How to Paint A Pink Flamingo Planter

Here is how to paint a pink flamingo planter or I should say repaint the planter. It was old and faded and needed to be modernized. When I spotted the pink flamingo planter online I knew I had to have it. I also knew it was going to get a makeover. Bold paint and one simple addition took this cute flamingo to a whole ‘nother level.

Pink Flamingo Wood Planter

You guys know I have a thing for pink flamingos. I always liked them and I was definitely hooked after our years in Florida. I don’t have any flamingo décor in the house now but when we lived in Florida I sure did. Flamingo décor should be bold and bright or that’s my thinking anyway.

This flamingo was not bold and bright and I have to say the metal flowers were a bit tacky. Maybe tacky is not the right word or a nice description. I would just say the flowers are not my style. Well, I took care of that. Or I should say the JTS took care of that. I pulled out one of the metal flowers but couldn’t get the rest of them out of the stand. Too hard for me but not for hubby. I asked him to leave the metal butterfly.

Mixing Custom Paint Colors

Next thing to do is paint the flamingo. I didn’t have the right paint color so I grabbed paints and started mixing. A pretty corally pink was the color I was going for.

It took a few tries to get the color just right. I kept mixing the paint until it looked about right. The first color swatch on the neck of the flamingo was too light and the sample on the bottom is the color of the final mix. Don’t be afraid to mix paints to make your own custom colors. I try to use the paint I have before going out and buying more.

This is how the flamingo looked after one coat of the coral/pink paint. You can see it looks a little flat. After all it is just one paint color, no shading, no distressing, to break up the solid color paint.

Adding Depth To Paint With Shading

I grabbed a small bottle of red paint and started wiping it on the body of the flamingo with a paper shop towel. I rubbed and rubbed to blend the red in with the coral. On small areas of the lower half of the body I wiped a flesh colored paint for shading.

The base and the grass needed painting too. I also mixed two green paint colors together and did a bit of shading on the grass.

Now that flamingo looks a heck of a lot better. But it still needs something.

It needs…..artificial greenery. This bush has been around longer than my kids…..and they are grown and have kids of their own. Seriously, I don’t know how old this thing is.

Adding Details To The Pink Flamingo Planter

I cut pieces from the bush and stuck a few down into the crevasse between the two grass layers. There was just a bit of an opening so I had to figure out how to add more grass.

I turned the pink flamingo around to the backside and stapled the artificial grass to the wood grass (insert Kathy smiley face).

The top part of the beak was too white and I brushed a bit of soft flesh colored paint over the white. The flamingo legs got just a bit of flesh colored paint in areas to provide a bit of contrast. I updated the butterfly by dry brushing it with two shades of blue paint and leaving some of the original glitter finish showing.

She’s a stunner now if I do say so myself. Come Spring I’ll be finding a pretty plant and moving the flamingo to the front porch.

The flesh colored beak looks a lot better than the glaring white. I didn’t touch up the black paint at all. And the gray looking areas you see are the original distressed areas.

Pink Flamingo Planter

That’s a major difference huh. Do you think I did good? What’s your favorite part of the makeover? Leave a note because I read every single one. Thanks for being here and have a great day, Kathy