How to Age and Patina a New Terracotta pot FAST

Watch the VIDEO TUTORIAL here!

Whether you want to add a vintage charm to your plant collection,  coordinate a new pot with older ones in your collection, or (like me!) create a theme garden that needs an aged look, this tutorial will help you add an instant patina to your new terracotta plant pots.

I really went for it with the aged and muddy look, but it's easy to tone it down a bit for a more subtle aging effect. I used these pots for a series of three spooky plants I made for Halloween decor. If you're interested, you can check out that build video on my YouTube channel. 

Materials

• terracotta pot (the cheaper the better)!
• grey, white, brown, and green acrylic paint (poster paint or watercolour would work too. Use what you've got!)
• old paintbrush
• paper towel
• pipette (optional)
• hammer (optional)

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Step 1: Chip the rim of the pot

Step 1 (Optional): Chip the Rim of the Pot

This step is optional and risky! I used a small hammer to take a few chips out of the rim of my pot.

If you do this, wear eye protection and know that you risk cracking your pot outright.  Another option would be to grind down the rim with a file or coarse sandpaper. Please protect your lungs with a dust mask if you go this route!

Step 2: Add White Mineral Deposits

Step 2: Add White Mineral Deposits

Add the look of some mineral deposits  by flicking some watered-down white paint onto the side of your pot. Use a cheap coarse brush or an old toothbrush

Step 3: Slap on a Bit of Grunge

Step 3: Slap on a Bit of Grunge

Add some grunge around the rim of the pot by slapping on some watered-down grey paint.

Step 4: Blend out the wet paint with a damp paper towel

Step 4: Tone it Down and Blend

Blend out the paint by tapping with a crumpled-up, damp paper towel.  Here's where you can decide how much or how little you want to age your pots. You can really go for it, or take most of it off.

Step 5: Blend some green paint around the base for algae

Step 5: Add a Bit of Moss or Algae

Add some algae to the base of the pot by stippling on a bit of green paint. Blend that with the damp paper towel. 

Note that I don't wash my brush or change out the paper towel between paint colours. It adds to the aged effect!

Step 6: Drip some watery "mud" down the side of the pot

Step 6 (Optional): Muddy Drips

Use a pipette to drip some very watered-down brown paint down the sides of your pot. You might want to skip this step if you're looking for a more subtle look - but for me, the grungier the better!

If you don't have a pipette, try creating the drips with a paintbrush.

Step 7: Repeat layer of weathering for a more aged look

Step 7: Repeat as Desired

If you're going for a really aged look,  repeat any of the above steps to create layers of weathering.

You can see here that I added additional white splatters on top of the brown drips. This makes it look like this pot had been aging for years and years. For this project, I wanted to almost comically over-do it, but you can add weathering to your taste level.

If you want to watch each step of this project in detail, please check out the build video on my YouTube channel below. If you give this project a try, it would make my day if you’d share it with me. I’m @JaneSawyerMakes on TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, Threads,  and Twitter (X). Please share and pin this article!