Before and After DIY Decor: A Yen For A Silver and White Christmas

Christmas is here so it is time to say goodbye to all the pink and white and warm things up for the winter. Yet, I've been dreaming of a white Christmas, so I decided to gather all my thrift store bits and pieces of silver and silverplate and gather them all in one place. My fireplace mantel is now a winter wonderland with a few hits of pink and green. I love it!

However, I had one problem. The candlestick lights I have on my mantel were brass. Brass! It just didn't work well with all the pieces of silver. (The photo below does not do justice to the travesty that were the brass lights.)

Blessed with a stroke of inspiration, I pulled out the silver leafing products I bought to turn a plain clear vase into a "mercury glass" wonder (big time fail--it looked awful!) and started to experiment on the brass lights.

Leafing, whether in silver or gold, is one of the most frustrating, annoying and tedious projects there are. However, once I got the hang of it, things started to go more smoothly. Lots of hand washing between layers is a must so that the leaf doesn't stick to your fingers instead of the item being leafed.

Often, the leaf didn't stick to the item, no matter what I tried. Remember to dust and/or clean your item well before leafing. I. Did. Not. Hence, mucho imperfections. However, it does give the candlestick a bit of that mercury glass look I was wanting for the last project. Plus, from a distance, you don't even notice the bald spots. However, a second layer of sizing (the liquid you apply to the piece before applying the leaf) and silver leafing took care of most of these problems.

Be sure to look at your item from all angles and get the inside, upside, downside, every side. In the end, I was extremely happy with the finished product and love how my silver candlestick lights look. Click HERE for more photos of my Christmas decor this year. Click HERE for photos of my decor last year.