Hobby Lobby doesn’t always have a great selection of clearance items (80-90% off), but when you find something it is seriously the best. It’s even better than thrift store prices most of the time.
I was in there the other day and I saw that these were on sale:
My husband wanted to know what the heck these were. I didn’t really know how to explain that they were purely ornamental and didn’t serve a purpose. He thought one of them looked like a septor and then mentioned something about how they reminded him of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.
These are far too dark for my liking but the clearance price was… wait for it … $2.50! They had all been marked down from between $20-$30, to only $2.50 a piece. And I had been waiting to find something I could try the shabby chic painting method on. These fit the bill.
I’m sure many or all of you have seen the technique on Pinterest where you use Vaseline on an object you want to spray paint, and put the Vaseline in areas where you want the paint NOT to adhere, thus creating a shabby chic/ antique appearance. You just wipe away the Vaseline areas after the paint dries with a cloth or paper towel. It’s just that easy. That’s what I wanted to try with these. I already had white spray paint and Vaseline, so I was ready to go. 
This is how they turned out. I still have 2 more to paint but I’m considering doing another color on those. I was very happy with the results and eager to change out my mantel decor for the Spring.
As you can see I also used this method on the blue picture frame behind my new decor. Worked like a charm. The frame is one of the $2 IKEA frames. I also found a cute little bird’s nest from Dollar Tree to put in the glass vase. The candle holders are from a thrift store. I purchased those about a year ago.
I tried the technique on an old lantern I had in our basement. I found it on clearance at the local grocery store two summers ago because it was missing the glass panels. The white mirror is from the thrift store. I found it on their 50% off day and it was only $1.50. I ended up painting it though because it was kind of a yellowish cream color. I wasn’t digging that.
Pretty much everything on my mantel cost less than $3. It’s still a work in progress but it’s nice to finally retire the winter decor and freshen things up a bit.
The moral of this story is ALWAYS check the Hobby Lobby clearance aisle. I swear that my Goodwill would’ve charged $10 for each of these. But then again, the Goodwill by my house thinks they’re a fancy department store. (I know they aren’t all like that).
I figured you might want a full view. I apologize that my pictures aren’t of professional caliber.
Thriftspirations 