DIY Projects for a Metallic Motif

Y’ALL! I’VE FINALLY STARTED MY DIY PROJECTS!

After all my research and building a vision for my special day, it feels amazing to start bringing some of those dreams to life. It has also been quite cathartic during one of the most stressful times for work and, obviously, life in general. Doing things yourself isn’t just budget-savvy, but sanity-savvy as well!

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned my plans for taking classic votive holders and giving them a modern twist. Like all creative endeavors, once you get in there and start working with the raw materials, patience and open-mindedness go a long way. Wanting to stay true to my thrift-artiste roots, I was hopeful that I could thrift every glass votive individually from my favorite resale spots and give them all the same gold leaf treatment for a modern, upscale, shabby-chic look. But to save on time and spare the trouble I took an amazing deal on assorted sets of glass votive holders from JoAnn at about $4.49 per 12 pack.

When looking for gold leafing paint (because glitter is evil), I came across DecoArt Elegant Finish Metallic Paint ($7 at JoAnn) in a shade of champagne gold that really seemed to fit my neutral color scheme much better than brilliant gold.

Using a small foam brush, I experimented with each glass until I found the technique that I liked. The paint dries really quickly, so I was able to paint them all once and do touch-ups and a second coat in one sitting.

Et, voila! Pretty adorable, huh?

But why stop there? I’ve already got a love-bird motif evolving, so I grabbed these candle holders that I bought for my very first apartment to see if I could spruce them up a bit.

Using the DecoArt Metallic Paint, I generously covered the birds with a thick globby coat.

Without wasting any time I used a paper towel to scrub of all of the wet paint until the birds were dry.

Once they were wiped dry they were still covered in champagne gold, and I had three adorable little love-bird votive holders for the guest sign-in table!

So, pleased with how quick and easy it was to use the gold paint, I grabbed my old lantern collection from college and gave them a quick champagne gold treatment as well.

Overall, finding the DecoArt paint has been a total lifesaver, and a very inexpensive way to give new life to beat-up and previously used items while creating a theme with color and shine!

With only one month till the wedding, at least I’ve got my votives done–right?

Until next time,