Simple Spring Vase
3 Materials
$15
2 Hours
Easy
This Winter has been so long and cold! And wet! And COLD!!! We actually missed more days due to "snow," ice, freezing roads, etc. than for hurricanes! (Don't laugh, this is the really DEEP South!)
When the "Faux" challenge was announced, I started thinking of what I could do. Too cold and/or wet outside to paint. Ditto stain or poly. I sure didn't want to try stripping all those project pieces that I've been collecting.
“Can't wait for Spring. That's it! Spring! I'll faux some Spring until we get the real thing!”
This bright idea came to me as I was sitting basking in my “happy light,” the artificial sunlight lamp that I use if we have more than two days without sunlight.
What I miss most about Spring is my flower garden. I need to be outside, but until the weather cooperates, I’ll bring the outside in.
Before vases
It all started with these two pretty vintage flower vases. A while back, I bought the blue one at a thrift store. I really liked it, but since I had Christmas decorations on the brain, it went into my storage cabinet. Likewise the pink one, which I found at the same store a few weeks later. They were 50 cents each, or maybe a whole dollar apiece. (Sometimes I splurge.) Once I had the pink one, I realized that I liked its color scheme better, because it had a pink background and trim with a pink flower. The blue one only had a yellow flower. I wanted blue. As far as I could tell, they weren’t extremely valuable, and hey, a dollar, so I decided to paint a blue flower on it. I almost forgot to take a before picture. The lines were not there originally. It’s just how I decided to start painting, using the pink flower as a model.
Since I had some paint pens in my art kit, I used them. First, I drew light blue lines over the yellow (first picture at the top.) Then, I sort of rounded the petals on the ends, and went over them with a dark blue pen. I went a little overboard with the dark blue on one side.
A new color
Since I overpainted the dark blue, I had to go back over the center with yellow once it dried, then when that dried, I painted some gold and black dots to make it resemble the center of the pink flower. That's why it took me two hours.
I added a few white streaks.
I am definitely no artist, so there were many mistakes. Thankfully, when it dried I could paint over them. Besides, flowers aren't supposed to be perfect, they're supposed to look real! I also went over the leaves and stem with black and then dark green paint for more definition.
A little taste of Spring
Once the paint dried, I needed to add some flowers. No problem. I had some coupons! I'm not really a fan of faux flowers, silk or otherwise, but it'll be a while before I can grow some real ones. That will get expensive very quickly! Faux it is!
Pretty in Pink!
Vintage Farmhouse Vibe!
I decided to add some more color, so I used another 50 cent vase and an old coffee pot that my Mom gave me (real farmhouse!) and filled them with flowers.
Then, I put a faux Magnolia stem in a pretty red vintage vase that I picked up a few weeks ago for 59 cents from Goodwill.
All I had to do then was find places to put them so that they weren't too overwhelming or cluttered. (No, not all on the mantel, I just wanted a good after shot of all of them!)
For about three dollars an arrangement, I have some pretty displays until the real Spring gets here! I get all my vases for great prices from thrift stores and Goodwill, where they start at fifty to fifty-nine cents. I seldom pay more than a dollar a vase, and I've begun to collect some pretty ones. If an item can be re-purposed and used as a vase besides its original purpose, I may pay a few dollars more.
Obviously, the flowers and vases can be mixed and matched, too. I hope you enjoy my Faux Spring Flowers as much as I do!
Comments
Join the conversation
4 comments
-
Jeanne they look wonderful!
-
So lovely! Spring will be here before we know it!
-
Thank you, Wendy! I actually saw a few trees in bloom this weekend
-
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?