French Lavender Pot

My sister's birthday is at the end of this month, one day after mine.  It's so fun to celebrate together, so I wanted to think of something special to make her as part of her gift.

She loves gardening like I do, so inspiration struck and I created this French pot that I've planted a wonderfully smelling lavender plant in.

I began by painting a large terracotta pot in a pretty shade of light blue.  It's a blend of several different chalk paints, mixed to create just the right shade.  I really love creating my own custom blended colors!

After painting it several coats, I then aged it a bit with a watered down brown craft paint.  I also dry brushed a bit of white craft paint here and there to create a white washed effect.  I was going to take photos of all the colors and products that I used, but I got lazy!

I knew I wanted to add a pretty label to the front, so I headed on over to the Graphics Fairy and found this gorgeous French lavender perfume label.  Isn't it pretty?  I thought it was perfect for my project!

To age the label a bit, I used a bit of Tim Holtz distressing ink, then decoupaged the label to my pot using outdoor Mod Podge.  I then used a clear sealer and went over the entire pot.

I'm so happy with the way it turned out, and hope that my sister will love it!

 Oh, I almost forgot to show you two little visitors that were hanging out on my picket fence plant stand!  I moved my watering can to set up for my "photo shoot", and these little guys were hiding underneath it!

 I wish you could smell the lavender, it is heavenly!

 I also painted a terracotta saucer to match the pot.  I am bummed though, as I wasn't thinking when I put the label on the pot, that the bottom portion was going to be hidden by the saucer.  Darn, I should have placed it a bit higher on the pot!

 Here's one more close up shot at this oh so pretty label!

 Have a great weekend!