I polished the candelabra last night. If you want to see a video of the before and after, click the youtube link above. Sorry about my dogs running around in the background!
I picked this candelabra up at an antique shop. I was super hopeful it was silver plated. The way it looked here, I thought it was made out of some other metal and wouldn’t get shiny (the one shiny candle holder at the back of this photo was polished by myself. I was too impatient to find out what it looked like under the tarnish to wait until I had taken a photo before I polished it).
Here is a closer look at the tarnish. I spent less then an hour polishing, washing, and drying it. I took it apart completely and found out it can be put back together to make a single candlestick, three arm candelabra, or five arm, as shown in the photos. Pretty cool! I will likely never take it apart though.
It polished up to almost a mirror shine and I love it!!! There are still a couple dull spots, but it was only the first time I polished it and I’m sure they will buff out the next time around. I really didn’t expect it to come out so well. I really love it. I can’t wait to pick up some candles. Romantic dinner at home this weekend????
I’ve been on the prowl at the thrift stores for an electric pasta maker that makes fusili or trecce. It would be awesome to wait for a homemade pasta dinner to light up the candelabra, but I think it’s going to be a while before I find one. I’m sure I can think up something else for a romantic dinner at home. Mood lighting! I’m so happy with my find and so pleased at how well it was restored.
I went on a bender and I loved it. I love antique stores. I could spend hours browsing through an antique mall. There are so many hidden treasures. Shopping at a thrift store is like that too, but cheaper. I could happily do either one That is how I spent last weekend. I will post a video of the treasures I found, below.
I found some amazing things. I’ve been looking for a candelabra for months now. I found this one:
I found it exactly as you see it, in a pile, for $28.00. I originally wanted one with a lot more detail and possibly in brass, but this one was in pretty good condition and it looked like it could be polished to like-new condition (I will post it again once I polish it).
I’ve been hoping to find a silver-plated brush/comb set in good condition. I did! It was in FANTASTIC condition!!! The brush seems to have ALL the bristles and the mirror is intact (and yes I fully plan on washing it and using it). I have plans to make a proper box for this brush set (also for a future video/blog). It was $12.95 and I was so happy I found it. I think it’s beautiful and I can’t wait to make the display box it deserves.
I spotted this tiny little perfume bottle for $1.99. It was full of a super strong perfume. I found this out when I opened the bottle in the car. It gave us a headache (both of us are sensitive to artificial fragrances). I’m going to wash it out and use it for essential oil blends I plan on mixing myself. FUN!
My other fantastic find (the above are all from Cobbletoq Antique Mall in London, Ontario) are these keys. I bought the very bottom one, the one that looks like it belongs to a queen. I’m 99.9999999% sure this key opens a lock to somewhere/something magical. It has to. I have a thing for unique/old keys and this one fit. I like to pick it up and imagine all the magical locks it opens.
This was one of the items I didn’t buy. It was from Memory Lane Antiques, in London. I have been looking for a soup tureen for years. It was only $15! It was huge and it was an almost, but not quite. I’m not into cherubs at all. It was so close to perfect, and just enough to make it a miss. Such a shame. I think someone else will love it very much though.
I bought a few more things that I posted in the video above that I didn’t take photos of. There is a set of salt and pepper shakers and an inkwell, from an antique shop in Grand Bend (Dale’s Antiques, I believe). My spouse really liked that store. He bought a vintage hook set to put the dog leashes on (I will have to give an update on our rescue dog! Yes we still have him and he is an angel. He’s in his furever home).
Also shown in the video is a sprouting jar. I don’t know why I felt the need to get another one, but I found it at a thrift store. I have a sprouting lid for mason jars and it works fantastic, except for the seeds that gel. They don’t drain in the mason jar and I think this will work much better.
As for the Amazon purchase, I bought a fog machine. It’s a strange item (which is probably why I loved it). Every year I plan on going all out for Halloween and every year I miss the opportunity. Usually, I run out of time. I have a fog machine now (although I still haven’t tried it to test it out) and I’m going to make a go of it this time around. I will decorate like Halloween vomited a spew of tacky, oversized decorations all over my home and it’s going to be incredible. As for the real reason I got the fog machine: A slightly creepy, nighttime, summer tea party, with fog. And hey, the candelabra fits in there too! I think it will be fantastic fun.
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