Ballard Pear Knockoffs

Have you seen these deliciously rustic pears from Ballard Designs?

They are really adorable until you see the price tag: $49 each! What?! Obviously I'm not the only one who thinks that price is outrageous, because when I googled "Ballard Pear" to find the above photo for you, I stumbled across Thrifty Decor Chic's own version of the pear.

As fate would have it, I happened to come across a pear that I found at my local Goodwill a few weeks ago. I bought this pear and gourd. They were quite an ugly pair (hee, hee.)

But, the price was irresistible at $2.49 a piece.

I started by sanding the surface of the pear and gourd lightly.

Then I sprayed them with white primer.

And finished them off with Rustoleum's Heirloom White Satin finish.

And that is how they sat for several weeks while I tried to decide what to do to them next. Until I happened upon those adorable pears in the recent Ballard Designs catalog. Then I knew exactly what to do with my pear and gourd.

Starting with the gourd, I mixed some acrylic paint, using raw sienna (dark brown), burnt sienna (red brown) and yellow ochre until I had a nice golden brown antiquing color. After pouring out a small circle of acrylic matte medium (you can use glazing medium or modge podge if you like), I used a coarse fan brush to dip my brush in the medium and the paint, creating instant custom tinted glaze!

Working in small areas, I began painting on the glaze dry brush style (wipe off almost all the paint so you see streaks). My strokes were in random directions and brushing back and forth a few times to blend the color out (being careful to leave the brush strokes for visual interest.)

I also used a rag to dab around the gourd until I liked the results. Once the gourd was painted I used some raw sienna on a smaller brush to paint the stem.

For the pear, I squeezed out some acrylic paint in dark green, off white, and a creamy yellow. I mixed them until I got a nice apple green color. I purposely wanted a vibrant color because I knew they would lose some punch after adding the brown antiquing glaze.

 

To paint the pear's leaf, I used a dark brown (raw sienna) and a yellow ochre for the highlights. Acrylic paint is really forgiving because if you don't like it you can paint over it. The leaf consists of about four layers of playing and blending before I got the look I liked.

After the green had dried, I used the same technique with the fan brush in the brown glaze until the whole pear was covered.

I couldn't be happier with the results! $5 was my total cost. I saved myself about $95 for two decor items (not to mention shipping costs.) Luckily, I already had the paints and brushes on hand.

Did you see that ladder above? Yes, it is the other half of this ladder! I'm still working on it and will show you the results when I'm done.

The project today is another one of the T-shirt Diaries Stashbusting September Challenge projects. You can see more bloggers who are taking Robin's challenge here or here.

And, so you want to see more Ballard Design knockoffs? Check them out here:

Ladder Stepping Up to the Stashbusting September Challenge

Robin over at TheTshirtDiaries is a gal after my own heart.

She has thrown down a challenge to anyone willing to close up their pocketbooks this month (well, at least for spending on arts and crafts and DIY projects), and use what you have in your home, workshop, craft room or wherever you create. The challenge is called Stashbusting September and you can read more about it here.

She also has a link party called Upcycled Awesome every Wednesday. I hope you hop over to check out some of the fantastic ideas she and other bloggers have shared.

I am always up for a challenge, so I jumped in with both feet ready to complete some projects and do it without spending a dime!

 Obviously toe-less shoes are not safe in the workshop, unless you want to be,
ummm toe-less!

So, what about you? Up to the challenge? I hope you step up to the plate and try your hand at re-using and making-do with what you have on hand! Altogether now: Hey ho, let's go!

Here is one of the projects that has been sitting around waiting to be given a new life. An old ladder that I picked up from The Habitat for Humanity ReStore (visit this post for more details).

$15 dollars was a little more than I wanted to pay, but Habitat for Humanity is one of my favorite charities, so I don't mind spending a little more when the money goes to people who need housing.

I actually made this ladder into two separate items. I'll show you the results of the other half when I finish that project.

Tools Needed:

• Safety Goggles (Definitely wear your safety goggles when using a pry bar!)
• Hammer
• Sand paper or sanding block
• Pry Bar
• Drill
• Screws
• Piece of L-shaped moulding

I used the chisel end on my pry bar to loosen the rivets. Some of those rivets were hanging in there and weren't ready to come out yet. But, I showed them who's boss. That would be me, the woman in a skirt and toe-less sandals!

Then used the claw end of a hammer to to remove it the rest of the way.

After removing the brace and top rivets, the ladder's front and back were free from each other forever. I wiped the whole ladder down with a damp cloth and then lightly sanded it to remove any splinters.

I played around with the back of the ladder in our dining room...

...but ultimately decided I wanted to use it as an easel.

I have a decent scrap pile with leftover boards and trim pieces. A little scrap of L shaped moulding was exactly what I needed.

I measured how high I wanted the moulding to be and then marked where my screws would go.

 I predrilled the holes.

 Leveled the moulding and screwed it into the ladder.

 Instant easel!

 

Love it!  Especially those paint splotches.

 It looks great next to our repainted Craig's List buffet and hutch.

Plus, I can change out the artwork on a whim. 

I hope this has inspired you to do some Stashbusting this month. Check out what some other Stashbusting bloggers are doing this month: HERE!