Love thrifting, but not sure what to do with the items you find? Not to worry because I’ve joined with 30 other bloggers to give you thrift store decor upcycle inspiration! And this month, I’m going to show you how I upcycled an old handmade dark wood rosary into a new and modern Colorful Wood Painted Rosary.

The Rules:

Upcycle an item(s) from a thrift store, resale store, or garage sale into a new piece of decor.
There’s no monthly theme.
There’s no budget to stick to.

Make sure you follow our board on Pinterest for more upcycled decor inspiration!

Colorful Wood Painted Rosary

I found this dark wood rosary while I was shopping for last month’s Thrift Store Upcycle Challenge when I made a Wood Pineapple Chalkboard. I really lucked out during this thrifting trip because I was just about to withdraw from the challenge when I found an awesome wood pineapple AND this beautiful handmade rosary.

I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do with the rosary, but I was sure I was going to take it apart. But as the time drew closer to get the project done and the more I looked at the handmade craftsmanship, I just couldn’t bring myself to take it apart. Eek, now what?! I racked my brain and finally decided my best option was to paint the rosary and give it a new modern look.

Colorful Wood Painted Rosary Supplies:

wood rosary
floral paper (I used Recollections Floral Blanco)
Mod Podge
small paint brushes
paint to coordinate with the floral paper (I used DecoArt Coral Blush and Saffron Yellow mixed with Testors Craft White Blanc and Craft Smart Pacific Coast)
paper flowers (I used Recollections 24pc. Flores de Papel boxed set)
scissors
pencil
glue
clear matte acrylic coat

Colorful Wood Painted Rosary How-to:

Not shown – wash the rosary, wipe clean, and dry.
Apply white paint over the entire piece. Don’t worry about brush strokes showing, it will add to the textured look and look like a white wash. Let dry. Give a second coat if needed.
Take a small brush and paint the smaller beads to coordinate with the floral paper. Let dry. Apply a second coat.
Optional – Paint the sides of the cross a color that coordinates with the floral paper.
Optional – Use a dotting tool or the end of your paint brush handle to apply polka dots to the six “Our Father” beads.

Trace the cross on the back of the floral paper. Cut out. Repeat this process for the other side.
Apply Mod Podge to the cross and apply one cut out. Seal with a coat of Mod Podge. Repeat with the other side. Let dry.
Apply paper flowers to the center of the cross on one side. Let dry.
Spray the entire piece with a matte acrylic spray to seal it and prevent the paint from scratching.