I LOVE decorating for holidays and I am always trying to find vases and candlesticks that can add height and interest to vignettes and mantle arrangements.   I came across these candlesticks during a google search and I thought they would be perfect:

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I love how they are tall and thin, (perfect for a mantle), they vary in height, and the silver stems anchor them and add interest (instead of a regular hurricane vase which is completely transparent.) 

See? Perfect! Right?

Wellllll...

The problem was that (1) they were only available in Europe and (2) they were 68 Euros (or about $90!)  There goes that idea.   Now I was on a mission to knock them off.

First stop? The dollar store where I picked up these two candlesticks and tall vases for $4.

The shape was right, but now I needed to make the stems look like they were silverplate.  Enter metallic spray paint:

A couple coats later and things were looking really promising:
 For a Christmas display I decided to add some cheap plastic ornaments:
 I love how the finish came out: