When I shared my Fall Home Tour a few days ago, I promised a tutorial for how I made the fall candlestick decor that was included in the vignette in my media center. Today I’m delivering on that promise and sharing how simple they were to make!
A few years ago (back before I started my blog), I used to find fun ideas to make on Pinterest. One of the things I saw was this cute candlestick decor. It didn’t have instructions, but I figured it out easy enough. I bought four wooden candlesticks from Michael’s. I believe I got the finials at Lowes, but I haven’t seen this style there in a while. I cut a 2×4 into four 6″ pieces and then sanded and glued them to the candlesticks using wood glue. I screwed the finials into the tops of the 2x4s and then painted all of them. I started with a white paint first, then painted them black. I had heard about using Vaseline when distressing paint, so I tried that out on this project. It actually worked pretty good! I just rubbed a little bit on each piece in a few areas and then painted over it with the black paint.
When the paint dried, I grabbed some vinyl that I had on hand for my lettering.
Now for how I repurposed them! I had been thinking that I really wanted to make seasonal candlestick decor and was planning to make a whole new set of candlesticks. Then, after looking at them one day, I realized that the back of them was blank! Why I didn’t think of that before is beyond me. I decided that I could add something to the back of them to dress them up for fall! That way I didn’t have to make a whole new set and I didn’t have to figure out a place to put these while I had my Fall candlestick decor out.
I wanted something that wasn’t permanent. Especially since now I have the realized notion that I can repurpose these for Christmas.
I grabbed some wide (5 inches) burlap ribbon that I had on hand, some leftover thumbtacks from my Ballard-Inspired Leather Studded Monogram project and decided those would be a perfect (temporary) way to attach the burlap. I figured out the size I’d need for my letters, and then cut them out of scrap vinyl. I have a hard time throwing away even the tiniest piece of scrap vinyl because I never know when I might need it for something.
To attach the burlap, I just centered it on the 2×4 piece and tacked it into place in all four corners. Super easy!
I used transfer paper to stick the vinyl to the burlap. It was a bit tricky to center it all since I couldn’t see that well through the paper, but I was very grateful when I pulled it off and didn’t have to reposition the vinyl.
I used black fabric paint and stenciled the letters. While they were still a bit wet, I carefully peeled the vinyl off. The burlap ribbon wants to stretch a bit, so I had to be sure to gently hold it down in places while I peeled back the vinyl.
They fit perfectly with the rest of the decor in my media center. The chippy paint and burlap give them a rustic feel and the thumb tacks tie in to the metallic pumpkins and gourds I have. I will probably change them out for Christmas too! I love being able to repurpose decor. It makes seasonal decorating a bit cheaper and saves attic space:) Both of those make my husband VERY happy. Another example of my love for repurposing is the DIY fall centerpiece in my home tour was repurposed last year to become my Christmas centerpiece as well! My Fall Scrabble Tile Pillows also were designed with repurposing in mind. I can just flip them over and they’re all set for Christmas!
Do you like to repurpose things when you decorate your home? What are some your favorite repurposed or upcycled projects?
I like them. You can spell NOEL on the ones for Christmas.
Thank you, Mary! That was what I was thinking, too:)
This is very clever…how cute!
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You could use them for Valentines day, “XOXO”.
Happy Monday!!
I like that idea!
What size candle sticks did you use, I absolutely love them
Hi Pam,
The candlesticks were I believe 6”.