Anthropologie Inspired Vases

$28.00 Anthro Vase

$18.00 Anthro Vase

I saw these Anthropologie vases and fell in love with THEM but not their PRICE.  So off to the thrift store I went!  

I found these two vases that had classic design and shape as well as this metal ‘spray’ of flowers.  I cleaned and dried the vases and using wire cutters cut of the flowers I wanted to use (leaving many more on the spray for future projects!). Note: A lot of people think I used silk flowers -- nope.  This is a 'bouquet' of METAL flowers.

First I sprayed the vases and flowers with white primer.  I sprayed the tall vase with Rust-Oleum Glacier Blue (which is very close to the colors we painted our living /dining room).  I sprayed the short vase with Rust-Oleum black primer because that’s what I had.  To achieve the look of porcelain glass, I finished the black one off with several coats of a store brand HIGH gloss lacquer spray paint.  I only did this because I already had the black primer and gloss lacquer and didn’t want to go buy black gloss paint.

For the flowers, I simply got out my acrylic paint stash and began mixing and blending to come up with that same color family of blue/green and the orange which is an accent color in the rooms.  I painted them all over with one coat and let dry.  Then I went back and darkened each paint  color and began adding different ‘shades’ of the original color to give the flowers some dimension.  

I sprayed each flower with several coats of the Krylon Crystal Clear but still wasn’t satisfied that they really looked like “glass”.  I have a wonderful clear glue called “Crystal Effects” from Stampin’ Up!  that provides a very high gloss and stays dimensional.  I spread one layer of it onto the flowers and this really made them look like they are made of glass! Using E6000 glue, I attached the flowers to the vases and there you have it!

Anthro Vases: $47.00 for two vases

My Versions:  $5.00 for two vases (Each vase: $1.00.  Flower spray: $3.00)