From Thrift Store to Christmas Decor
7 Materials
Easy
I love a good challenge. Don't you? I was invited this past October to participate in a group blogger project that would use stencils for Christmas decor. Other than using a stencil, there were no rules. Of course, I jumped in and today I'm going to show you what I made! If you're a thrifting junkie too, I think you'll love this project, and I hope it will give you a jump start on some ideas of your own!
It started with a chipping brown painted platter I found at an out-of-town thrift store several weeks ago. We had taken a day trip to a city a few hours away from home and were actually running early. So, we decided to spend our extra time by visiting a near-by thrift store, and that's where I found this gem.
I sanded it a bit to remove the chipping paint and to create a smoother surface and this is what I found! Isn't that the saddest looking thing ever???
I gave it a couple of coats of Behr's Soft Bronze paint - because I had a sample canister on hand and loved the color. It was looking better already, don't you think?
Before I added the stencil, I gave it a top coat of paint using my latest favorite technique. I don't even know what to call this, but it creates a gentle, mottled effect, which is much more pleasing than a simple single-color finish, in my opinion. To achieve it, I poured paint on a dish from the 5 colors I wanted to use, then using a foam brush, dipped the tip into each color on separate areas of the brush. Then, I just brushed it lightly over the dried Soft Bronze base. To get the mottled look, you really don't want to overdo it. Too many strokes and the paint will blend and you'll just have another color. Just work with it until you find something that is pleasing to you. It's really a matter of preference and each finished look will be totally unique.
Can you see that mottled effect? A color peeks through here and there, but it's mostly just shading and shadowing that you see, and it's as simple as sponging on several colors at once with a light touch. Once the plate was totally dry, I added my stencil. I loved this one from the moment I saw it, and if you want to get one of your own,visit the original post on the blog for the link.
To dress it up a bit I attached some fake pine sprays around the edges along the rim with hot glue,
and finished by tucking some bright red floral stamen between each sprig of pine.
I found a wire photo stand in my stash that fit it perfectly, then gave it a home on our hearth where we can enjoy it all season long!
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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