Another man's [or daughter's] treasure. First things first, my dad has been re-purposing, refurnishing, dumpster diving, and thrift-store shopping since way before it was trendy or "in." For years and years of my childhood, my mom, sisters and I would sit around before dinner, waiting for my dad to come home. His entrance was always exciting; he would usually sweep in all loud and excited saying "hi everybody!" and giving out hugs and kisses like he hadn't seen us in years. I loved it, it made me feel special for being the most important part of his day. On top of his great entrance, he usually had some kind of treat or special surprise for us girls. Candy, a new book, some postcards with cool pictures, old national geographic magazines, small trinkets... just a mishmosh of little treasures. Growing up, he didn't have much, and grew to appreciate the stuff that many of us toss. Which means he is a die-hard consignment shop lover- much to the chagrin of my mother. For every gem he found, there was a large pile of, eh-hem... trash. Well years went by, and even though us girls grew up and moved out, my dad still brings us little treasures, just adapted to suit our more grown-up needs. Some of his gifts are lovely; once he gave me a porcelain mask of a smiling Buddha that now hangs happily on one of my walls, and just about every single frame in my apartment came from him. But like I mentioned earlier, with every gem, there was a pile of... well, take these candlestick holders for example...
Well, either it's because I'm my father's daughter, or I have a soft spot for any old thing he gives me these days... I just couldn't get rid of these candlesticks. I just kept imagining him picking them out for me and thinking "Oh these are great, Ky will love these for her new apartment!" and I'd get teary eyed and move them as far away from the trash can as I possibly could in our one-bedroom. Then one day, it hit me: Spray paint them dummy! Their original shape isn't bad... and they actually have a great amount of detail: small raised bumps along the edges, rainbow-ish shaped... shapes (?) ... And, hey- I don't have any other candlestick holders lying around! I hurried over to my craft store and selected a non-brassy, matte gold, which I thought would be beautiful come Thanksgiving/Christmas and generally cooler weather. Spray painting was a little trickier than I thought at first, but Andy gave me some good pointers (much respect to graffiti artists).
What do you think? They turned out pretty nice in my opinion! Now, instead of inhabiting the top shelf of my food pantry, along with the bulk olive oil, pasta, flour and sugar, my candlestick holders are front and center, enjoying the limelight they were intended for.
Hey, by the way Dad- could you pick up some candlesticks for me? Apparently I only have tea-lights!
Try spray painting something in your house: picture frames, candles, glass bottles, little toys, the sky is the limit!
love,
M
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