Recently I took a trip to IKEA and was looking in their planting area.   I wish I could say I had a green thumb, but I really just don’t.   So finding realistic looking fake plants is always something I’m looking out for.   I came across these cool looking plants, and loved the look and color of the greenery, so I picked them up ($4.99 each) and a couple of their metal tin planters which are a steal for only $.70 each.

The day before I had received some stencils from Decor Art for a project I was working on, and I thought I’d give it a shot to see if I could give these planters sort of a whitewashed/vintage french look.   They turned out GORGEOUS!!!!   I am totally in love with them, and they were so so cheap and easy to make.

Wanna see how they were done?    Check it out!

Step 1 – Stencil a design onto the tins using dark paint

I used Americana Decor (by Decor Art) chalky finish paint in “relic” color, which was perfect.   Make sure you use a stencil brush or a regular brush, but go very light on the paint so it doesn’t bleed through too much.   The nice thing is that since we are whitewashing these after the fact, it doesn’t have to be “PERFECT” (I love things that allow me wiggle room to not be perfect – can I get an AMEN!”

Here is what they looked like after the stenciling was completed – not too bad right?

Make sure you let that dry completely.

I had also picked up this random piece of gilded carved wood – I’m not sure if it was from a poster bed, or something else, but I bought it at Goodwill for a buck, and figured sometime down the road, I’d have a use for it.   When I saw these pots and the plants, it reminded me almost of a messy looking topiary, and I thought it might look cool to put this wood topper into one of the planters, as sort of a accent piece coming up out of the middle.  So I decided to paint it lightly with the same Decor Art chalky paint in “yesteryear” color, that I was using to whitewash the pails, and then sand it so that the gilded gold would show through.

After painting the little topper guy (please let me know if you have any idea what this piece is, so I can stop calling it a “topper guy”), I started whitewashing over the stenciled pails.

Step 2 – Whitewashing the pails

Go VERY easy on the paint here.   You want to very lightly just tap the tip of your brush into paint, and then wipe it off.   Using very light strokes, just touch it gently to the pail – its basically like dry brushing, if you’ve done that before.   I went VERY lightly over the top of the stencil, to give that part an aged look as well.

Step 3 – Apply a wax or sealer over the paint

Since I used a chalky finish paint, I wanted to make sure it was sealed, so I covered it in a thin coat of Americana Decor clear wax.

Let that dry, and then I wrapped some twine around the top of the pails, put the plants into them, and they were all done!!   I think they turned out BEAUTIFULLY!!!

Other posts you might like:

IKEA Rast Hack: Industrial Side Table How To Create a Distressed French Vintage Look With Chalky Finish Paint Gorgeous Pottery Barn Style IKEA Media Shelf Makeover This Amazing IKEA Kura Bed Hack Puts All Other IKEA Hacks To Shame!