23 Simple & Sweet Flower Pot Painting Ideas for 2024

Are you looking for some unique flower pot painting ideas you can try this summer? You’re feeling the urge to plant some things, but you don’t want a boring plant pot in your home or yard! Why not jazz up boring pots with sweet designs? 

You’re wondering “But how should I paint my plant pot?” and “What kind of paint can I use on a flower pot?”, right? We’ll answer these questions and more. Read on for our favorite flower pot painting ideas.

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• Beginner Flower Pot Painting Ideas
• Unique Flower Pot Painting Ideas
• Outdoor Flower Pot Painting Ideas
• Best Flower Pot Painting Kits

Beginner Flower Pot Painting Ideas

1. Start With Your Own Unique Pot

If you’re painting flower pots for the first time, why not have some fun with it and take some pottery classes near you? You can create your own sweet flower pots under the guidance of an expert in pottery classes in NYC, pottery classes in Minneapolis or even pottery classes in San Diego. 

Some classes may even have you paint your own pottery while others will have you make your flower pot so you can paint it later. There’s nothing more satisfying than making something by hand! 

2. Easy Pastel Sponge Paint

Which colors are best for pot painting? All colors are good, but you can’t go wrong with pastels! This is an easy flower pot painting idea that’s reminiscent of Easter eggs.

Start with a white base coat. Mix several pastel colors and use a craft sponge for each one. Sponge on one color, then layer on another. You can use 3 to 4 colors without it looking too cluttered. This makes cute spring flower pots!

3. Rae Dunn-Inspired 

Do you love all of the trendy Rae Dunn merch? She inspired this simple flower pot painting idea. 

Paint the flower pot white or black if it isn’t already. Then, write a simple word or phrase (it could be the name of the plant in the pot or any word that resonates with you, like “joy” or “happiness”) in thin capital letters in the opposite shade. In this case, that means white words on a black pot and vice-versa. 

Depending on what you write, these make great gifts for teachers, friends, coworkers and anyone else you want to give some joy to.

4. Kid-Friendly Ladybugs

This is a great flower pot painting idea for arts and crafts for adults and kids alike. It’s easy and cute.

Dip your fingers (or your child’s fingers) in red paint. Press your painted fingers onto the flower pots to make oval-shaped fingerprints all over. You don’t have to follow any specific pattern.

When they dry, use a marker or black paint to add spots, a head, and antennae to each fingerprint to make ladybugs! 

5. Simple Dots

This is one of the most simple flower pot painting ideas and it requires no special painting techniques. Just add dots!

For precise dots, you can cut a sponge into a circle and dip it into the paint before pressing it into the pot. You could also just do it with a paintbrush. Try mixing and matching colors! 

6. Geometric Tape Designs

If you like neat and clean flower pot painting ideas, this will be a good one for you. Add some masking tape to your flower pot painting kit! This is a great big pot painting idea because it’s low-effort and gives great results. 

Use masking tape to create designs on your pot. You can make rings around it or create cool geometric shapes. Then paint over the tape, making sure to cover the rest of the pot.

You can use one color or multiple colors. When you’re done, remove the tape to reveal your designs. 

7. Sleepy Pots

This flower pot painting idea is so simple that almost anyone could do it, but the results are super cute! If hand-painted flower pots seem too complicated, try this. 

Start with a base color or just a bare pot. Use a small paintbrush and dip it into white or black paint. Any color will work, but white and black are most common. 

Draw two curved lines (like wide “C” shapes) with the curved side down, right next to each other. Then add small lines to the bottom curve. You now have two closed eyes with eyelashes for a sleepy pot!

8. Little Hands

If you’re looking for art ideas you can do with your toddler (that make excellent pottery gifts, by the way), try this flower pot painting idea.

Leave the flower pot bare or paint it with a base color. Have your child dip their hands in the paint before letting them hold the pot (make sure to keep their hands still). When they let go, there will be two little handprints — perfect for sweet Father's Day painting ideas from kids.

9. Sweet Flowers

Flowers can be simple! You can do this with your fingers, a paintbrush, or a circle-shaped sponge. You’re going to make one circle as the core of the flower and then surround it with four to six other circles in a different color for the petals. 

Do this as many times as you’d like until you fill the surface of the flower pot. 

10. Color Blocks

This is an awesome flower pot painting idea for beginners. Use your tape again to divide your pot into several large sections.

Fill in one section before removing the surrounding tape to fill in the next one. Continue until you have a satisfactory number of colors on your pot. 

Unique Flower Pot Painting Ideas

11. Fun Bumble Bees

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, bee populations are still dropping, but we can all do our part to help by planting pollinator-friendly plants. Put your pollinator-friendly plant in a familiar-looking pot with this terracotta pot painting idea.

Use tape to create rings around the pot. Paint the remaining areas yellow. When you remove the tape, paint the previously taped-off sections and the top rim black. Add googly eyes and pipe cleaner antenna to finish your bee!

12. Rainbow Dots

Let’s take dots to the next level with this hand-painted flower pot idea. You’re going to need paint in all of the basic colors of the rainbow.

Use a paintbrush, fingers, or a circle-shaped sponge to create dots in one color at a time, starting from the bottom or top of the pot. Do several rows of dots before moving to the next color. The end result should be a rainbow of neat and tidy dots! 

13. Cute Watermelon

This flower pot painting idea is so cute and easy! Paint the upper rim of the flower pot dark green. Paint the “body” of the pot pink or red with black spots for the seeds. You can add extra detail if you like, but the design will be recognizable as-is!

14. Galaxy Pots

This is a cool and trendy flower pot painting idea. Start with a black pot. Dip craft sponges in blue, purple, and pink paint and create the appearance of nebulas on the black base. You can then flick glittery white paint from a paintbrush to represent stars. 

15. Elegant Gradient 

If you’re painting ceramics for your home, why not try an elegant flower pot painting idea? Start with a white pot. Get one paint color and a sponge.

Make a layer of the color near the bottom of the pot and then add some white to your paint. Repeat this process working your way up the pot and adding more white after every layer. This should create a lovely gradient. 

16. Pet Pots

Do you have pets? Turn your pots into pet portraits! This makes a great big pot painting idea if you have large pets, but small pots work just as well.

Make a simplified version of your furry friend and feel free to add extra materials (like faux fur or googly eyes) for a finishing touch. 

17. Match Your Plants

This flower pot painting idea can help you remember what you plant! Take note of the seeds that you planted in your pot. Find a picture of the plant in its full-grown form and paint your version of it onto the pot.

If you’re looking for simpler pottery painting ideas, you can write the names in paint instead. 

18. Melted Ice Cream

This one is such a cute terracotta pot painting idea for all ages. Keep the base of the pot brown. Use a light pastel color (off-white, teal, and pink all work great) to paint the rim of the pot.

Then, paint some curvy “drips” down onto the base. Add colorful paint “sprinkles” to finish the design. It's a perfect flower pot painting idea to kick off the summer season.

Outdoor Flower Pot Painting Ideas

19. Spray Paint With Stencils

Spray paint is messy, but so much fun! It's perfect when you’re painting plant pots outdoors. Find (or make) some flat stencils and stick them to your pot.

Use spray paint to cover the entire pot before removing the stencils and revealing the designs. Feel free to add extra details with a small brush when you’re done.

20. Flower Pot House

If you’re looking for paint party ideas for adults, consider making a plant pot village for your yards! Decorate your pot like a cute little house. Then place it somewhere in your yard hidden amongst the rest of your plants like a little surprise.

It's a cute flower pot painting idea for new homeowners who want to make their home garden a little more magical.

21. Flower Pot Faces

This flower pot painting idea is so cute and perfect for outdoor plants. You can place the pots around your yard as sweet decorations. Paint a face on the pot, as simple or as intricate as you prefer.

The plants will be the hair! This can be one of the sweetest couple painting ideas if you and your partner (or friend) paint each other as plant pot people.

22. Natural Leaf Stamps

If you’re painting plant pots outdoors, why not use nature?  Find some fallen leaves that are sturdy enough to use for this flower pot painting idea. Dip them in paint and press them against the pot. Create natural shapes on the pot for one of the oldest flower pot painting ideas out there.

Best Flower Pot Painting Kits

So, what is the best paint to use on outdoor flower pots? Why not buy a flower pot painting kit that comes with all the essentials? For first-timers, these kits simplify the process and you’ll have everything you need for your creations. 

This 54-piece flower pot painting kit gives you more than enough supplies for several of these ideas! 

If you’re feeling extra-creative, you can also use an alternative. This ceramic teapot decorating kit may look like a normal teapot, but it’s actually for plants! You can make a super creative plant pot with no extra supplies!

So, which of these fun flower pot painting ideas will you try this year? It’s time to get creative and have fun with paint! Try a few of them to add some zip and pizzazz to your garden space.

For even more fun art ideas, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!