Thrifted Pear Gets a Facelift

On Monday Squirt and I headed out to do a little shopping. I knew I wanted to visit the new Jo-Ann's that just opened a few miles away from us and that right next to it was a Goodwill location I had heard good things about. I didn't really scheme up a wish list since there's no telling how long kids will endure thrift stores on any given trip. As it turns out, she loved it almost as much as I did and came home with a "new" pair of rollerblades she scored for $2.50. While I wandered around I found this little pear I just couldn't live without. 

I love pears. 

Ripe pears of any variety, pear art, and last (but definitely not least) the juicy pear jelly belly of awesomeness. 

At $1.99 I had to have it, but I wasn't sure what to do with it. It had a somewhat endearing rustic appearance but I'm not much of a rustic style girl. When we got home it landed on a shelf in the living room where the hubs asked in a somewhat less than thrilled voice "What IS that thing?" He is so patient with my endless collecting of things to refurbish, but this one he just couldn't envision. I'm sure the fact that it's made of cement contributed to that. 

Looking back at it now I can see his hesitation. It looked to be caked in dirt and though I scrubbed and scrubbed it just wouldn't come off. Which meant it was time for paint. 

I started with FolkArt metallic in Antique Copper, which was an immediate improvement. 

It seemed too flat though so I started mottling different colors from my stash. Don't we all have a stash of little acrylic paints? This is when that decorative effects stuff from the background came in to play. I have LOVED that little bottle of paint. It's leftover from a wall I painted in a house way back in 2002 and there is honestly 2/3 of the bottle left. I may cry when it finally runs out.

What 'cha think? In person there is a little more variation because the different sheens (metallic, matte, gloss) that I dabbed on here and there do nice things with the light. 

I can hardly believe it's the same little pear. It's such a pretty little touch of autumn. Never underestimate the impact of a little paint and patience.