Easy Thrift Store Vase Makeover With Paint

You can say, I’m jumping on the thrift store vase makeover with paint bandwagon. I’m seeing so many up-cycle vase makeovers projects on social media that are capturing my attention, and you know me, I just love to paint. How about you? Well then let me show you how easy it is to transform a vase using craft paint.

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Thrifting

We all love a good bargain. Right?! Well I spent a little more than I wanted, but I still only paid $10 for two vases.

Before I explain the vase makeover process, let’s talk about thrifting for a moment. The possibilities of decorating and organizing our homes are endless with the variety of items you can find thrifting, junkin and antiquing these days.

Sometimes we buy little treasures because we appreciate their design and beauty. Other times we see a diamond in the rough and our imaginations go wild. For me, I can say it’s a little bit of both, but with restraint.

At this stage of my life I don’t really want to fill my home with a lot of stuff. Instead I look for ways to update what I have or replace things that no longer fit my style.

Over the past few years I’ve donated lots of boxes of what I call “good junk”. There have been a few things I regret giving away, but for the most part I like knowing that someone else will put those items to better use.

These days when I go thrifting or antiquing, I make a list of what I’m looking for before I ever walk out the door. For the most part it keeps me in check, and I don’t get carried away. 😉

Thrift Store Vase Makeover With Paint

There are two reasons why I’m excited about this project. The first reason is that I love upcycling projects and I want to give it a try. The second reason is the anticipation of creating something that will look pretty in my home.

When searching for vases for a project like this one, I look for shape and size. As you will see even though one is a glossy ceramic and the other is glass, it doesn’t really matter because paint will work on both.

Supplies

• ceramic or glass vase
• craft brush
• chip brush
• terra cotta craft paint
• acrylic craft paint

Instructions

The first step before jumping into the painting process is to clean your vase. Use dish soap and water and make sure there is no residue from price tags. (Use rubbing alcohol or Goo Gone to remove sticky residue.)

Once the vase is dry, you are ready to paint. Note, I did not have to use any type of primer on either vase. Instead I jumped right into painting each vase with Folk Art Terra Cotta (snow) craft paint. You can find textured paint here.

It took two coats of paint to cover the tall ceramic vase and three coats for the glass vase.

I like using the terra cotta craft paint, because it has just a little bit of thick texture and covers both surfaces really well. To see how terra cotta paint looks on flower pots click here, and on a lamp click here.

Once both vases were dry I went back over each one and lightly added white acrylic craft paint with a chip brush to highlight the raised areas. This creates a two tone effect and also adds a little more texture to the finish.

You can find craft brushes here and chip brushes here. In my opinion you can’t have to many chip brushes, I use them all the time.

Note: Don’t forget to paint the inside of the rim and neck, so it will match the outside of the vase.

Be sure to follow Thistle Key Lane on Pinterest, where the boards are up to date with seasonal inspiration you can use right now!

Makeover Complete

I have to admit the transformation of the purple glass vase is almost unbelievable. What a difference, and no one will guess that there is glass under that paint. I’m so happy with this little up-cycle project, and I love how both of them look.

Thanks for stopping by for a super easy thrift store vase makeover. Now let’s see what you can find thrifting or better yet, shop your own home, for your next up-cycling project.

Cheers!

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