How To Age Flower Pots (Find OUT)

Flower pots are a beautiful way to add some greenery to your home. They can also help you communicate your personality and style to the world with their unique shapes, colors, and textures. 

If you’re looking for a way to make your flower pots stand out even more, why not try aging them? Aged flower pots have an antique appeal that’s perfect for anyone who wants their home to look like it was built in another era. 

However, don’t worry: It’s not actually as complicated as it sounds! 

There are lots of different ways you can age your flower pots so that they fit perfectly into any space or style.

How To Age Terracotta Pots / DIY Aged Planter
Key Takeaways from “How to Age Flower Pots: Find Out the Easy and Best Ways”
Pot aging involves artificially aging flower pots to achieve an antique or vintage look.
Aging flower pots can give your garden a timeless look and aesthetically complement blooms.
Different materials – including plastic, metal, terra-cotta- can be aged using various methods.
The aging process for flower pots varies by method and pot material, such as a painting layering method for French flower pots or applying yogurt and moss for terra-cotta pots.
You can age flower pots using sanding, painting, or coating them with various materials to create texture and patina.

Spatter Paint

You can also use a sponge to apply paint, which is great for creating a pattern. You could also use stencils and brushes.

If you have an old pot that you’re looking to spatter paint, try using a brayer (or one of those rubber-tipped craft rollers) to apply the paint in random patterns. 

This will give the pot an aged look without much effort on your part!

Aging plastic flower pots can give them a more weathered look, even if they’re new! Follow our easy fix guide for aging plastic flower pots to achieve the perfect vintage vibe.

Antique Vaseline Glass Flower Pots

To make this project, you’ll need:

  • Heat gun
  • Vaseline glass pot
  • Potting soil (optional)

Melt the vaseline glass with a heat gun. If you want to create a specific pattern on your pot like stripes or polka dots you can use masking tape to mark off where you want the vaseline glass to melt and then hold it over the location of your choice until melted, letting go when a stripe is complete. 

The vaseline glass will crack but have a distressed look as well as be cloudy and have a matte finish after cooling.

Materials Needed for Making Antique Vaseline Glass Flower Pots

MaterialsDescription
Heat gunA tool that blows hot air to melt vaseline glass.
Vaseline glass potA glass pot that reacts to ultraviolet light and appears greenish-yellow.
Potting soilOptional material that can be used to plant flowers in the pot after decoration.

Steps for Making Antique Vaseline Glass Flower Pots

StepsDescription
Step 1Collect materials and set up your work area.
Step 2Prepare your vaseline glass pot by cleaning it and applying masking tape if needed.
Step 3Turn on the heat gun and aim it at the pot to melt the vaseline glass.
Step 4Hold the heat gun over the location of your choice until you achieve the desired pattern.
Step 5Let the pot cool off before removing the masking tape and filling it with potting soil and flowers (optional).

Staining Terracotta Pots

The first step of staining terracotta pots is to give them a good wash. Use a mild detergent and warm water, followed by a thorough rinse. 

If there are any cracks or chips in your pottery, reinforce them with clear epoxy glue (available at most hardware stores). 

Next, fill your sink with enough water to submerge your terracotta pot completely. Add small amount of dye to the water until it reaches the desired color tone; avoid using too much dye as this will make the pot look darker overall when dry instead of adding subtle shading to its surface. 

Once you have reached the desired color saturation, strain out any excess dye and allow it to drip-dry for about five minutes before putting it on top of an absorbent cloth or paper towel for another five minutes until all traces of moisture have been removed from it’s surface

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Let Paint Bleed Into The Pots

When you’re using paint to create a design, use a brush. For example, if you are drawing on your flower pot with a foam brush or sponge brush, make sure it is damp but not dripping wet. 

This will allow the paint to flow smoothly onto the surface and not clump up too much. The same goes for spatter brushes and stencils: they need to be moistened but not soaking wet in order for them to work properly. 

If you want an uneven texture with lots of texture, consider using a roller instead of traditional brushes!

Materials Needed for Letting Paint Bleed Into The Pots

MaterialsDescription
Flower potThe pot that will be painted on.
PaintThe color or colors of choice that will be used on the pot.
Foam or sponge brushA brush meant to create a design by not applying too much paint.
WaterA spray bottle or container filled with water for dampening the brush.

Steps for Letting Paint Bleed Into The Pots

StepsDescription
Step 1Collect materials and set up your work area.
Step 2Apply the paint of your choice to the foam or sponge brush.
Step 3Dampen the brush with water, making sure it is not dripping wet.
Step 4Hold the brush against the pot and let the paint bleed into the surface.
Step 5Continue this process until the desired design has been achieved.

Add Some Rust To Your Flower Pots

If you want to age your flower pots, simply add some rust. You can do this by rubbing a wire brush over the surface of the pot and letting it air dry.

If you don’t want to paint over the rust, use a metal primer before painting with your desired color.

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Crackle Paint Your Flower Pots

First, purchase the paint that you want to use. If you want to make your flower pot look like a rusty old bucket, then buy a rusty-looking brown or black latex paint. You can also get an aged look by using an earthy color like green or tan.

Prep your pots by washing them thoroughly and drying them off completely before beginning the project. Make sure there is no dirt still left on them because it will get into the cracks of your newly painted cracks and ruin the effect of aging quickly!

Next, apply one thin coat of your chosen color all over each pot in an even layer with either a sponge brush or rag (if you are working with very small pots). 

Let it dry for at least 24 hours before applying another coat if necessary (if so, wait 48 hours between coats) until desired coverage is achieved! 

Be sure not put any too close together because this may cause cracking where there shouldn’t be any; however , I recommend putting two coats on larger pots like mine just incase they weren’t opaque enough when viewed up close due to their size difference versus small ones….

Paint A Pretty Pattern On Your Pots

If you want to create an eye-catching pot, try painting a pretty pattern on it. You can use any type of paint and any method. Some popular options include:

Stencils – Use stencils and apply the same amount of pressure all over the surface. This will ensure a smooth finish that doesn’t look too thick or thin in certain places.

Brushes – Paint with brushes if you want more control over how thick your strokes are going to be. If you have an older pot that has quite a few cracks in it (and wants to crack more), then this would be a good option! You can also use this technique for any kind of pattern like stripes or polka dots!

Sponges – If you want something different than what we mentioned above, then buy yourself some sponge “paints” from your local craft store instead! 

They come in all shapes and sizes so finding one is easy enough as long as there isn’t too much competition around where I live… That’s why I usually use sponges instead because they’re cheaper than buying real paint bottles from art supply stores.”

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Decoupage Fabric Onto Flower Pots

Buy or make fabric you’d like to use. You can use any kind of fabric, but look for something that’s easy to cut and won’t fray.

Apply the glue with a brush and layer it on thickly so there are no air pockets in the surface of your flower pot. 

If necessary, let dry between layers so that it’s completely cured before adding another coat of Mod Podge over top to seal everything together once done!

Repeat this process until desired thickness is achieved (we used up about four layers altogether). Once finished with this step, let set overnight before proceeding onto painting!

Decoupage Paper Onto Flower Pots With Mod Podge

To create the decoupage, you’ll need:

  • Mod Podge (I used Gloss)
  • Paper of choice

Apply the Mod Podge with a foam brush in a thin layer onto your pot. Let it dry for 15 minutes or so, then apply another thin layer to cover all of your paper. 

Smooth down the paper using a brush or roller. You will have to use some elbow grease to get rid of any bubbling that may occur around the edges where there is excess glue don’t worry too much about this though! 

I’ve found that my pots look more professional if they have some bubbles and wrinkles because they look more handmade rather than “perfectly smooth.” Let dry for 1 hour before moving on to painting.

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White Wash Your Terracotta Flower Pot

To give your terracotta flower pot a white washed look, you will need:

  • A sponge
  • White paint
  • A rag or clean towel

Once you’ve gathered everything together, follow these steps to apply a coat of white paint to your terracotta flower pot:

Dip the sponge into the bowl of water and wring it out so that it’s damp but not dripping with water. Then squeeze the sponge onto the top of one side of your terracotta pot. Press down gently so that there aren’t any drips on it yet.

Dip another corner of your sponge into some more water and repeat step 1 until the entire exterior portion is covered in a thin layer of white paint (and no drips). Don’t worry about being too neat! As long as you can see that there is some sort of white coating over everything, you’re doing fine.

Wipe off any excess paint with a clean rag or towel by pressing firmly in circles until no more color comes off onto either item (this may take several passes). 

The goal here is just to remove any extra color from where it shouldn’t be; don’t worry about getting every little speck off because we’ll go over those later when applying multiple coats! Let dry for at least 24 hours before doing more coats if desired (see below).

Spray Paint Your Flower Pots.

Regardless of whether you’re using a spray paint or a brush, it’s important to give your flower pots a primer coat first. This will ensure that the paint sticks and dries properly, which is especially important if you plan on using your pot for years to come. After the primer has dried, use light coats of paint in an open area like your backyard or garage (unless you want to cover everything in white). For best results, let each coat dry completely before applying another one.

Distressing Your Flower Pots

The first step is to distress your flower pot. There are many ways you can do this, but I find that using a wire brush, hammer or paint scraper works best. You could also use sandpaper and even a hammer and chisel if you have the patience for it.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to age flower pots, all you have to do is get started! You can do this by simply taking a look at your current flower pots and checking each one against the list of requirements. 

If any of them meet all four criteria, they’re ready to be aged. But if not, don’t worry; just keep on going until they do!

We hope that this article has taught you everything you need about aging pottery or porcelain for use as a flower pot. 

With patience and dedication, anyone can age their own pottery using these simple steps. It may take some time before your first piece of ageless pottery is completed, but once done it should last forever thanks to its unique history!

Further Reading

For more information on how to age flower pots, check out these helpful resources:

Making History: Aging Pots: In this article, Martha Stewart’s team explains the importance of aging pots for flower beds and how to give your garden a timeless, antique aesthetic.

French Flower Pot Aging Method: This tutorial teaches you how to age French flower pots using a layering painting method to achieve an antique look.

How to Age a Terra Cotta Pot: This Old House provides an easy guide on how to age terra-cotta pots using yogurt, dirt, and moss to get a vintage patina.

FAQs

What is pot aging, and why is it essential?

Pot aging is the process of artificially aging a flower pot to achieve an antique or vintage look. It’s a popular trend in gardening because aged pots give an old-world aesthetic to gardens and look fantastic with blooms growing out of them.

How can I age a French flower pot?

French flower pots are easy to age using a simple layering painting method, which includes painting the pot several times with various paint shades, then sanding down certain areas for an antique finish.

Can I age a plastic flower pot?

Yes, you can age a plastic flower pot. Start by sanding it down in circular motions with sandpaper, and then using paint and a sponge to apply texture and patina.

Should I age my terra-cotta pots for indoor and outdoor plants?

Aging terra-cotta pots is a personal preference that depends on whether you want to achieve a vintage look for your garden or home. You can age your terra-cotta pots for indoor and outdoor plants to achieve a cohesive aesthetic.

Is there a limit on the type of pot that can be aged?

No. You can age any pot material, from plastic to metal and terra-cotta, using various methods such as painting, sanding, or coating it with yogurt and moss.