I have a confession: I am addicted to houseplants. If I’m at a store that has plants, I can’t walk by without bringing something home. Plants are such an easy way to give your home decor some life—literally—and some extra color, whether it’s through the plant itself or through the planter you decide to put it in. I usually buy plain terracotta pots and paint them to complement the design of whatever room they’ll go in, and I often paint designs on them as well. Terracotta pots are so cheap and can be found at nearly all home improvement and craft stores.

To start curbing my plant-buying habit and save some money, I’ve recently started propagating some of the plants I already have. That just means that I snip a few pieces off of an existing plant and then plant those pieces, allowing them to grow into their own plant. Today I am going to talk about how I customized a trio of tiny terracotta pots for some snipped cactus pieces and a tiny succulent. Read on for the full tutorial!

Supplies:

Mini terracotta potsAcrylic craft paintSmall brushesPainter’s tape

Instructions:

1. Buy terracotta pots. Terracotta pots are typically the cheapest at home improvement stores, but the smallest size they carry is usually 4 or 6 inches. I wanted tiny pots, so I went to my local craft store. They are still very cheap, though; for three pots, I only spent a few dollars.

2. Paint the base color on each pot. I painted the big and small pots black. Then, because I wanted a bit of a contrast, I painted the medium pot off white.

3. Once the paint is completely dry, tape a design onto each pot. I decided to do a gold geometric-type design on the big and small black pots, so I used painter’s tape to tape a triangle shape onto each. For the medium off white pot, I painted the pot’s lip, so I taped that off.

4. Use your paintbrush to carefully paint in the designs on each pot. I used gold paint for all three pots. The number of coats you need will depends on the paint you use, so make sure to read the instructions.

Tip: When I use acrylic paint, I like to peel the painter’s tape off immediately after painting while the paint is still wet. This helps to ensure super crisp paint lines. Then, if I need a second coat, I’ll either reapply the tape or just use a very small brush to paint in the areas that needmore coverage.

Once your designs are complete, let the pots dry and them plant! That’s it—it’s that easy to transform a few cheap terracotta pots into modern planters that complement your decor.