Get The Look: DIY Terracotta Vases

If you blissfully look back to a few years ago, you may remember the recycling trend of shoving a candle in an empty Hendricks bottle and thinking your dining table looked like something straight out of a gastro pub. (zero judgement here, I still have 3-4 of these dotted around the house – they’re nice bottles!) Well, there’s a new recycling trick in town that is combining a bit of upcycling with the 2020 statement vase trend.

Not being much of a DIY-er myself I thought it looked simple enough for me to not mess up too much and so gave it a go; and I was pleasantly surprised! Below is a step-by-step guide as to how you can get the look.

What you’ll need:

• Sandpaper

• Acrylic paints

• Baking Soda

• Paintbrushes (a variety of sizes is good if you’ve got containers with drastically different surface areas)

• Empty containers. Could be bottles, old vases, jars or used candles, whatever you fancy!

Step 1:

Give your containers a quick wipe down to remove any residue, dust or dirt from the surface. Then give them a good buff with the sandpaper. This is to give the glass surface texture to help the paint stick.

Step 2:

Mix up your acrylic paints to create the colours you want. We went for a mixture of traditional burnt orange, black, a dusty rose and off-white.

Step 3:

Add some baking powder to your paint. The more you add, the more textured the finish will be. I added about a tablespoon to each paint mix.

Step 4:

Apply your paint. Be mindful that the dried finish will show up brush strokes, so I’d recommend using upward sweeps when applying your paint. If they need a few layers, wait for about 30 minutes in between coats. Let them dry completely and they are good to go!

Head over to our Instagram page @rebeccaclaire designs to see ours in action or for inspiration on how to style them.