Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Dr. Strange Vase: Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the brass.

Now, don't get me wrong, I do own a couple legitimate flower vases.  But, literally a couple.  One silver and red, and the other blue glass.  Someone gives me a big huge bouquet?  Great!  Into the vase.  But, what if I just want to add a couple of flowers around to celebrate the fact that we've had sun for two whole days in a row?  Well.  It sounds as though a trip to Salvation Army Thrift Store is in order.

There are a few thrift stores in the area, but this one (if you're local in the Buffalo area: It's the one on Military Road) may be my favorite because if you can get there during the day they also have an Auction House (Haggle Barn?) that you can get lost in for hours.  Of course 90% of it is junk, but you can find some great stuff back there too.

Now, it's no secret that brass was a big part of decorating 20 years ago.  So when you walk in, don't let the gleam of fluorescent light bouncing off the graveyard of brass fixtures blind you to the possibilities.  In my case, I found these delightful little candlesticks:

 
I went for these guys for three big reasons: First, $1.99 for the pair.  Fantastic.  Second, I don't actually own a pair of candlesticks. Although, I'm not a big fan of the long tapered candles so there's a good chance these guys will never feel the thrill of setting the mood.  Lastly, the shape eerily echoes a pair of lamps currently residing in our living room that I (you guessed it) bought from a thrift store and spray painted:

The lamp shades came from The Christmas Tree Shop. $8 a pop!

But, now is the candlesticks time to shine (ha, see what I did there?), so back to their makeover.  I wasn't 100% sure what the end result was going to be here, but I knew I wanted them to look like spring in our apartment, so I chose Rustoleum Spray Paint in Eden because, well.  It looked like a plant.

You know the procedure that follows.  Clean the real and perceived grossness from the sticks and cover your workspace with newspapers to keep your counters, floor, etc. clean. 

 
It also helps to open a window, which I may or may not have forgotten to do, resulting in the cat having a sneezing attack.  I'm sorry, Laura.  Never again.


Start spraying.  Make sure you stay the suggested 10 inches or so away from your object.  If you're spraying at too close a range, it messes with your finish and increases the chances of terrible paint drips.  I'm a fan of doing two light coats.  Trust me, it takes longer, but you'll end up with far more professional and even coverage in the end.


Here they are all ready to go.  I picked a Satin finish because I didn't want them shining away under overhead lamps blinding guests in case I do ever decide to give them a shot at fulfilling their job as actual candlesticks.  However at this point, their job was to hold some daffodils I had picked up at the market.


Of course the opening at the top is relatively narrow so I could only fit in about 3 flowers each, but they can hold a surprising amount of water in each.  I was on the fence at first about the end result, but I do love how sunny it is when I look at them. 

1 comment:

  1. Great idea! And good choice on the color. And yes, that Salvation Army Haggle Barn on Military is the best. I've brought home lots and lots of mason jars and miscellaneous clear glass bottles from there. Love it.

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