painting flower pots

[zubb]

I want to paint some terracotta flower pots with the kids but haven't done anything like this before so I'm not sure what type of paint to use and whether they need varnishing afterwards. I have googled but the sites that I can find say either acrylic paint / emulsion paint or just say 'paint' and they don't mention whether the pots are OK outside afterwards without varnishing.
Has anyone done this and could point me in the right direction?
Thanks.

You can get waterproof paints, but with kids I normally use acrylics and then varnish with clear. The acrylics are much more kid / carpet friendly, TBH.

thanks peachyclair!

acrylics work fine... the terracotta absorbs alot of the colour though. It pays to seal them with a coat of a mixture of PVA and water. Have fun!

Gloss paint would work too but takes forever to dry, unlike acrylics.

Like Kiwi said, it's worth priming first with a watered down PVA otherwise the paint will just absorb into the terracotta.

There is a lovely range of colours so have fun and finish with a couuple of coats of a waterproof varnish.