text: Holiday Decorating: Go for the Gold
  December 2, 2009 at 7:19 am Leave a Comment
  In my early years of marriage, our budget was very tight due to two house payments that we were shackled with because of a relocation. I had to learn quickly to be creative in my holiday decorating to keep expenses down.
  I remember well the year that "24 Carat Gold Spray Paint" became my new best friend. I sprayed everything in my path barely missing my husband. It does not matter what you spray this gold paint on, it will look very festive and also expensive. Gather twigs and branches, leaves, pine cones and any type of nuts from your yard and start spraying. Magnolia tree branches and leaves work great and can be left natural if that is your preference.
  If you like things more glitzy and festive, go for the gold.
  Spray the large leafy branches and twigs gold and put them in place using them as a foundation.
  Fill the gaps with greenery from pine branches or visit your local Christmas tree lot and they will give you the cut offs for free.
  Purchase an inexpensive string of white lights intertwined throughout the branches.
  Next, place your sprayed pine cones.
  Pick up some inexpensive gold ornaments or the clear glass (mix and match) from the discount store and insert as well—better yet, look around your house and see if you have anything that needs to be refurbished and get out the paint.
  One year, I went to a garage sale and there were some extremely large plastic ornaments. They were pink, green and white in various shapes – quite, quite ugly – but I liked them for their size and I had a vision. I pulled out the 24 carat gold spray paint and they turned out beautifully and even quite expensive looking due to their oversize. You could not tell they were plastic. Something like this would be a great addition to a mantle or buffet. I use them in a gold basket with other items (a few I spray painted) with beads and mesh gold ribbon and various odds and ends found around the house.
  Visit one of the discount stores or dollar stores and see if you can find a few strings of beads to drape over the branches. I used some pearlescent beads that went beautiful with the gold. Once your foundation is in place, you can improvise and add items to suit your taste — maybe a beautiful angel or two inserted amongst the branches.
  Don't limit yourself to just the gold paint, if silver or red is your preference.
  Another occasion when the 24 carat gold spray paint came in handy was when I arrived home from one of my treasure hunting trips with an old, antique lamp shade that was being discarded. It was a little yellowed from age but other than that in great condition and the shape was very unique. I sprayed the shade with the paint (yes, it was fabric) and it turned out beautifully and hid the stains. Next, I added some green and gold trim tassel trip around the top with a hot glue gun and it matched the lamp beautifully.
  Look around for old vases and boxes that are out of date and give them a spray. It is amazing what a $5 can of spray paint can do!
  Filed Under: Holidays, Home and Garden Tagged With: Budget, Christmas, Countdown to Christmas, Craft, Decorating