Okio B Designs: candlesticks

Here's the first of my makeovers from yesterday's AmVets loot. Remember these wood candlesticks before?

Not very pretty. And here's the after.

I gave each a couple of coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Louis Blue. Once they were dry, I broke out some sandpaper and just sanded them in random areas for an aged look.

I love how the original brown wood shows through now. It's just enough dark to play off the light blue paint.

I added some of my French script candles which I think look pretty against the blue hue.

This is the first of many makeovers I have in the works. Thanks AmVets!

Jeanine

4 comments

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend! I whipped up these candlesticks last week and just put the finishing touches on them this morning.

I spray painted each one black to start. I don't work with glitter a lot (mainly because I seem to get more on me than my actual project), but I wanted to make the smaller two stand out. I covered them with Mod Podge and then just sprinkled orange glitter on. I gave them a coat of clear spray paint hoping it would hold the glitter on better. Nope. Still shedding.

I added some of my French script candles to each stick. For the smaller two, I printed out the boo letters from The Graphics Fairy onto label paper and simply stuck them on. For the middle candle, I tied on a trick or treat tag (image also from The Graphics Fairy).

The finishing touches were the orange seam binding and black tulle ribbons. Happily, I had everything I needed to make these.

Not sure if there are linky parties tomorrow because of Labor Day, but I am hoping to link up to The Graphics Fairy: Brag Monday and Between Naps on the Porch: Met Monday.

Jeanine

6 comments

Ever start a project and end up scratching your head halfway through? That's what happened to me with these fleur de lis candlesticks. I picked them up from a thrift store last week. They were originally white but a little grungy. I thought they would look good with a chocolate brown makeover but...

They went back to white. I did indeed paint them brown but it was a flat brown and they looked, well, icky. So I gave them a fresh coat of gloss white over the brown. I did just one coat because I did want some of the brown to show through for an aged look.

Not sure if you can see remnants of the brown peeking through in my photos.

I added some French script candles to them. The ones from my Etsy shop fit quite nicely. I may have to use these for props when photographing them!

So three coats of spray paint later and I'm back to white. At least it's not the original grungy white.

Jeanine

5 comments

Have you heard of Unique Thrift Stores? They are like one giant indoor garage sale. I know they are scattered throughout the country. This morning we headed over to one in Levittown that I probably drove past a thousand times and never took note of.

I was like a kid in a candy store there and the prices were pretty reasonable - $5 and under depending upon the item. The glass cloche with stand was only $2.92. I can't wait to clean up the salt and pepper shakers, and the little tray.

I'm thinking of doing these fleur de lis candlesticks in black. The little bottles will be perfect for my Etsy shop...once I French them up.

I also got some vintage sheet music and goodies for the boys. Yup, I'm sure I'll be heading back there soon. We didn't even get a chance to rifle through the clothing and accessories.

Jeanine

3 comments

When I got my new Pottery Barn catalog this morning, I spied these wonderful newspaper text candles:

Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn

While I wouldn't mind stocking up on a few, I wanted to take a quick try at making my own version.

I used this French newspaper image from The Graphics Fairy. I printed it onto clear Avery label paper. I trimmed the image down to fit each candle and then simply peeled and sticked. I love these labels because they have a see-through quality to them that might be hard to make out in the photos. Here's a close-up:

Best part is once again I had everything I needed. I'd like to do some large pillar-size ones for Halloween. Now back to flipping through my PB catalog!

Jeanine

6 comments

I always try to pick up a few of these wooden candlesticks when I go to Michael's. Sometimes they have a ton and other times, I'm lucky to find one. I'm working on some new styles for my Etsy shop but this pair I'm keeping for moi because I just love how they came out:

First, I spray painted each one in my favorite robin's egg color. A few coats later they were ready to be sanded in random spots. I used my hot glue gun to attach the vintage lace and the buttons. Still missing something.

I love these little teapots from The Graphics Fairy and thought the blue one matched perfectly with my color scheme. I printed them off on cardstock and then punched a hole in both so I could tie them onto my candlesticks with some tea-stained seam binding.

I just love them!

Linking to My Romantic Home: Show & Tell Friday and the Graphics Fairy Brag Monday.

Jeanine

3 comments

Older Posts

Okio B Designs

About Me

Shop the Post

Follow Me on LikeToKnow.It

Follow Me on Pinterest!

Follow Me on Instagram!

Follow Me on Twitter

PR/Advertising

My tool caddy in Romantic Homes

Good Housekeeping August 2011

Search This Blog

Blog Archive