How to Make Southwestern Painted Pots and Mosaic Tile Planters

You can turn an ordinary terra cotta clay pot into an extraordinary piece of art. You can find inexpensive terra cotta clay planters at any outdoor garden store and they are so much fun to paint! In addition, you can also create a fabulous southwestern mosaic tile planter as well. They can be made in any size, color or design combination that you choose.

To make a painted southwestern pot the materials you will need:

Sandpaper

Clay pots and saucers

Acrylic paints with brushes

Terra cotta sealant or shellac

To prepare the pot you will want to take the sandpaper and sand off any rough spots. Then, start by painting the top rim of the pot and paint the saucer to match. This just kind of brings it all together. Next, with a small brush paint the southwestern designs. You may want to paint the design free hand or you can use a stencil. If you are planning on using your planter outside, be sure to seal the outside and inside of the pot so that your design doesn't come off.

Colors that would be considered southwestern:

Turquoise

Tan

Rust

Yellow

Red

Orange

Warm green

Warm blues

Designs that would be considered southwestern:

Cactus

Coyotes

Sun

Moon

Desert

Indians

Cowboys

Saloon

Horses

Kokopelli

Rattlesnake

At least that kind of gives you an idea of what colors and designs would be considered southwestern.

To make a southwestern mosaic tile planter the materials you will need:

Mosaic adhesive (found at craft stores)

Southwestern colored mosaic tiles

Terra cotta clay pots

Newspaper

Hammer

First you want to break all the mosaic tiles up so that they can be used to decorate the clay pots. Place them between 2 sheets of newspaper and just start breaking them up with the hammer. The size of the pieces that you will be able to use will be between ½ to 1 inch. You can discard any pieces that are not of this size.

Apply the mosaic tiles with the adhesive to the clay pot. Be sure to space all pieces evenly covering the pot. Then, let the planter dry for 24 hours. Once it is dry you can paint the spaces between each tile for added effect.

Whether you decide to paint your clay pots or apply mosaic tiles, you will end up with a beautiful southwestern piece of art. Some people make these to sell, for gifts or just to decorate their own southwestern style homes.