Paint(ed) Pots

Hey guys,

I hope you've had a lovely week! Before the post actually starts I just want to explain a few things to a couple of my friends who I sent this link to without explaining. Hey guys... You probably didn't know what this link was when I sent it, but I wanted to tell you that for the last year and a half, I've been writing this blog. Originally I started writing it as the skills section for my DofE, but it's become one of my favourite things to do; I love it! I've wanted to tell everyone about it for a long time but have always been too scared to; it was especially hard when our mock and real English exams included a question about having to write a blog post. I mean, there's just a shed load of irony in that! There wasn't a particular reason why I was scared, you guys aren't monsters, I think I also liked just having something that no-one else knew about. Anyways, welcome to my little internet space, I hope you like it, and I'm sorry for not liking Matched!

Back to the post, This idea came to me as I was making the key frame last week actually. I saw a mossy old terracotta pot down the side of our house and instantly knew I could make it cool! My mum also gave the idea of wrapping string around the top, which was the difficult bit as it really didn't want to stick! I think the post is a small one, I've seen much larger ones before but It would work with any size (as long as you had enough paint). I think the overall look would look really cute on the tiny pots that you can get, they'd look so sweet!

Anyway, to do this, you'll need; paints, paintbrush, a pot and newspaper/something to put the pot on when it's wet so it doesn't make a huge mess. PVA glue and string are also optional. For the paint, I was using the leftovers that I mentioned last week and I used 'Antique Ivory' and 'Azure'. You can choose whether or not to use 2 colours, I just kind of wanted to see what it would look like.

(Who remembers Art Attack? I used to love watching it and it's probably what made me so creative! I think this PVA is a little old now.)

I painted the outside first to see how the paint would go on, and I was pleasantly surprised! It went on really well and it only took about 2 coats to make it look smooth. The inside was a lot harder though! It took about 4 coats and still looks a little patchy, even though both paints are exactly the same make. I don't really mind about the patches though, they're squished into the bottom corner so aren't overly visible. If you want the rim to be neat and not have splodges (like mine does) then you may want to use some masking tape. I couldn't find any, even though I only had it last week!

If you want to wrap string around the top, put some PVA in an old tub or bowl and run the string through it to start with. This should coat it evenly and help it stick more. (Also, start from the bottom of the part you want to cover as it's easier). You will also get a little sticky at this point so either keep some kitchen roll or something to wipe your hands on, or wait until it dries and peel it off. I remember painting my hands all the time when I was little, just so I could peel it off again afterwards! Oh the things that entertain kids! If your string is quite fluffy then it may look a little slicked down (like when hair has too much gel in it) but once it's dry, you can rough it up a little by brushing your hands over the top.

This post has a sort of summery feel to it but because the colours match my room, I think it will look super-cool with a fake plant (I would probably kill a real one!) or something cool in it! If you used outdoor paint then it would also look awesome if you had a collection of different coloured ones full of flowers!

I hope you all have a lovely week! Hopefully next week will be a September Favourites post, if I can think of favourites to write about! My mind always goes blank when I try to write a favourites post and I can only think of the same things as last time, or chocolate!

Love, Grace x