Today, I’m excited to share a little thrift store upgrade with you. I am participating in Swap It Like Its Hot, a contest of sorts where bloggers send each other items that they found at the thrift store or flea market. The recipient has to transform the item into something for their home.
These sorts of swaps are always fun, but really nerve wracking for me. My style is different than most of the other bloggers participating, so I was really scared about what I would be getting in the mail! Luckily for me, Katrina from Chic Little House sent me an awesome thrift store score.
Truth be told, I really loved these horse head bookends as they were. One of the horses has a chipped ear and the monkey pod wood was a little scratched up. But, what fun would that have been if I just left them as is? No fun at all!
I decided that these would be great for Emma’s room, and I would put them on her dresser underneath the crazy carousel horse shelves. I wanted them to have a little more character, so glitter came to the rescue.
I found this container of mixed glitter at Michael’s – it has fine glitter and coarse glitter. I liked the idea of using different sizes of glitter on the horse. So, I mixed these two together with another jar of fine glitter, and I came up with a glitter mixture.
I sprayed one side of the bookends at a time with spray adhesive (I used Super 77) and sprinkled the glitter on them. When I glitter, I like to line a casserole dish with foil so that it will catch the extra glitter and I can easily pour it back into my jar to use again.
After I was finished with the glitter, I sprayed two coats of Krylon’s Glitter Blast clear sealer. I love this stuff, since it helps keep the glitter from flaking off of my projects.
When the sealer was dry, I was able to put them in Emma’s room.
Didn’t they turn out fun? Here’s a close up of one of the bookends.
I love the mix of glitter sizes, since I feel like it gives the bookends something unexpected.
Be sure to check out all of the other #SwapItLikeItsHot thrift store projects! Links to each blog can be found below.
2 Little Superheroes | AKA Design | A Chic Little House | The Chronicles of Home | Ciburbanity | Decor Adventures | Desert Domicile | Finding Silver Pennies | Gourley Girl & Guy | The Happier Homemaker | Hearts and Sharts | A Home Full of Color | Makely Home | Making Lemonade | My Passion For Decor | Primitive and Proper | Queen of Everything | Rooms For Rent | Shades of Blue | Stone Gable | Thoughts From Alice | Town and Country Living | Two Purple Couches | While They Snooze | White Buffalo Styling Co. | Windgate Lane
Do you have a special thrift store transformation of your home? Add it to our link up below:
I’m stealing those next time I visit. Sorry, Emma.
I absolutely love them!!!
Those are a great thrift store find, I would have kept them for myself!
But you are right, glitter makes them all better! Great idea with the mixing of sizes, I didn’t know they had that. Glad to be on the swap with you 🙂
Those rock!! AND I have to say thanks for the great tip on saving the glitter. I never thought to do that!
those are so fun! i actually have one of those bookends in my gallery wall which happens to be in my swap it post- too funny! love their sparkly new look!
I’m totally smitten with what you did with them!! When I saw them in the thrift store, I just knew they’d be a fun project!! All that glitter is making me happy! So happy you had the perfect spot for them!!
Mixing the two glitters was genius – these are fab!
You had me at glitter. I’m with Melody… I never consider glitter because I assume it will be a disaster. Look out, kids… there’s some glitter going down now!
Omg these are so fun!!! Love them. So perfect for a little girls room.
How darling are these glitzy bookends? What a fabulous trash to treasure makeover!
WHAT?! Those are ah-MAY-zing! I looooove them. The glitter is incredible and as soon as you said you were putting them in your daughter’s room I thought, “AHHH with the CAROUSEL horses?!” Amazing. 🙂 Love it and SO glad you joined in on this swap with us! 🙂
Those horsey bookends are so cool covered in glitter! Love ’em!
Brilliant, Lindsay! Great general glitter tips too about the casserole dish and the spray sealer. Love how these came out – perfect example of turning a thrift store find into something that looks totally high end!
I love them! I gasped because I have the EXACT same bookends. Identical! Found them in Hawaii and painted them turquoise but your idea is much more original!
oh muy goodness….I am in love with this!!!!! im putting it on my mental ‘thrift store wish list’ although im certain I will never be able to cross it off. those are so stinkin cool!!! I love the glitter!!!! and the #swapitlikeitshot…….really?!?! awesome- although now snoop is stuck in my head, so thanks for that! lol
I love glitter, bookends, and horses. So these are a total win-win-win in my book! I bet your daughter is loving them 🙂