A Merry Thriftmas Challenge: Re-purposed Holiday Tablescape

If you’ve been reading along for very long you know that I’m all about getting the “look for less” when it comes to furniture and home décor, and that’s especially true around the holidays when money is tighter than usual. Holiday decor can be pricey, and extra money for decorating is hard to come by this time of the year. I was so excited when the lovely and talented Alice, from Thoughts from Alice, invited me to join this amazing group of bloggers as part of this fun blog-hop, sharing ideas about how to use thrifted items to decorate your home inexpensively for the holidays. The goal was to re-use or create a holiday vignette or project for under $25.00 using thrift store items – you better believe I’m on board for this challenge!

I popped into my favorite thrift store last weekend during a half-off sale and was able to purchase items to create a fun, festive holiday tablescape for less than $25.00 (total price, including previously purchased items).  I wasn’t sure exactly what I was looking for so I tried to keep an open mind while I wandered up and down the aisles, scouring the shelves. Luckily, it didn’t take long for inspiration to strike.

As soon as I spotted these fun cone shaped vases I immediately thought “Christmas trees”. Turned upside-down, they are the perfect “tree” shape. I believe they were originally the glass votive parts of wall sconces, but the rest of the pieces were missing. Now, what to do with them?  At first I thought I would paint them all to resemble these mercury glass trees that I’ve seen in the department stores recently (for around $25.00 each), but then I thought about all of the fun things I could fill them with, and I decided to do a combination of both paint and fillers.

Thrift stores usually have an abundance of glass vases, and this particular store was no exception. I began snatching up any vase that even remotely resembled a Christmas tree (when turned upside-down), and soon I had enough to make a tablescape. I then began searching for items to fill the vases. I found a couple of bags of ornaments and a string of shiny, beaded garland, but nothing else that fit with the gold and silver color scheme of the items I had already found.

Back at home, I pulled out some of my Christmas bins and rummaged through, looking for more things to put in my vases. I happened upon my bottle brush trees from last year’s holiday tablescape, and some faux snow that hadn’t been opened. A can of Rustoleum Mirror Effects spray paint and some previously thrifted dessert plates completed my supply list. 

I used this tutorial for painting one of the vases to get the mercury glass look I was after. This paint can be pricey, but I had purchased mine previously while it was on sale (to use on another project).

While the paint was drying, I decided what items to put in each vase, then filled them all up and placed them on top of the plates.

Then I played around with the placement of each piece until I was happy with the arrangement.

I had so much fun with this project, and I just love the finished result. The sky is the limit with a project like this; there are so many different things you could use as filler. My kids suggested I fill the vases with holiday candies; peppermints, marshmallows, candy canes, etc; which I think is a great idea! You could also use the same item in all of the vases; all ornaments, all trees, all snow… or paint them all to look like mercury glass and light them with battery-operated candles. You could also use glue to secure the vases to the plates, and give them as unique, inexpensive gifts. Like I said, the possibilities are endless!

I hope this has encouraged you to look at decorating with thrift store items in a new light. Yes, sometimes it can be a challenge to find what you’re looking for, but other times it can be a blessing; forcing you to think outside the box and stretch your imagination. You’ll never find this arrangement in a department store, or even  a specialty store for that matter, because it’s an original creation; made by me. 

Are you ready to look at more original creations made using thrifted items? Me too! Stop by and see what these talented bloggers have been working on!