alisaburke: lettering on terracotta pots

Hi guys! It's Megan, and I'm back today with a fun lettering project!

I love incorporating creative lettering and bright colors into details around my home. I've been wanting to make some fancy garden markers, but I don't actually have a garden. I have most of my plants and herbs in various pots around the house and in the backyard, so I decided to dress those up instead!

Today, I'll be showing you how to transform some basic terra cotta pots using just a few supplies and your lettering skills!

Step 1: Gather your supplies. All you need are a few terra cotta pots in whatever sizes you'd like, acrylic based paints, a pencil, paper, and some paint brushes.

Step 2: Paint your pots in solid colors. I used some acrylic latex house paints I had lying around, but cheap acrylic craft paints work as well.

**Hint** Depending on the paint you use, you may need 2-3 coats before you are ready to move on. A few streaks here and there don't bother me, but with a few coats you should have a nice solid color laid down.

I also painted the insides. This isn't necessary, but I wanted the pots to look pretty until I'm ready to plant those particular herbs! :)

Step 3: While your base coat dries, do some sketches of the words you'll be drawing. I follow the same practice techniques as I've mentioned in previous posts.

For longer words (cilantro, rosemary, etc), I didn't want the words to wrap around the pot too far, so I stacked the lettering, making it readable from just one angle.

Step 4: Lightly sketch your words on the pots, using your final drawing as a reference/guide. You can use a regular pencil, or as you'll see above, a white charcoal pencil. Whatever you have around will work, as long as you can erase in case you make a boo boo.

Step 5: Using a small liner brush, paint your letting with a first coat of one solid color.

Step 6: Add embellishments, drop shadows, and any other details you want! I like to add drop shadows to make the letters really pop.

Don't worry about these being too perfect. It can be tricky to paint on the round surface, but little imperfections add personality!

Step 7: And lastly, once you are happy with your final project and the pots are 100% dry, slap on a quick sealer. Any clear acrylic sealer will do, but I used a spray: Krylon low odor clear, matte finish.