Not too long ago, I posted a photo on my Facebook page that garnered a LOT of attention- an embroidered flower on a vintage mesh strainer. It was gorgeous and unique…and I was immediately struck with an idea of my own. Why not do something similar with a vintage aluminum colander, the kind that is covered in stars??
Hello, stars…
With July 4th right around the corner, it seemed as if the stars were aligning (overhead and in my hands)… so I decided to give it a go and create something patriotic with my colander. This post contains affiliate links for your crafting convenience.
First things first, I needed to paint it- but, red, white, or blue? In a Hallelujah moment, I realized I had all three colors in my spray paint stash…but the blue just spoke to me first- so I gave it a glossy makeover in royal blue. For my embroidery, I decided that plain white twine wasn’t pizazz-y enough, so I purchased some baker’s twine instead.
Like where this is going?
Embroidering the stars was easy- and there are plenty of ways I could have gone about it! But this was the design I had in my head…
Patriotic perfection!
After catching up on a few episodes of Pretty Little Liars (a guilty pleasure show!), I finished embroidering the entire colander!
Ta-da! Doesn’t that look festive?
Now, to transform the colander into a centerpiece, I needed the perfect filler. First, I thought about baseballs…but decided against it in the end. After much deliberation- and I mean it, it was causing anxiety!- I decided to use plain/natural rattan spheres, which I spray painted in red, white, and blue.
Now to become a party centerpiece…
Filling the colander wasn’t enough, though- it needed something else.
Hmmm…it needs a lil’ somethin’ somethin’…
A-ha!! I had some vintage desktop American flags! Those would add height to my centerpiece, AND they could be stuck inside the rattan balls, which would hold them up!
Exactly what my centerpiece needs!
I had actually purchased these (from Etsy) for a now-defunct 2015 project that never came to fruition. I’m so, so glad I didn’t re-sell them because…
They worked PERFECTLY!
The final product!
It’s kind of amazing to think about what the colander looked like before- and you see these at just about every antiques shop around! And while this one would have continued to work just fine as a colander, I really LOVE it as a patriotic centerpiece.
Craft on!
S
PIN ME!
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