~Goody Goody Gumballs~

About a year ago while watching one of the last episodes of Extreme Home Makeover, I feel in love with a child’s room that designer Paige Hemmis created using the game board Candy Land as her inspiration.  Every inch of the room was simply amazing, colorful and of course full of candy!  Once particular piece caught my eye – a vintage 25 cent gumball machine.  It was the traditional shiny red type with the globe center and black iron stand, but she transformed it by painting the red pieces hot pink and painted the stand and dispenser area gold.  It was adorable! 

On and off for the past few months I’ve been searching to find one of these machines.  I’ve searched online, thrift and antique stores, craigslist but have had no luck until a recent ebay score.  I knew my patience would pay off!  I purchased my machine for $45, which included the shipping cost.  Most places sell these machines for $150 and up so if you ever see one cheap, grab it! 

Since I knew I wanted to add the piece downstairs, I purchased one can of Valspar Color Radiance in Pale Blue and one can of Krylon Metallic in Brush Gold to match my décor.  I really struggled on the decision to paint the black iron stand light blue, but since our staircase is black iron as well and the machine would be visible from the steps I decided to keep it black as the perfect balancing piece!

 

 

It’s really best to take the entire machine apart.  I saw a few tutorials online where people just taped around areas, but since the glossy red is so bright, I highly recommend taking the extra step to break the machine apart.  This way you get the paint on each little knick and cranny! 

Allow your paint to really cure before attempting to piece back together, otherwise you will have nice scratches in your newly painted piece!  Yup… time to practice some good ole’ patience. 

Ensure you carefully read the instructions on how to properly set the machine to accept quarters, or do free spins.  Once it’s time to place the candy into the globe, I found it helpful to use a small measuring cup and drop the candy into the bowl rather than dumping the bag in from the top. 

And here she is…

I’m really happy with how the paint came out and love my matching M&Ms.  Isn’t it amazing how effortlessly something can become so astatically pleasing?

 

Have any projects you'd like me to try out?  Email me at karamjsanchez@gmail.com!

 

kara.michelle

"All great changes are preceded by chaos" ~ Deepak Chopra