A Thrifted Horse from Tara @ Suburble

Hi All!

I'm Tara from Suburble: a blog about life in the 'burbs and the calamity and hilarity that comes along with it. I'm thrilled to be guest posting at the Inspiration Cafe today. Huge thanks to Danni from Silo Hill Farm for the invitation!

Today I'm sharing my little Golden Horse. He is my thrifty masterpiece!

I love thrift stores. In my books, they're a very close second to garage sales (because the ability to barter trumps the "Say whaa...?" prices that I occasionally see in the second-hand stores). The trouble is, in the damp, nearly-spring weather, garage sales are few and far between.

I was browsing the aisles of our local thrift store with Lucy - my little helper - trailing along behind me, when I came across this gorgeous sight:

Yes. It's a plastic draft horse with full (broken) harness. You're confused. It's okay.

Unlike every other person who had walked past this toy, I stopped and considered it. I had recently seen a post at Rain on a Tin Roof where Jenna took a toy horse and spray painted it into majestic wonderment.

I could feel my fingers twitch. This was potential mantel art! For $5!

I brought the little guy home, and relieved him of his tack. He wasn't looking any better. In fact, I had now revealed little patches of glue where his bridle and harness were attached. He looked more plasticky, if that was even possible. I could feel my stomach sink a little. Maybe this wasn't going to work out? Maybe a dumpy little plastic horse was just that?

Thankfully, two buddies showed up to reassure me: Bin (which is a primer that sticks to pretty much anything - so be careful!) and Rustoleum Metallic spray paint. I'd done my research; Rustoleum Metallic is supposedly the best and most realistic gold spray. I took all three of my fellas outside and got to work.

I primed the horse first, and then waited 30 minutes - as per instructions - before I used the gold paint. I don't know that I really needed to prime the horse, but because it's plastic, I didn't want to take a risk. For some reason, plastic is a tough nut to crack when it comes to painting.

After two even coats of gold splendour, my awkward, glue-spotted horse became this majestic creature:

You are, Golden Beauty. You are.

I'm thrilled to bits with this gold-nugget-in-the-rough. He's an impressive little piece that stands on the mantel. Gold is very "in" right now, and I'm seeing it everywhere. And when I can save a buck (or twenty) while being on trend? Sign me up for the Happy Dance Club.

Or, maybe don't. I'm not sure that club would want a Sarcastic Sally like me as a member.

Either or, I'm amazed at what a little bit of time and even less paint can do to revamp a piece. I'll admit that I've become enamoured with spray paint (not in the sniffing-'cause-it-smells-so-gooooood way, don't worry) and have been looking for projects all over the house. Watch out, inanimate objects! Things are about to become disco-fabulous in a big way!