Trash to Terracotta – Stay at Home Edition

Easter is just around the corner and you want to make someone happy with a small gift? You should try out the upcycling trend “Trash to Terracotta” that is taking over social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. With the motto “from old to new” you can give boring vessels a beautiful terracotta look. You can easily try out this sustainable trend with material you have at home, perfect for the current corona situation. In this DIY article I will show you step by step how to follow the trend for your perfect Easter gift.

Here is what you need:

  • Old glasses, vases or bowls
  • Old wall paint, acrylic paint or chalk paint
  • One or two packets of baking powder
  • A brush
  • An old container
  • Some old newspaper
  • Anything you want to use as decoration
  • (Photo: Annika Lubanski)
  • (Photo: Annika Lubanski)
  • (Photo: Annika Lubanski)

First step: Preparation

Spread out your old newspaper wherever you want to do the upcycling. Afterwards, take your paint and pour a little bit into another container. For example, you could use an old ice cream container for this step. Now take your baking powder and mix it with your paint. The proportion should be 2/3 paint and 1/3 baking powder to get an intense terracotta look. Make sure to use a container that is large enough as even small amounts of paint will rise and gain in volume.

Second step: Let`s paint!

Now you can start painting. Leave out the bottom of the object you want to color so that you can place it easily to dry. If you want to, you can color the bottom afterwards. Paint slowly from top to bottom. The brush strokes will be visible later, so work as precisely as possible. When you are done, let everything dry. This will take roughly 30 minutes, however if you have applied a thicker coat of paint then allow for a little longer.

Last step: It`s time to decorate

Look what you can find in your house or garden that would fit to your excellent looking vases/bowls/glasses. Gift ribbon, Easter bunnies, flowers – use everything you want to give your Easter gift the perfect look!

Feel free to share your before and after pictures on Instagram with the Hashtag #FHewsDIY.

Here you can see my before and after:

Vases before
After picture (Photo: Annika Lubanski)