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The Frugal Homemaker

Your guide to turning your house into a home... one DIY project and yard sale find at a time

75¢ Yard sale candlesticks get a paint makeover

May 1, 2013

Yard sale candlesticks get a paint makeover

Remember these candlesticks I got at a yard sale? I paid 25¢ and 50¢ for them – can’t beat 75¢ for a set of candlesticks.

yard sale finds

So here they are – before.

yard sale candlesticks

They were pretty nasty.  Covered in wax and dirt.

yard sale candlesticks

So I cleaned them up.  Then sprayed them with a quick coat of white primer just to make sure the paint would adhere well.  You know I wrestle with color and LOVE white!  So I have to admit, I did think for a second about leaving them white but I was determined to do a fun, bright color and add that to my home.

spray primer on candlesticks

I decided to use acrylic paint instead of spray paint.  Mainly because I didn’t want to spend $4+ on a can of spray paint and also because I thought I would try something different.  Michael’s had a sale a few weeks back and I got some acrylic paint for 3/$1.00.

craft paint

I painted them with a cheap craft foam brush – 2 coats of paint.

painted candlesticks with acrylic paint

The paint ended up being much brighter than I thought it would be.  But that was ok, because I planned on antiquing them.

I just used another bottle of acrylic paint, a dark brown, and dipped my foam brush in paint that was watered down a little.  And then brushed it all over the candlesticks making sure to get it in all the crevices‘

antiqued candlesticks with paint

Let the brown paint sit for a few seconds, then wiped most of it off.  You can also do this same technique with stain over paint.  And even paint a piece of furniture white, sand/distress the edges a bit, then brush some stain or glaze over it.

turquoise candlesticks

I like the antiqued, muted, distressed finish that it gives it.

antiqued candlesticks

I did a coat of matte mod podge over the top as a sealer and to give it some shine

Yard sale candlesticks get a paint makeover

Yard sale candlesticks get a paint makeover

Here they are displayed in my living room on the coffee table!

Yard sale candlesticks get a paint makeover

On a yard sale tray, with a yard sale milk glass vase filled with azaleas from my yard, and a clearance mercury glass candlestick.

Yard sale candlesticks get a paint makeover

Loving the color!  And loving my 75¢ painted candlesticks. Smile

Any fun yard sale or thrift store finds you have painted or redone recently?  Would love to see pictures or links to anything you have done.

You won’t want to miss Friday’s Frugal Finds post – I have been out of town the last few days and did some MAJOR thrift store shopping with some friends.  I can’t wait to show you all my finds!!

19 Comments LABELS ~ DIY projects, Painting projects

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Comments

  1. Esther says

    May 1, 2013 at 1:11 PM

    They turned out so pretty! I can’t wait to get to the States and do some thrift and yard sale shopping!

    Reply
  2. Leah says

    May 1, 2013 at 2:36 PM

    Wow! I knew you would turn them into something cute but these exceeded my expectations! Great work 🙂

    Reply
  3. Kelly Palmer says

    May 1, 2013 at 2:44 PM

    Ooooh, so very pretty Christina, I love them!!

    Reply
  4. Christa @ BrownSugarToast says

    May 1, 2013 at 3:18 PM

    Oooohhhhh – love them!!! Gorgeous work!

    Reply
  5. Lanita says

    May 1, 2013 at 3:34 PM

    Hey Christina……LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the candlesticks!! Thanks for sharing the paint techniques you used. I have a few things I want to paint when the rain stops…..after seeing your post, I am really anxious!! :O) I do have one question……what are the candlesticks made out of? Are they wooden? Metal?
    Can’t wait to see your “thrifty finds” post on Friday!
    Blessings,
    Lanita

    Reply
  6. Jennifer @ Decorated Chaos says

    May 1, 2013 at 4:11 PM

    I love how your candlesticks turned out. The antique finish looks great! You did a really good job and what a bargain too!

    Jennifer @ Decorated Chaos

    Reply
  7. Marcia says

    May 1, 2013 at 6:17 PM

    Love these!

    Reply
  8. Stacey says

    May 1, 2013 at 9:40 PM

    Your candlesticks turned out great. Love the spot of blue in your room – looks really neat with the drapes in the background.

    Reply
  9. Ellen says

    May 1, 2013 at 11:01 PM

    They turned out really well! I have a thrifty find of a dozen brass napkin rings that I would love any hints on how to upcycle them.

    Reply
  10. Jenna says

    May 3, 2013 at 8:58 AM

    Awesome find and you did an amazing job re-doing them! Love the color!
    Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof

    Reply
  11. Stephanie says

    May 3, 2013 at 1:36 PM

    Wow! Thanks for sharing this process. So pretty. They add the perfect touch of color!

    Stephanie @ thestyledsoul.com

    Reply
  12. Cheryl says

    May 3, 2013 at 3:36 PM

    Fabulous job!! very creative!

    Reply
  13. website devlpment says

    May 17, 2013 at 5:07 PM

    Remarkable issues here. I’m very satisfied to look your article. Thank you so much and I’m
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    you please drop me a e-mail?

    Reply
  14. Frieda says

    May 21, 2013 at 6:49 AM

    Everything published was actually very reasonable. However, what about this?
    what if you added a little content? I mean, I don’t wish to tell you how to run your blog, however suppose you added a post title to possibly grab folk’s attention?

    I mean 75¢ Yard sale candlesticks get a paint makeover | The Frugal Homemaker is a little vanilla.
    You might look at Yahoo’s home page and watch how they create article titles to grab people to click. You might add a video or a pic or two to grab readers interested about everything’ve written.
    Just my opinion, it might make your posts a little livelier.

    Reply
  15. Wendy J @ rockinwhatyagot.com says

    July 10, 2013 at 6:52 PM

    These look nice Christina, I have one candlestick similar to that and I have wanted to do just what you’ve done here. So thanks for the tutorial. Now, I can skip my own trial and error ;)! I’ll be sure to source you up! Love it.

    Reply
  16. Debbie T says

    July 4, 2015 at 1:32 PM

    These are absolutely beautiful! I can’t look at something and see it’s potential. I wish I could. I’ll be following you, hopefully I’ll get better at thrift and yard sale shopping. Thanks for sharing your beautiful make over.

    Reply
  17. Martha says

    January 13, 2016 at 9:29 AM

    NICE!! I love the color.

    Reply
  18. paul hoye says

    April 10, 2017 at 6:35 AM

    hi, like your work… i have bought an old candleholder and it is cream with gold highlights…old paint, probably from the Thirties…looks very tired now…i would prefer to brighten it up… should i strip old paint off? some slight flaking underneath…i think if i paint over..(its already thick painted) i would mess it up…i don’t know what kind of paint to use, i would think it needs be non flammable…any advice gratefully received… thanks…PAUL.

    Reply
  19. Linda Stolinas says

    May 12, 2020 at 12:06 PM

    I tried your technique and oh my goodness it came out perfect. Thank you so much for the step-by-step directions.

    Reply

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Hi!  My name is Christina . . .

I love doing simple, frugal things to make our house feel like HOME! Come learn along with me how to have a beautiful home on a budget.

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