Repurposed vintage candy dish and cocktail glasses

Hello, summer! I don’t know about you, but warm weather always inspires me to be creative. I do love my thrift shops (as some of you may know already)! In particular, I love finding used and vintage glassware and dishes to turn into creative decor.

On one such trip, I bought a bunch of vintage cocktail glasses and a matching candy dish. I couldn’t help myself! There I was, rambling through a small claustrophobic shop stuffed to the brim with all kinds of goodies with barely the width of a small person between the displays when I wandered to the back of the store to take a peek at some shelves that were chock full of glasses, dishes, and kitchen gadgets. I saw these stacks of glassware with a Greek motif, and they instantly took me back to my childhood, where I vaguely remember my mother having drinking glasses just like them. There was a blue and a green set, but I loved the green version at first sight, so I went with the green. I bought eight cocktail glasses and a candy dish with this same motif. Nearby was another set of cocktail glasses with an intriguing, raised geometric pattern. The pattern felt Art Deco in style—or at least Century Modern—and I don’t think I’d ever seen anything like it. So I bought them too!

So you know up front, I am guilty of buying interesting little finds like this and then just hiding them away in a cabinet for an obscene amount of time before they ever see the light of day again. But once they do emerge from the darkness, magic happens!

I can't remember the exact moment I came up with the design ideas, except that I remember seeing miniature ivy leaves from one of my favorite online sites and thought they’d look good with these little green glasses with a Greek motif. So I went with it! I also bought some small wooden disks and craft wood stains to create a base for my glassware.

Once the wood disks were stained and sealed with varnish, the glassware was glued onto the bases using E6000 glue. Decorative ribbon and ivy leaves were attached to the exterior base of the glass, and then an oyster votive and miniature white pearls were glued to the inside of the glass. This decorative candleholder has become one of my absolute favorite designs—and I even managed to sell a few!

The geometry glassware was much simpler, and just sits on the stained wooden base with a sheer ribbon, some faux gardenias and babies breath from a favorite online site. I wanted to keep the design simple so that the light could shine through those amazing three-dimensional cube shapes!

I couldn’t be happier with these precious little candleholders! These little decorative pieces look amazing with an LED candle inside! They can be displayed as a set, in a tablescape design, or by themselves! 

Do you have any thrift store finds you would like to share? Feel free to drop a comment below and share your creative ideas!


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Related blog posts you may want to read:
Tropical themed projects with repurposed dessert cups
Strawberry themed projects with repurposed dessert cups
DIY faux florals, birds, and repurposed thrift store finds