DIY Project - Painted Pots!

Ok friends - this is my very first attempt at writing a DIY Project blog! I have been crafting for almost all of my 28 years - and I am ready to start sharing some of my fun projects with you.

This Spring & Summer have been all about the pots and plants. I decided to start container gardening, and being the crafty gal I am - I just had to have handpainted pots! So here we go on the tutorial:

Supplies:

• Terra Cotta Pot(s)


• Acrylic Paints - Basic white for base coat & pretty colors for fun


• Brushes - Sponge Brushes are easy and cheap


• Polyurethane for sealing


• Drop Cloth or Newspaper to protect your work surface


• Wax paper or something to squirt out your paint on

The Process:

Step One: Start with a clean, dry pot - mine were all new - but it doesn't hurt to rinse them off. Paint the pot with two base coats - I used Acrylic Gesso - but you can use Spray Paint too.

Step Two: Paint the pot a pretty color! Acrylic paints are inexpensive and readily availbe at Craft and Hobby Stores. You can judge if you need one or two coats depending on the quality of paint.

Step Three: Paint designs! I tried to keep things simple and just painted freehand. If you're a beginner, try drawing your designs on the pot with a pencil and then painting over them. A Q-Tip works great for little dots...

Optional: Try Decoupage! Such a fancy word for an easy technique - cut out shapes from Fashion Magazines and glue them on with White Glue or ModgePodge. After many months of rain - my Decoupaged pots aren't holding up as well - but they're still cute!

Step Four: After the paint is all dry - spray the pots with 2 coats of Polyurethane Spray. Do this OUTSIDE and follow the instructions on the product. It helps to coat the inside of the pot too, as terra cotta is very pourous.

Enjoy your Pots! Check out more of my crafts and additional pot pictures in my iTaggit Crafts Collection. I would love to see your crafty projects posted on iTaggit for all to see!

Czech Pottery & Texas Traditions

Today I used iTaggit's awesome research feature to find out more about a piece of pottery I purchased last year. It's a funky bowl from the 1950's with a gorgeous linnear design and a pretty glaze. I was able to make out DITMAR URBACH on the mark, and found a website with a history of this pottery online, as well as photos of their marks.

It's a Czecheslovakian factory that has it's origins in the late 1800s, and was two factories combined into one. After going through several ownerships, it was confiscated by the Nazi's in 1938, and then nationalized in 1945. I found this info on the Collector's Circle website.

I was also able to find a matching piece online! I have contacted the owner of this vase to see about buying it, and used their selling price as a reference in valuing mine.

Now - onto Texas Traditions. For those of you who don't know, Texas has a rich history of immigrants from Eastern Europe. One of the cultural groups that is thriving is that of Czech Descendants. Any Texan can swear by a homemade Kolache - yummy pastries with fruit (or many other) fillings that are sold all over the State.

I have fond memories of going to the Texas Folk Life Festival as a kid, eating Kolaches, and going 2-Steppin' at the local SPSJT Hall. In fact, no road trip from Austin to Dallas is complete without a stop in West, Texas - home of the best Kolaches around!



So you see - I was meant to own this piece of Czech Pottery - it's right at home here in Central Texas! Without iTaggit, I never would have learned all this info. One of the things I love so much about collecting is how it can enrich your life!

See my decorations collection here, and check out more of my blog posts here!