Summer junkin’ is here and I scored my first finds of the season, two large urns that just needed some TLC to be real beauties! I only spent $8 for the pair!

 As soon  as I spotted the urns at a yard sale, I knew I could fix them up with some chalk paint mixed in thick Plaster of Paris. As you can see, the black spray paint was chipping off horribly and some of the composite type of material had crumbled. No problem!

This is the type of look I was going for in my thrifted urns makeover. Old concrete or cast iron urns with aged patina make me swoon! In fact, I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to Glorious Urns.

I didn’t really plan for this post to be a DIY tutorial, but the makeover was super simple:

• I mixed up (1/2 cup?) ivory and greige paint samples from my stash in 1/2 cup warm water with A LOT of Plaster of Paris in a plastic cup until it was almost like brownie batter.
• I painted the mixture on the urn thickly, working very fast since the thick P of P dries fast.
• After coating the entire urn, I went back over the whole urn slapping on the mixture and spreading it around with my gloved hands, filling in all of the cracks until no chipping flakes of paint were able to be seen. I repeated the process for both urns.

Here you can see how the first urn looked as the paint mixture started to dry and set up. No more chipping paint! I created a “mossy” patina by taking handfuls of grass and weeds and rubbing them all over the urn, especially in areas that would naturally age.  I even used a bit of muddy water in a plastic cup painted in cracks and crevices to age the urn and it worked great!

The urn on the left had not been “aged” with dirt and grass. You can see how much more authentic the one on the right appears.  

Elegant Thrifted Urns on the New Front Porch!

The urns look perfect flanking the large door and sidelights on our 44 foot long porch of our 1926 American Foursquare! We aren’t moved in yet,  and I haven’t really decorated the porch with the porch furniture, decorative rugs and decor that will be permanent. Still,  I wanted to at least clean up the construction mess and add a little patriotic flair for summer. I painted the porch dark gray and I am loving the color, but it’s going to be hard to keep clean until I get the larger jute sisal  placed in three areas along the porch. (The plain utility rug is just to keep the porch a little cleaner) 

Even though the porch isn’t “finished” it looks so pretty with the new urns that will definitely be staying put because they are just perfect! I also thrifted the copper drink tub on a stand earlier this spring. I love it filled with begonias! 

*I love the address plaque that was already on the porch! I don’t worry about sharing the address on the blog since anybody can google anybody’s address these days and if someone wants to know where we live then it’s easy enough to find out!

Would you guess that this urn is some kind of composite material and not actually concrete? I think I did a convincing job of creating a concrete look!

 I already had the paint and Plaster of Paris on hand, so eight dollars for two elegant urns was a great deal! Most urns of this size are well over $100 each. (*Still looking for the perfect vintage style door bell button.)

I hope you enjoyed taking a sneek peak at our new front porch as it is starting to shape up for summer and that my thrifted urns makeover has inspired you to repair old pots or urns that have good shape and style but look a little worse for the wear.  Please do stop back soon to see more of the porch and inside our new home as I begin to reveal before and after spaces in the weeks ahead.

Thanks for visiting!

Amber