Friday, November 23, 2012

Black Friday

Today was Black Friday in the US. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and the official beginning of the Christmassault. It's when many people begin shopping for Christmas gifts, and retailers feed the frenzy of consumerism. People mob the stores and apparently lose their minds. They shoot, pepper spray, and trample each other (usually at Walmart). It might just be the day of the year when Americans are at their absolute worst. Selfishness, greed, violence... all supposedly in the name of the peaceful, loving holiday of Christmas. Ugh.

Well, I have a different take for this Black Friday. It's Friday, and here's a look at some of the things I have painted black. Yes, shopping was involved, but with a lot less insanity. :)

This wrought iron wall decor was sort of a rusty brown color when I purchased it from Hobby Lobby. I painted it with a "hammered" finish black spray paint.

This pile o' stuff was purchased from a thrift store.

The red candleholder is now black.

The orangey gold container is now a black dog bed.

The brown frames are now jewelry displays.

To hold more jewelry, a thrift store box...

that is now black.

This small white display case with a glass door...

is now black. I haven't decided yet what I'll put in it. (The bubbly-looking back is paper that will be removed.)

This formerly pale green stand...

is now black.

These two owls are different sizes, colors and materials but apparently came from the same mold.

They're both black now. One sits on my bookshelf at work and one at home.

Finally, a thrift store shelf and candle holders.

I painted the shelf black, but decided on silver for the candle holders... but with black candles, of course. :)

43 comments:

  1. Argh, I love all your findings so much! I want them allllll! I need to keep an eye out for those tiny frames, I have something I want to do with them.

    I went shopping today, but luckily we don't have Black Friday in Australia, so the shops were quiet. I got some needful things like a new pair of ankle boots, a new camera, and some fabrics for the learning to sew Victorian inspired dresses project which is upcoming!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The thrift store spirits have been good to me. ;) Good luck on your sewing project!

      Delete
  2. I just can think of this song now :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6d8eKvegLI
    I love how you paint everything in black. I would myself want to do it to some of our furniture. Like we have this old big, not so attractive wardrobe and I'm dreaming in painting it black and putting on a HIM heartagram on the doors :D But I'm afraid to paint inside. And way to heavy to carry it outside :( Any suggestions ?? Thanks ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Suggestions? Absolutely! :) What concerns you about painting inside? Is it the fumes?

      Delete
    2. Sorry for late answer:) Yes, it's fumes. We live in a two rooms apartment plus kitchen and bathroom. As we rented it, it had no furniture, so we got it from friends for a symbolic price. I love when things are matching but now got different colors and it all are a common furniture simple with no charm. There is no point of starting collecting furniture since we still do not own our place. Would be to much trouble to move it all the time. But I'd love at least make it look more of my taste. Painting in black and then adding some nice ornaments would be great. But I don't want to breath the fumes... Are there some special paint I can use?

      Delete
    3. oh, and are all metal stuff good for prying them black? I brought home a simple metal rack and was like "I'll paint it black" and by boyfriend said that not everything is suitable for sprypainting and that the paint won't hold on ...

      Delete
    4. The main source of fumes in paint is VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). A waterborne paint with low VOCs will not emit harsh fumes. My preferred paint brand is now zero VOCs, and it has hardly any smell at all. Even painting inside my closet or small windowless bathroom, I did not have a headache or any problems with fumes.

      Low-odor, low (or zero) VOC paints with low-VOC colorants are becoming more readily available. If you ask at a paint store, they should be able to help you find a breathing-friendly paint.

      Spray paint will stick to just about anything. Metal items are typically great candidates for spray painting; in fact, there are spray paints in metallic or "hammered" metal finishes made especially for metal items. Note: spray paint is NOT low odor. I recommend going outside to use spray paint.

      Delete
    5. Thanks :) I'll try searching for low odor paints.

      Delete
  3. This is the only sort of Black Friday I will ever get behind. If I even leave the house on BF, it is only for food, gas, etc.

    Well done, as always. I have a similar jewelery box to yours that I acquired in my childhood. It is far too small these days, and now only holds my nose and navel rings. It does, however, remind me of a story: my husband once purchased a very large jewelry box for me at the thrift store. It was hideous: pale beige and bright red. He saw my look and said "just wait" - and presented it to me the next day in black and silver. He can be quite sweet, when he is not being a giant poop.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Such a great inspiring post! :) And your dog is so cute! <3 I would love to make such a bed for my dog as well but I don't know what I would make it out of.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! :D I suppose you could say I don't know what I made my dog's bed out of... I don't actually know what the intended purpose of the container was. ;)

      Delete
  5. If I made my dog a bed, she would eat it.
    Your puppy is much more well-mannered than my own. ;D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, mine had her destructive puppy phase. But she's a good dog now. :)

      Delete
  6. Wooooooo Bane's Black Friday rules!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Go me! ;) I might have to make it a recurring theme.

      Delete
  7. AWESOME and inspiring! Ed and I completely protest Black Friday and refuse to spend a dime. Granted, I needed coffee after thanksgiving and THAT'S not an option so we did have to head out for that necessary food stuff. We did nothing yesterday. Absolutely and blissfully nothing; and I've decided to rename Black Friday to "No Day" because of this blissful nothingness. :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! "No Day" is a great idea. It's very nice to follow Thanksgiving with a day of quiet relaxation. :)

      Delete
  8. I like your version of Black Friday MUCH BETTER! :D

    ReplyDelete
  9. HAH!!! What a perfect version of Black Friday - you rock!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Call me radical, but I believe that Black Friday should have more black and less pepper spray. ;)

      Delete
  10. Oh those look so much better after your painting!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Behold the power of paint! :D It works wonders.

      Delete
    2. Yeah it totally does! I have been painting almost everything in our home black too xD You can make stuff look new and more own style by just little bit of paint.. <3

      Delete
  11. All I can say is WOW! I want all your findings too :P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! :) Maybe I should raffle off a few items...

      Delete
  12. Replies
    1. It's magical... and a must-have for any goth decorating tool kit. :)

      Delete
  13. Most of that stuff has been improved 1000-fold for some black spray-paint. The only things I wouldn't have painted are the handles on the box, as I quite like the original metal. I might have just left the box alone altogether, but I quite like wooden boxes, nearly as much as I like having everything black. The iron wall decor is FABULOUS and certainly my favourite bit :) The stand goes from hideous to awesome with a change of colour (I hate those faded greens, they are more shabby than shabby chic! But that's just my opinion.) and I love the owls in gloss black.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Hobby Lobby store carries a ton of wrought iron, and I have to exercise such restraint every time I'm there! :) A few pieces still manage to come home with me from time to time.

      Delete
  14. I found your blog over at Coffin Kitsch. Just wanted to say hi and I dig your style! :D

    ReplyDelete
  15. i'm finally catching up on blog reading... black friday terrified me in new york. i always assumed even going to an office job i would somehow get caught up in the insane mobs and get trampled. but i love your take on the idea. what kind of silver paint did you use for the drawer handles and the candlestick holders?

    ReplyDelete
  16. For the silver, I used Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch primer and then Metallic Aluminum to fully cover the items. Then I sprayed a light top coat of Rust-Oleum Universal Satin Nickel. The Universal is more expensive and I don't like the sprayer, so I used it for just the final coat.

    I did reviews on spray paint a while back:
    http://gothityourself.blogspot.com/2011/08/paint-it-black-part-1.html
    http://gothityourself.blogspot.com/2011/08/paint-it-black-part-2.html

    ReplyDelete
  17. When I go to Goodwill, I forget that I can turn things black after taking possession of it. I would have completely bypassed that brown jewelry box b/c of its finish. I need to learn to think. Did you spray paint the jewelry box or did you hand paint it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I spray painted it. For glossier surfaces like the jewelry box, I've found that spray paint adheres best.

      Delete
    2. Do you prime it first in some way, or simply spray paint it? Is the spray paint scratching off a concern here?

      Delete
    3. I spray primed it with Rust-Oleum Painters' Touch Primer, then spray painted it with the same brand in black. I finished with a coat of spray urethane so it would be easy to clean. I haven't had any problems with the paint scratching off, and the box gets daily use. In my experience, spray paint is very durable. :)

      Delete
  18. Aw your dog looks so cute and comfy in the new bed!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! :) She loves her bed, especially in winter when it has a heating pad.

      Delete