Painted Geometric DIY Flower Pots | There for the Making: Earth Day!

Today I’m getting up on my soapbox to talk about two things that make me tick: budget-friendly projects and environmentalism! Earth Day is this Saturday, April 22nd, and I am so excited to share an eco-friendly project with you. It also happens to be the second edition of There for the Making, my new zero-dollar, no-spend DIY challenge! We can do so much for our planet by reusing what we have, shopping our own closets and storage before driving to the store to buy MORE, and repurposing things that would otherwise end up in a landfill. This month’s challenge was all about getting into the spirit of reducing, reusing, and recycling, so I took three mismatched old pots and gave them a cool new look. Let me show you how I breathed new life into my DIY flower pots!

I come from a family of environmentalists, so the desire to be ecological is deeply ingrained in me. I keep a garden, we recycle, we try to eat out our fridge rather than throwing things away, and I try to shop my own stash before buying new. I’m looking at building a composter so that we can reduce our garbage footprint. We all slip up sometimes, but I’ve found that it really isn’t that hard to be a little « greener » in our daily lives. It just requires a bit of mindfulness.

Spring is always when I start dreaming about dressing up our front entrance and back porch with some cheerful planters, and this year is no exception. The last of the snow has finally melted and now I’m ready for the weather to warm up enough to start planting things! In anticipation of gardening season, I decided to give a facelift to three mismatched flower pots I’ve had kicking around for a few years. Their colours worked together, but certainly weren’t full of personality or originality. Rather than buy new ones, (and planters and pots can cost a pretty penny!) I decided to get out my stash of paint and add some geometric patterns to them.

How to Paint Geometric DIY Flower Pots

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Materials

Flower pots of your choosing – mine are glazed ceramic pots, which are trickier to paint, but still possible! Unglazed terra cotta pots would be simpler to paint, though.
Acrylic craft paint and paintbrushes – I mostly used small foam brushes
Spray-on sealer
Green painter’s tape
Marker (I used a sharpie and just rubbed off the marker spots after I finished painting.)

Directions

1. Begin by cleaning your pots thoroughly with warm soapy water. Dry them well.

2. Measure the diameter of your pot and mark the opposite sides lightly with a marker. Do this for the opposite sides and the in-between points.

3. To make « V » shapes, measure up from each in-between point to the desired height of your « V » and mark it.

4. Tape off your desired pattern and press down the tape firmly to seal it.

5. Paint 3-4 coats of paint, allowing it to full dry between applications. When the last coat is fully dry, carefully remove the tape. If your design’s edges have imperfections, simply clean them up with a fine paint brush or an exacto knife.

6. In a well-ventilated, protected area (ideally outdoors), spray-seal your design. Apply two thin coats of the sealant, according to the directions on the product. Allow it to fully cure before adding your plants! *Unfortunately, this step isn’t as eco-friendly as I would like. Take heart, my fellow environmentalists: sealing your pots will allow them to be re-used year after year, which will ultimately cut down on pollution.*

I had fun choosing some beautiful hyacinth and muscari as Easter treats for our family. Of course I couldn’t resist snapping some pics of those blooms in my newly made-over pots!

FIY, I decided to free-hand (still measuring, but without taping) the two rings on the bright green pot. I wasn’t 100% happy with the finish of the blue ring on the light blue pot (for which I used tape), so I went rogue with my second attempt! 🙂 The problem with the tape, of course, is that it is hard to make a long, horizontal line on a round surface.

↓ Don’t forget to pin it! ↓

To continue the Earth Day inspiration, be sure to check out my fellow participants in this month’s There for the Making challenge. Each of them created a beautiful project without spending any money, and all of them have something to do with repurposing – perfect for Earth Day!