modern boho vase

Hey! How has your week been? Ours was full of kids going back to school after being sick and an unexpected oral surgery for me, yay! But I am on the mend and doing lots of resting in our RV as Troy knew the only way I would take it easy would be to take me to our favorite campground.

I keep hearing all of the buzz about shortages on gifts “so you better hurry up and order them” news. Do you ever just want to keep is SUPER simple and jump off the shopping madness bus for a little bit? I am kind of there already and it’s still October.

Today I am sharing a fun way to bring new life to a Goodwill vase. I found a white vase while thrifting this summer and after filling it with fresh dahlia’s I realized someone has a pee-pee problem and leeks a bit. Not her fault, but I believe she is destined for pampas grass or dried flowers.

I think it was 4 or 5 dollars, and the primer and paint I already had on hand. So this is a pretty thrifty project, and I am loving how she turned out!

First I wiped the vase down with lacquer thinner to remove any debris and oils that might prevent the primer from really adhering well. I used two coats of all surface primer next and two coats of flat black spray paint after that.

After she was dry I kind of liked it just the way it was as this vase has flat faceted areas all over. But, alas the maximalist in me kept going 🙂

I used an off white acrylic paint and a small brush, making a design that does not require any planning really, this kind of reminded me of mud cloth. And after the vase was dry it was ready to fill.

As this will be used only for dry flowers and not have water in it (due to the pee-pee issue mentioned earlier) I did not use anything to seal it. But you could use a satin poly spray sealer too.

Sometimes you get part way thru an idea and you start to wonder if it will turn out ok or if you will like it. That self-doubt is what keeps us from trying new things and being adventurous. I had to remind myself that she was a leaky white vase and no matter what happens it will be better than it was!

And I love how it turned out! I tried a few different fillers but the pampas grass won, I love the flowy, earthy vibe it brings to an arrangement. But it looks great by itself too 🙂

So there you have it, little miss leaky got a makeover and a new lease on life. She is pretty, re-purposed and did not end up in a landfill. And that is one of my favorite things about seeing the possibility in something that goes beyond what it currently is.

Thank you so much for reading, may this find you creating and making time for you today, until next time-

xoxo, Tanya