of acryclic sealant. I also wouldn't use these outside either, but for indoor plants. They would be cute on a end table or in your kitchen window, if your so lucky to have one. Just don't forget the coasters!


Linking up to the following,
http://itssoverycheri.com/

6 comments:

  1. These are beautiful - the accents go so well with the colors.

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  2. I like those! I've wondered about covering some of my pots with fabric, but not sure how to seal it ... or if I should seal it.

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  3. I love these! What a great way to use the scrapbook paper. Great gift ideas with the plant inside! I may have to give this a try.

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  4. These turned out great! I love the first and third pots myself! Glad to hear the strips worked out well. I have lots of scrapbook paper and some are left-over pieces, so might work well for this project.

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