At this point you know I love to take things from thrift stores and give them new life. A new haunted/spooky/chilling life. Scouring the aisles of thrift stores and finding something that needs a Halloween upgrade. I figured I would chronicle them, and maybe it might encourage your DIY senses to kick in.
I found this 2.5 foot brass candelabra with missing parts and transformed it into a stunning black and orange centerpiece with a killer cobweb hack!
By the end of the project I spent only about $17 on this project. Pretty good for a candelabra of this size. I’m really looking forward to adding this to the collection.

Let’s get started. I took the candelabra and gave it a quick rubdown with a piece of sandpaper. I wanted to rough up the surface to make sure the surface was a little more porous for the paint to stick too. I used my go to black chalkboard spray paint. It’s matte and I have found it dries quicker.
I picked up these circular wooden plaques from Michaels to go over each of the candle holders. I spray painted them with the same black chalk spray paint.

Next, I attached the wooden plaques to the candelabra using liquid nails specifically for wood. I let it dry overnight. Once it dried, I gave another coat of spray paint all over to make sure I covered all the new areas.
While at Michaels I picked up some lace to give the candelabra a little extra detail around the circular plaques. I measured out 13 inch strips and spray painted both sides. When they were dry, I hot glued them to the sides. I actually wished now that I picked a larger sized lace. Oh well.
I could add more and more detail but decided to stop and keep it simple for this project. I found a bag of flameless orange candles for $2. I think they really bring the whole project together. I love the black and orange.
Finally, I added some cobwebs using a cobweb hack from a fellow Halloween Haunter, Derek, over at Van Oaks Props. He has great ideas and loads of videos to check out.
To accomplish the webs, he uses Loctite 300 Spray Adhesive. It’s amazing how well this works in creating webs. It’s great if you don’t have a web gun or want to mess with the cotton webs. Just a note. This is a spray adhesive, so unlike cotton cobwebs, these can’t be completely removed. Check out his video below:
The project in the end cost about $17. This price doesn’t include paint, webbing or Liquid Nails. I have those on hand usually. The candelabra was $8, the candles were $2, the wooden plaques were $1 each ($5 total) and the lace was $2. As always, get creative and see what works best for you. Keep me posted on your creations!
Any questions? Please let me know!
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