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Monday, April 29, 2013

Gold Vases

Confession time:  I have a weird quirk.  I probably have lots of them, but this one confuses even me.  Each time one of the kids gets sick, I start thinking of projects around the house that I can tackle.  I have a running notebook of ideas, and when opportunity strikes, or a new feeding tube gets inserted, as it were, out come the craft or project supplies.  I'm sure it is a pathological something rooted in my inner child or a repressed memory trying to surface.
 
Anyway, I recently updated this vase.  Like it?
 
 

Here's what it used to look like.  I had two of these vases on hand that were a good shape, but just plain.


I got the idea from Young House Love's decorating book.  It's a great resource with lots of ideas to get you going.  My mom gave it to me as a little respite during Nate's ongoing medical issues {she gets my quirk - inherited, maybe?}, and I read it from cover to cover.  Twice.  Maybe it's a sociological fixation with home decor.  Can you have a sociological fixation with home decor?

Back to our project.  If you'd like to do this, just pick any old jar or vase and a favorite color of craft paint.  Now gob it on with a foam brush or paint brush.  Thin coats aren't going to benefit you here.  You'll do a lot of coats if you want it to be opaque anyway, but each coat only takes a few minutes.  It was fun, actually.  You can see I experimented with both long strokes {top of picture} and a little circular pattern {bottom of picture}.  It didn't end up mattering very much which I did.  The end product was a hammered gold look. 


Once you're done, you've taken a boring or average vase and made it a very pretty vessel for your flowers or whatever you put in your vases. 


I painted both of these the same way, but later thought that it would have been cool to find another at a thrift store {they always have lots of vases} and do them each with a slighty different pattern and display them all together.  Multiples in odd numbers are the most pleasing to the eye.  I know that that is true, but I don't know why.  Anyone want to enlighten me?

 
This project was very easy and not very time consuming.  It took a long time from start to finish to get the opaque look I wanted, but each coat just took a couple of minutes and the rest was drying time.
 
My only caution - be careful not to paint the bottom of the vase or it will stick to the surface on which you place it.  Not that I know this....  Because I don't have a new vase-shaped ring on my dresser now....
 
Update on Gater:  He has had his fourth tube for two weeks now, and has gained nearly two pounds with it!  He still isn't eating, but he is opening his mouth to take water on a spoon which is great progress!  He is very happy and we are doing really well.  Please keep praying.  I am amazed how quickly I can fluctuate between being perfectly content in whatever circumstances I am, and being discontent, whiny, and petulant.  I am so thankful my Heavenly Father is in charge of this {and all things} and not me!    

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