Antiqued Candlesticks

I’ve been wanting some candles for my mantel, but I couldn’t find any candlesticks that I liked so I decided to paint my own.

I started with some lovely turned wooden candlesticks from Woodpecker’s Crafts. I used two each of the 11″, 9″ and 6.75″ sizes.

I painted them with one coat of a medium warm green called Garden Wall from Behr. I had ordered a bunch of samples before I chose the colors for my cottage and still have lots left over.

Next I gave them a coat of Country Chic Paint’s Crackle Medium.

I followed that up with a coat of Glidden’s Magnolia Spray (another left over sample pot). It’s important to go over the crackle medium with just one coat, and not to smear it, so I painted the bottoms first and after they were fully dry, I went back and painted the tops.

This gave a beautiful texture of fine cracks where the green showed through.

I wanted them to really look old, so I put on a quick coat of Rust-Oleum Chalked Decorative Glaze in Aged Glaze, and wiped off the extra. This settled in the cracks and gave the old world appearance I was hoping for. Two quick coats of Minwax Polycrylic Sealer and my new candlesticks were complete.

I added beeswax candles that I bought on Etsy, and I’m delighted with the finished look!