DIY Terra-Cotta Planter Metallic Transformation

Sinkology is proud to present Kendra Williams, a home decor expert, DIYer, furniture refinisher, and busy mom as a guest blogger. Kendra runs the blog at Momtique and she is here to share some design ideas and inspiration around designing your home with copper and around your copper sink.

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It’s that time of year again! Time to see if my green thumb is up to par with my hopes and dreams. Last year around this time, here on the Sinkology blog, I shared how I repurposed my old copper kettle into a pot for my favorite type of succulent. It’s still one of my favorite potted plants and guess what…It’s still alive!

This spring, I wanted to brighten up my patio with a little terra-cotta transformation. I was going to take this DIY one direction and quickly changed my mind. I set out to try my hand at gold leafing for the first time. I was very excited to try it because I had seen it done many times and I love how it looked. Well, I am happy to announce that I have successfully gotten gold leafing out of my system. It was not as easy as I thought it would be. I probably should have tried it first on something other than terra-cotta. I applied the gold leaf on the top of one large pot and ended up painting the bottom section with white chalk paint.

Here is a little gold leaf tutorial. Clean the surface. Apply Mod Podge with a clean brush. Let dry for about a minute. The directions said to let the adhesive dry for 10-15 minutes before applying the gold leaf but it was completely dry after about 5 minutes so I adjusted. Gently, and I mean gently, apply the gold leaf. Let it sit for a few minutes. Use a soft paintbrush to take off access gold leaf. Let it sit for another minute or so. This part is optional, I applied Mod Podge over the gold leaf to keep it all in place. I also used a high grit sandpaper to lightly sand the edges to give it a rough look.