Fun with ORB

One of my favorite bloggers is Nancy at Artsy Chicks Rule.  I follow her on Bloglovin and Pinterest because she has so many creative decorating diy ideas and instructive before-and-after posts.  Not long ago Nancy blogged about all the things in her home she has updated using "oil-rubbed bronze," a.k.a. ORB spray paint.  It was pretty impressive.  And it gave me an idea....

I decided to go to the local thrift store and pick up as many items as I could find within a $20 budget to experiment with ORB spray paint.  And just to be ornery, I tried finding test objects that would take this experiment to the very limits of hideousness.


I think I succeeded.

I used the no-mess "paint in a box" method that so many pinners recommend.  (I suppose I could have used a bigger box.)

It was easy.  I spray-painted each item (sometimes several at a time) inside the box, waited for the paint to dry, then rotated and repeated.  The paint dries quickly, so I was able to get most things completely covered within a few hours.

This was fun, and the results were surprisingly good...

Here are the "after" shots of my crazy collection.

You may have already seen what I did with the brass candle holder on a previous post.  If not, check it out.  

The scratched-up silver collage frame turned out nicely.

 And here are all the rest:

Now I get it.  People love oil-rubbed bronze spray paint for a reason:  it can make ANYTHING look good!

Well... almost anything.

Come on.   

Trash Becomes Treasure: Glass Planter

In this project I took an old brass candle holder and a glass bowl vase and turned them into a rather pretty planter for succulents.


The base of the planter started out looking like this -- not horrible, but kind of outdated.

I purchased it at a thrift store for 99 cents as part of an experiment in which I used oil-rubbed bronze spray paint to "de-uglify" a crazy assortment of items selected for that purpose.  Read more about that here.  I was so pleased with the result of that experiment, I decided to find some creative way to use my beautified little holder.

I found a fishbowl-shaped glass vase that fit it perfectly, and I knew just what to do...

First step, I filled the bottom of the bowl with some small, pretty stones.

Next I added some activated carbon, which I have heard is a good thing to include in terrariums and such to avoid funky odor build-up.  I found it in the fish section of a pet supplies store.

On top of that I placed a coffee filter that I folded to a shape slightly smaller than the surface of the material beneath it.  I used this to prevent the potting soil from filtering down through the pebbles.

I added a layer of soil directly over the filter, placed my plants in the soil, and gently added another layer of the pretty stones around them.

Here is my planter, happy in its new home.  (I'm happy, too.)

Infused vinegars in pretty jars

I love citrus vinegar.  It's the best for making homemade mayonnaise and salad dressings (which you can read about here.)  But don't go looking for it at the grocer's -- make your own!