Trash to Terracotta: A Tutorial

My finished trash to terracotta project.

I’m always a little tardy to the party when it comes to trends, but after seeing the trash to terracotta trend on Instagram, I knew I had to try it myself when I got the chance.

I only had to watch 483,092 Instagram reels before I finally felt confident enough to try it. And I’m so glad that I did!

Here’s how I turned my thrift store trash to terracotta treasure!

Gather Your Materials

This is a simple project and doesn’t require many supplies at all. Thankfully, it was all stuff that I had on hand.

To turn your trash to terracotta, you will need:

  • ugly/outdated vase or bowl
  • acrylic paint (the cheap 50 cent kind)
  • baking powder
  • paint brush or sponge brush
  • paper plate (to put paint on)
Trash to terracotta supplies.
(Love easy projects that don’t require expensive materials.)

As you can see, these are very basic supplies. You can get everything you need from Wal-Mart or the dollar store. And those are my favorite kinds of projects!

Mix Baking Powder & Paint

This step was the only one I wasn’t too sure of going into this project. However, I figured out that it was best to mix the paint and baking powder in a 2:1 ratio (more paint than baking powder, obviously).

You want enough baking powder in your paint that it gives it a grainy texture. If you add too much baking powder, the paint becomes too dry and clumpy.

Mixing paint and baking powder for my trash to terracotta project.

Paint Your ‘Trash’

After you stir the baking powder into the paint, it’s time to paint your ‘trash’.

I used a sponge brush to paint my bowl, but you can use a regular paint brush too.

It took me 3 coats to achieve the finish that I wanted. I let it dry completely between each coat.

I am very happy with how my trash to terracotta project turned out. This little bowl and stand was on the clearance rack at World Market for $3. I loved it, but the colors just did not match my decor.

My finished trash to terracotta project.
(It matches so much better now that it’s black.)

Trash to terracotta projects are cheap and easy. While this one was my first, I doubt it will be my last!

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