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Button Pot from the book 102 Terra Cotta Projects, published by Hot Off The Press

This pretty painted pot is easy to make and makes a fun desktop or workroom accent. (It also makes a terific gift— especially for the creative souls on your list!) Fill it with sewing supplies, scissors, pens or those paper-crafting embellishments you want to keep close at hand.

Supplies:
  • 3 1/2" wide terra cotta pot
  • acrylic paints: brown/yellow, white
  • fine point brown pen
  • buttons: thirty-five 1/2"-1" wide white, brown, tan, black
  • 11/2" wide torn edge green/ivory plaid cotton fabric
  • 1/2" wide flat paintbrush
  • E-6000® glue
  • liquid acrylic sealer
  • Krylon® Crystal Clear Coating spray sealer
 
Button, Button

LeNae's Tip: Terra cotta is very porous and requires sealing with the liquid sealer before painting. Sealing saves time and the amount of paint used to cover the pot. It will also help prevent breaking and chipping. Seal with Krylon® after painting. This will not smear penwork and gives a nice finish.
 

Painting Technique: Floating:
Use a flat brush. Dip the brush in water and touch gently onto a paper towel to remove excess water. Dip one corner into a fresh puddle of paint. Blend by stroking back and forth on the palette 2-3 times. Touch again to the paper towel, then stroke onto the project. Practice first on paper; the two most common mistakes are leaving too much water on the brush or using too much paint. Float a darker color to shade; float a lighter or brighter color to highlight.

floating technique, demonstrated

Instructions
  • Seal the pot and let dry. Paint the pot sides white and let dry. Paint the rim brown/yellow and let dry. Use the float brush to flat the brown/yellow paint under the pot rim and at the bottom edge; let dry
  • Use the brown pen to draw stitches under the rim and around the bottom of the pot. Seal the pot and let dry.
  • Glue the fabric piece to the center front of the pot and glue a cluster of buttons in the center. Glue the remaining buttons around the rim of the pot, starting with the largest buttons and then the small buttons stacked between.

 

This project was reprinted from the book 102 Terra Cotta Projects, written by LeNae Gerig and published by Hot Off The Press.