Fall Terracotta Pot Decoration: Great for Thanksgiving!
Some years I start preparing for holidays early, other years not so much. This year you can get started on Thanksgiving ahead of time and make these cute-as-can-be fall terracotta pot decorations.
Made out of mini terracotta pots and polymer clay embellishments (and holding a faux or real succulent), they make great Thanksgiving favors for your guests to take home. Or sell them from your antique or craft booth(!).
This project appeared in the fall issue of Country Sampler Farmhouse Style magazine in 2019.
I LOVE this magazine and cannot say enough good things about it. I’ve been working with them since 2017, creating various projects for them, and their content is superb.
Each issue is filled with dozens of farmhouse style decorating ideas and DIY projects. I show up in almost every issue!
Table of Contents
Materials
Chalk Paint the Terra Cotta Pots
Sand Back Some Paint
Make & Glue Leaves
Add Faux Succulent
The Finished Project
Other Fall DIY Projects
Materials
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Materials
- Small 2″ terracotta pots (new or old)
- Polymer clay (terracotta color)
- Clay rolling pin or Brayer
- Tiny maple leaf-shaped cookie cutter
- Chalk paint: Cottage white (or ivory or antique white)
- Foam brush
- Sand paper
- Hot glue gun
Chalk Paint the Terracotta Pots
If you don’t have old, naturally age terracotta pots on hand, then let me show you how to give new ones a bit of age.
Mix the chalk paint with a bit of water and apply a light coat to your terracotta pots. You don’t want a thick, opaque coating, but rather a light, see-through one.
Don’t worry if it looks a little sloppy. The aging process doesn’t occur uniformly!
After they’ve dried, they’ll look something like this, which mimics hard water minerals seeping through the clay.
Distress the Terracotta Pots with Sand Paper
Use sand paper to lightly sand back some of the paint on the pots to give them an aged, distressed appearance.
Make Some Maple Leaf Embellishments
Roll out the terracotta colored clay to about 1/8″ thickness and cut out leaf shapes with the cookie cutter. Cure (harden) the clay by baking them in the oven as directed.
Note: Sculpy clay should be baked at 275 degrees for 15 minutes.
Once the leaves have cooled, adhere them to the front of the terracotta pots with hot glue.
Add a Succulent
For the final touch, insert a faux succulent into the pot. You may need to stabilize it with some floral clay or floral foam glued to the bottom of the pot.
Alternatives
- Live succulent
- Tealight candle
- Jordan almonds or other candy
The Finished Project
And here you see the finished project.
How to Use These Fall Decorations
- Tuck them amongst your existing home decor, e.g., I put a few in my ironstone cupboard.
- Decorate your Thanksgiving table with with them.
- Tie on a tag with your guests name and use them as place cards.
- Send them home with your guests as a little favor, as a remembrance of the wonderful time spent around your table.
- Sell them from your antique booth or online biz (for $4-5 each).
⏩ If going with #4, be sure to have gift bags with some shredded paper to carry them home in, especially if you’ve used live succulents. Have baggies on hand for candy.
Your guests will love them!
Other Fall Projects You’ll Enjoy
Final Thoughts
It can be tricky to come up with new decorating ideas year after year, but I’ve got you covered! Try out this easy peasy terracotta pot project or one of those you can see and click on above. Happy crafting!
Bye for now,
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These are cute Diana! I’ve been crafting my little black heart out getting stuff together for fall and then our church bazaar–some to donate, some for my booth! Busy!