French Country Terra Cotta Pots

Hey friends, it’s no secret around here that I love French Country decor. With Spring coming around the corner, I thought that it would be a great time to start making some fun diy’s for the season. I love the look of antique pots, but the price tag…not so much! I decided to head on over to the Graphics Fairy for some inspiration on how to diy my own French Country Terra Cotta Pots.

If you haven’t been over there yet, I highly suggest that you go check it out. I will warn you ahead of time, that you will be there for quite a while. There are so many things to look at and so many diy projects to learn and get inspired from. With that being said, this project is inspired from there and it is where I learned it from.

Supplies Needed:

A terra cotta pot, green and white paint, antique wax and a printable to make a french country terra cotta pot

Terra Cotta Pots (any size)
Paint colors of your choice. I am using Waverly Chalk Paint in Moss and White.
Antique Wax
Sea Sponge
Paintbrush
Wet Paper Towels or baby wipes
Graphics Fairy French Typography Labels

How to make your own French Country Terra Cotta Pots

Applying white watered down paint to a terra cotta pot

You will first start by painting your pot white with watered down paint. You can also use a spray bottle with water and spray the pot before you add the paint and after. The purpose of this is to create a white wash effect.

Using a paper towel to apply white paint to a terra cotta pot.

Working in small sections, apply the paint, spray with water and then rub it off with the paper towel. Terra Cotta pots are very porous and will absorb the paint quickly. If it gets too heavy in areas, just add more water to it.

applying green paint to a terra cotta pot

Next, grab the sea sponge and apply a small amount of the green paint to it. Dab the paint around the bottom portion of the pot.

It’s all about creating layers of paint with this project to really give it that aged and antique look. With the same sea sponge, dab the antique wax around the base of the pot. I basically applied all over the pot, rubbing it in as I went along.

A terra cotta pot, paper transfers and mod podge

How to add labels to your French Country Terra Cotta Pot

When printing out the french typography labels, you will want to make sure that you print them out in reverse, as we will be doing a reverse transfer method here.

Applying a french country transer to a terra cotta pot using mod podge

Before applying the label, paint mod podge onto the surface of where the label will be. While it is still wet, place the label over the mod podge area. Rub with your hands to smooth out any wrinkles. This is the real important part… set aside to dry completely. It is recommended to let dry for 24 hours. I let mine set for a couple of hours and it worked with no problems. However, I would let it dry for as long as you can to ensure a good transfer.

Spraying water onto a terra cotta pot to remove a paper transfer

Once it is completely dry, spray with water to completely saturate it. The more water, the better!

Using water and a wet paper towel to remove a transfer onto a terra cotta pot.

Now, grab a rag or paper towel and gently rub off the paper. You will be left with a beautiful transferred image on the terra cotta pot.

I ended up applying more antique wax on and around the image to help blend it in and to add just a little bit more of the aged look.

That’s all there is too it! You can see just how easy it is to make your own French Country Terra Cotta pot. I love how they turned out so much that I ended up making a few of them.