How To Paint Terracotta Pots?

I haven't been here for a long time now and have since moved into a bungalow.

I was a bit disappointed to learn that I couldn't afford the nice shinny decorated pots I wanted for my two Honeysuckles (yes, they live on!) and some Sweetpeas I planted earlier this year. So I had to settle for plain terracotta ones instead. But I had the idea that if I wanted fancy, shinny decorated pots then I should be perfectly capable of making them myself (being a crafter n'all). And of course that would mean I could make them just the way I want and they'd be unique too : )

To start with I'd like to paint two of the pots with spray paint. I would be using Rust-o-lium 'Painter's Touch' which I have used before for other projects and I know is good quality with excellent coverage. It's also multi-surface paint and should even work on terracotta.

I've read many conflicting how-to's on what is the best way to go about doing this, to get best and lasting results. I realize terracotta is very porus and have read that's it's a good idea to seal the inside to stop the paint on the outside from bubbling. That makes good sense, but the rest of the advice is somewhat confusing.

Has anyone here ever attempted to do this? How did you do it/what would you recommend?

I'm hoping to get confident enough to start using my Dremel 4000 on some pots too, to create carved/etched designs and images.