My Ugly $2 Yard Sale Fish Challenge

I like to challenge myself by finding the U-G-L-I-E-S-T item at a yard sale, taking it home and making it look beautiful again. When I spotted this $2 broken umbrella stand shaped like a fish, I knew just what to do ...
I'm taking him home and spitting all over him! You're probably thinking: What? Spit on that ugly fish? Eeew? Really?


Yes! Unicorn Spit is a non-toxic water-based rainbow-colored gel stain. You can layer colors and create beautiful looks on furniture, picture frames, clunky old brass candlesticks, and even ... ugly plaster yard sale fish.
Here's what my little fishy looked like after I applied the color. I just painted it on with a brush and kept layering until I liked how he looked.
Here's a close-up...
When Unicorn Spit dries, it has a pastel look like an easter egg. It needs to be sealed with an oil-based sealer. I used Minwax Polyurethane. The poly seals the stain and changes the color into rich, gorgeous jewel tones. You can see on his tail here the difference between the side with the poly (on the left) and the unsealed side (on the right).
Here's my fish now! I tucked him outside next to my little herb garden for a splash of color.
I spit on a bunch of other stuff too. Check out my blog for more project photos and a video showing how easy it is to transform ordinary yard sale objects with Unicorn Spit.
Courtney @ All Things New Again
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Sharon Sharon on Jun 03, 2016
    Where do you get the Unicornspit in that particular container and not the squeeze bottles? Do they hold more than the squeeze bottles and are they the same price? Are there only 12 colors? That is all I saw on the website that I saw. I am so excited. I want them ALL. Can you tell?
    • @Sharon Unicorn Spit is a lot of fun! The squeeze bottles are new. I have the older containers in this tutorial because I did this project last summer. They hold the same amount, but I'm not sure if the old containers are available any longer on the Unicorn Spit website. I think everything she makes these days is packaged in the new squeeze bottles. (PS--Get them ALL! You need lots of colors to play around and create the great designs. :) )
  • CukaFig CukaFig on Jun 04, 2017

    Lovely

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