Cactus Pot Painting for Colorful Home Decor

Try this easy cactus pot painting with terra cotta and bright paint colors – the cute sayings will cheer up any dreary days!

Skills Required: Beginner. It helps to have experience painting, but only very basic painting. Otherwise you’ll also be applying vinyl – it’s pretty simple.

The East Coast is a BEYOND dreary place to be living right now. It’s gray, it’s freezing – I’m over it. So, this week I knew I had to inject some happy into my gloomy winter life, and I found just the DIY project to do it with these bright and fun cactus planters!

Painted Cactus Pots

These painted pots were so easy and cheap to make and are the perfect little cure for the winter blues. Before we dive into the craft, I wanted to give you some “must dos” before beginning this home decor project.

Clay pots are typically unglazed and porous, meaning that when you water the cactus pot, you could ruin the paint and design on the outside (because dirty water soaks through). If you give these as a gift, that would stink. So – you’ll need to prepare the pots.

Preparing the Pots

The first step in preparing new clay pots is to wipe away dust or dirt. The second step is to carefully seal both the inside and outside. Not only will this help your decorated design on the outside of the pot resist blistering, it will also help the interior to keep moisture in the soil. I can recommend two different sealing techniques:

1. Spray seal the entire pot, inside and out with a couple coats of Clay Pot Sealer. Allow each application to dry before applying the next.
2. The second method I recommend is to apply FolkArt Outdoor Sealer over the entire surface. For extra protection, apply a second coat on the interior walls of your pot to help create a waterproof barrier to protect your exterior decoration.

Once you do that, you’re ready to begin your project! You’ll want to use this prep method for any terra cotta painting you do if it’s going to be exposed to dirt and water.

You’re going to make these pots in three easy steps. You’ve already prepped the pots, so you’re going to paint them. Then you’re going to apply the vinyl decals. It’s easy! Let’s dive in.

Gather These Supplies

• Small Clay Pots
• Paint
• Paintbrush
• Vinyl Sayings
• Cactus and Soil

Paint the Pots

1. Paint pots in the bright colors of your choice. Let dry and apply a second (and possibly third) coat of paint. Once you’re finished painting, allow to dry completely.

Apply the Sayings

2. Apply the vinyl sayings. I cut mine using my Silhouette Portrait and my designs are by Kristen Magee in the Silhouette Design Store.

If you don’t have a cutting machine, you can purchase vinyl stickers off of Etsy. You can get custom ones as well. So whatever you can dream of, you can put on your pots! Just search your phrase on Etsy.

Plant the Cacti

3. Plant your pots! I found these fun colorful cacti at my local Walmart. The colors were just too cool to pass up.

Don’t pack the soil too tight. You want it to be able to drain still.

4. You’re done! And your life is a little brighter. I mean, how cute are these?

I feel like these painted cactus pots would make perfect gifts, especially for coworkers. It’s totally reasonable that a coworker could keep a cactus alive, right?

HELLO! SO. CUTE. And totally customizable.

How are you kicking the forever-winter blues? Give me all your tips! And be sure to visit us as we blog about style, food, and the things we love over at the Pretty Life Girls. I’d also love for you to check out these other cute posts:

• Make Faux Cacti from Socks for Your Quirky Garden
• Make an EASY DIY Bird Feeder: Two Ways!
• Mini Planters for Your Tiny Succulent Garden
• Clay Pot Christmas Trees That Kids Will Love!