If you love crafting with clay pots and making them pretty, you’re going to love these 50+ ideas for pot decoration. Perfect for beginners!
Do you love flowers? Do you enjoy having pretty things in your home decor? Maybe you’re looking for a unique way to decorate an outdoor space or garden.
All of these are great reasons to try pot decoration. And I’m going to show you how to do it with some great ideas.
Pot decoration is the act of adding different materials (fabric, paint, clay, vinyl) to the outside of pots, urns, planters, and other terra cotta or ceramic containers.
The idea is to create something beautiful out of them. It’s really easy, even with the tapered shape that most pots provide.
Tips for Decorating Plant Pots
We have a guide for clay pot painting, but these projects go beyond simply painting. There are a variety of types of supplies and methods used (like decoupage), so you’re going to get a ton of great ideas.
Preparing Your Surface
Before you start any crafting, you’ll need to prepare your pots. Clay pots found in craft stores, garden shops, and DIY home improvement stores are unglazed and porous.
This means they are not waterproof. You’re going to seal the pots.
Unglazed or unsealed terra cotta will draw moisture from the plant and soil keeping the pot moist. Extra moisture may affect the external decoration allowing paint to blister if not properly sealed.
Sealing the Pots
The first step in preparing new clay flower 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. There are 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 layer.
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.
Ready to transform your ordinary pots into extraordinary decor pieces? Dive into our pot decoration ideas below. There are some great ideas – let me know which one is your favorite in the comments.
1
Simple DIY Flower Pot Project
Decoupage fabric on terra cotta in this fun DIY flower pot project. You’ll love the transformation from boring to fun and pretty!
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2
Flower Pot Decoration Ideas (Three Unique!)
Decoupage fabric on terra cotta in this fun DIY flower pot project. You’ll love the transformation from boring to fun and pretty!
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3
DIY Flower Pot Using Photos
This Mod Podge DIY flower pot is a great Mother’s Day gift for moms and grandparents alike – and would also make a great table centerpiece!
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4
Decoupage Flower Pots with Pretty Napkins
Learn how to decoupage flower pots using napkins and Mod Podge! This easy craft adds beauty to your home decor. Also makes a great gift.
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5
Jessica Anderson
Flower Pot Craft with Sharpie
Use a Sharpie to make dots in this unique flower pot craft! It’s so easy that it’s great for kids, for teens, and for adults. . . you just need a few simple supplies.
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6
Clay Pot Mushrooms
Learn how to make the cutest mushrooms using terra cotta pots! These are very easy to make, for kids or adults.
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7
Lisa Tilse
Plant Pot Painterly Makeover
This pot decoration tutorial combines two of Lisa passions: indoor plants and fabulous ceramics. With some paint, the resulting planters are totally transformed and on trend, decorated with big painterly brush strokes.
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8
Iridescent Plant Pots for a Unicorn Party
These terracotta plant pots are unicorn inspired, with iridescent cello wrap applied with Mod Podge and confetti. Perfect for parties!
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9
Easy Mod Podge Terra Cotta Pots with Fabric
Use pretty fabric on these Mod Podge terra cotta pots for the perfect EASY spring craft project! Makes a great container garden – or gift idea.
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10
lemonlimeadventures.com
DIY Star Wars Garden Pots
Who are your favorite Star Wars characters? Commemorate them on the sides of some clay pots with a little bit of paint and some imagination.
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11
www.makingjoyandprettythings.com
DIY Gold Foil Painted Pots
If you've never used gold leaf, it's way easier than it looks. I love the idea of using gold leaf on plant pots – with any base color you like.
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12
www.kenarry.com
Broken China Mosaic Flower Pots
Learn how to make broken china mosaics using old plates. This step-by-step tutorial shows how to decorate mosaic flower pots for succulents or any other type of plant you'd like.
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13
Kelly Roenicke
Teeny Plants in Glittered Pots
Teeny tiny pots are the cutest! Decorate them very easily using Mod Podge and glitter. You can use any color of glitter to make your pots bling!
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14
timewiththea.com
The High-End Makeover for Plain Plastic Plant Pots
You can decorate pots with lace and it looks really pretty! You won't believe how easy it is, and these will look great in any room of your home.
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15
thecrazycraftlady.com
Easy Dollar Store Planter Makeover
If you ever shopped for planters you know they can get on the pricey side, especially if you’re decorating a whole room or outside area. But, you can create your own with a simple makeover of a dollar store planter and Aimee's tutorial.
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16
Faux Ceramic Glaze on a Painted Planter
Use Mod Podge and acrylic paint to create a unique DIY planter with a faux ceramic glaze. It looks like beautiful, hand painted ceramic when done!
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17
www.hometalk.com
DIY Embossed Mermaid Flower Pots
Learn how to make your own DIY mermaid flower pots with Texture Powder, Metallic Cream, and All-in-One Decor Paint!
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18
Sammy Jameson
DIY Colorful Summer Pots
I'm a big fan of pot decoration with bold colors – AND geometric shapes! These are so cute and colorful, and perfect with any style plants.
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19
Clay Pot Gnomes
Create adorable terra cotta pot gnomes using clay pots and craft paint – a fun and easy spring project!
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20
Katie Bower
Spray Painted Ombre Pot Decoration
Learn how to turn a large pot into something a little bit more interesting for your front porch! Instead of just a field of white, you can make this ombre effect.
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21
thecraftedlife.com
Black and White Painted Planter
If you can believe it, the little triangle dots on this pot decor were made with the end of an eraser! It's really easy to turn into a stamp. This project is really easy to paint!
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22
www.artsyfartsymama.com
DIY Glitter Flower Pots
Add some Color Shift paint to your pots and then top with glitter paint! These pots are perfectly sparkly and great for giving as gifts to teachers, neighbors, friends and anyone else who needs a little plant action in their lives.
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23
Meatloaf and Melodrama
DIY Rustic Succulent Pots
Buy inexpensive pots or grab some from your collection to reuse! Use shades of aqua paint for rustic pot decoration that will look great with multiple styles of decor, including farmhouse.
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24
Afroza Khan
Boho Dark Floral Painted Pots
I love using painted flowers for pot decorating! These particular painted flowers look great on a background of black, for stunning results that are easy to achieve.
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25
Maryal Miller Carter
DIY Whitewashed Terracotta Pots
Chalk paint is perfect for whitewashing! It looks great on these simple decorated pots, with a simple black boho inspired design painted right on top.
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26
Denise Cortes
DIY Geometric Painted Pot Decor
Denise loves to propagate succulents from cuttings, so she dressed up some regular terra cotta pots to house them. These fresh colors add a perfectly modern touch to her patio.
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27
freshmommyblog.com
Waffle Cone Ice Cream Painted Flower Pots
These fun Waffle Cone Ice Cream Painted Flower Pots are a simple to make and even topped with a cherry! Perfect for summer decor, an ice cream social or to satisfy your DIY sweet tooth.
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28
Amy Anderson
Lacy Airbrushed Flower Pots
Decorated flower pots are easy to make with lace trim and an airbrush machine (you can also use spray paint). These flower pots are inexpensive and easy to paint, and a new flower or herb is always a welcome gift.
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29
Kara Whitten
DIY Terrazzo Stand Planter
Terrazzo is hugely popular these days, and you can get the same effect on any surface with vinyl. Kara will show you how it's done.
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30
firstdayofhome.com
How to Decoupage Flower Pots with Napkins
Once you learn how to decoupage flower pots with napkins, you’ll never look at a pot the same way! The active time involved is minimal, though you should plan to wait about 20-30 minutes between coats and 3-7 days before placing your pots outdoors.
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31
Angie Holden
Fabric Plant Pots Using Mod Podge Ultra
Covering plant pots with fabric is even easier when you use Mod Podge Ultra. Plus you can use them indoors or out, and the process is really easy.
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32
littleredwindow.com
Hello There Stenciled Flower Pots
Make your own cheerful and colorful stenciled flower pots using contact paper and outdoor craft paint! This is so cute and I love the potential messages I could try.
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33
Kathy Beymer
Square Geometric Painted Pot
This geometric painted planter is actually super easy to make yourself by hand. It may look complicated but it’s actually really simple for beginners!
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34
Vanessa Brady
Chalkboard Planters with Stencils and Paint
This pot decoration idea from Vanessa is pretty smart! Paint pots like normal, but add a chalkboard stencil that you can write on. Then you can label your plants.
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35
Lindsay Gilbert
DIY Galaxy Flower Pot
If you're all about the galaxy trend, you're going to love this pretty pot decoration! You'll use a variety of paint colors plus a splash of glitter and white.
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36
blog.creativekismet.com
Day of the Dead Planters
During Dia de los Muertos, sugar skulls and other decorated skull-like things are given to the living and the dead. These calaveras planters are perfect for painting and turning into a useful gift! The plants kinda look like hair.
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37
Vanessa Hunt
How to Age New Garden Pots
It's fun buying new plant pots, but what if you want them a little more distressed to match your decor? This simple tutorial will show you how to do it! Perfect for decorating old pots too, that might have a few chips and scuffs.
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38
www.decoist.com
Two-Tone Painted Pots
Looking for an easy DIY project you can complete in an afternoon? These two geometric painted pots are simple but the payoff is big.
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39
Lisa Tutman-Oglesby
Handcrafted Clay Labels For Herb Pots
This is one of my favorite pot decoration ideas ever! Lisa used clay and cookie cutters to make words that she could attach to her terra cotta, then she painted right over the top.
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40
Stephanie Gerber
Nail Polish Marbled DIY Planters
Nail polish marbling is a very cool technique that also works with plant pots! Use this nail polish pot decoration method to make all sorts of fun and pretty patterns.
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41
www.stonegableblog.com
Torn Tissue Paper
Tear designs out of tissue paper or napkins to make the coolest plant pots! This is a beautiful idea.
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42
style-squeeze.com
Boho Aztec Painted Terra Cotta Pots
Get some great ideas for Aztec themed pot decoration – they're super easy too! You'll also learn how to create your own stamp out of a sponge.
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43
printablecrush.com
Bloom Hand Lettered Flower Pot
This pretty hand lettered flower pot is SO easy to make with Sharpie painting pens! The possibilities to create with these are endless, and you can use any words you like.
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44
Kristie Cain
DIY Pretty Face Planters
Sometimes a smile just brightens a day – and when it's painted on a pot, there is no exception! If you use paint pens, you can make the pots underneath any color you like.
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45
makeandtell.com
Painted Dashes
There are so many ways to decorate pots as you've already seen – but how about using nail polish? It's unbelievably easy, and you can use colors you already have on hand.
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46
ispydiy.com
Dip Dye Succulent Pots
Think tie dye is just for clothing? Nope, you can use it to decorate pots as well! Dip dye these ceramic pots to layer and make a cool ombre effect.
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47
patchworkcactus.com
DIY Confetti Painted Pots
Don't have any painting skills? That's okay, you don't need any for this pot! In fact, it's so easy to make these splatters that even kids could do it. The trick is to pick some great color palettes and the rest is simple.
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48
Allison Murray
Succulent Pots Painted with Markers
If you haven't used paint pens before, you're in for a treat! Paint pots any colors you like, then use paint markers to make some easy marks to accent.
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49
www.maisondepax.com
DIY Aged Black Pottery
Love the look of aged terra cotta pots? Find out how to create DIY aged black pottery from basic clay pots with just a few steps.
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50
rainonatinroof.com
Snazzy Painted Planter Pots
Frog Tape plus spray paint makes it easy to decorate basic pots! Jenna will show you how to do it the simple way, with basic planters.
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If you enjoyed these pot design ideas, I hope you’ll check out these other great ideas to make your home spring or summer ready:
- Unique Garden Crafts Made with Mod Podge
- Dollar Tree Crafts to Make on the Cheap
- Decorate a Vase One of These Pretty Ways
- Super Cool Summer Crafts to Beat the Heat!