Good question novice! What a cute idea. I'm imagining little garden globe Christmas ornaments. I wish I had the bet answer. I just use what ever paint I've got. (My problem is that I break the pots eventually.)
Kathy

I've been making concrete leaf castings for about a year and painting them with Patio Paint by Deco Art. It has worked very well on the concrete. I have just recently painted terra pots with it. Its supposed to be made to paint concrete and terra cotta. I buy it at Michaels's or Joann's.

If you are using pots for plants you have to paint the inside with something to waterproof it otherwise after a few weeks the outside paint starts peeling off. Imagine you just need outside painted if it is just stand for gazing ball. Cute idea! Jan

Patio paint is in bottles, 2 oz. size just like other craft paints but sometimes in completely different section of store from the other paints- Michael's is that way! WalMart did have a few & Joanne's Don't have Hobby Lobby out here so don't know about them. Just didn't want you chasing around looking for tubes when it's in bottles. If you can't find it ask where it is. Jan

The Patio paints are getting harder to find. In our craft stores (Micheal's & AC Moore), they only have it with the terra cotta pots and in very limited colors. Not sure what Hobby Lobby carries. I might have to resort to buying it online if they don't start carrying more colors in the store.

In my experience there is nothing you can do to prevent a terra cotta pot from cracking in the winter if you have freezing temperatures, so I have to bring mine in for the winter.