Antique bells are a popular Christmas decor item these days. Unfortunately, they come with a hefty price tag! The good news is you can get the look without spending too many dollars! I can’t wait to show you how I took $10 bells from Walmart and painted them to create a simple Pottery Barn rustic bell hack.
Lately, I’ve been spending time looking at Christmas decor trends on Pinterest, my friend’s blogs, and in the stores.
**Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. We appreciate your support. (disclosure policy)
The item I keep seeing everywhere are antique-looking bells!
I love these bells from Pottery Barn, but I don’t like the 69-dollar price tag!
So, I decided to make my own!
I found these bells, which are a similar shape to the Pottery Barn version, at Walmart for $9.98!
And I transformed them to look like this!
Fifteen dollars later, I have Christmas decor that looks just like the $69 version!
Want to see how I did it??
It’s so easy you’re not going to believe it!
Gather
The secret to this simple DIY transformation is a product called Rub ‘n Buff!
I must confess that this is the first time, I’ve used this product.
I have seen other bloggers use it over the last year, and I wanted to try it!
And guess what…
I absolutely loved it!
Let me tell you the rest of the items you’ll need for the project, and then I’ll show you how to use this amazing little tube of magic!
Gather or purchase the following items:
- Bells-purchased at Walmart
- Rub and buff-purchased at Hobby Lobby-Antique Gold
- Paint-Folk Art acrylic paint in Coffee Bean
- Small paintbrush
- Painters tape
- Jute twine
- Hot glue
- Scissors
paint
First, we need to prep the bells before we paint them.
Wrap the cords with painter’s tape.
First coat Rub-n-buff
Typically with Rub ‘n Buff, you wipe the product onto your object and then buff it with a cloth.
We won’t do that because we want the surface to look old and a bit roughed up.
Instead, apply the product to the tip of your finger and dab it onto the bell.
Your finger will get coated by the gold wax but it washes off easily with soap and water!
This technique gives the bell raised-up areas that resemble rust.
It takes longer to apply the product this way, but it gives that rustic look we are trying to achieve.
Here is what the bells looked like after the first coat of Rub ‘n Buff dried.
You can see there is a lot of white still showing.
We are going to take care of that in the next step!
Brown paint
Next, I pulled some brown paint from my stash and grabbed a small paintbrush.
I used the brush to dab paint along the creases of the metal.
Then, I used my finger to dab the brown paint on the sides and the top of the bell.
As you can tell, from the picture above, it will not look too good at this point, and that’s okay!
When the outside dries, paint the inside of the bell with brown paint.
I applied two coats.
second coat of rub-n-buff
Next, you want to blend out the brown paint and cover any areas of white still showing with another layer of Rub ‘n Buff.
Apply the Rub ‘n Buff, in the same manner, you did before!
Look at the difference between the bell on the left, which was blended, to the one on the right.
Notice how the bell on the left still had too much white showing, so I went back and repeated the steps with the brown paint and then gold Rub ‘n Buff to get good coverage.
And this is what they looked like when I finished!
Isn’t that amazing?
It’s like magic.
I love the way these look!
change the handle
To make the handle look more like the Pottery Barn bells, I covered the faux leather pieces of fabric.
I decided to use braids of jute twine.
I made four braids by taking nine-inch pieces of twine, braiding them, and hot gluing the ends together.
Then, I wrapped them around the fabric and secured them with hot glue.
It looks so much better!
Now it’s time for the fun part!
Let’s style the bells!
Style
There are so many ways you can style these bells!
They would look fabulous hanging on the end of a mantle or console table!
Here are a couple of other ways you could use them!
Staircase
Add interest to your staircase by hanging a garland of greenery and attaching the bells!
wreath
Dress up a wreath with the bells and hang it indoors or outdoors!
Let me know in the comments below what you think about this simple Pottery Barn rustic bell hack!
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Blessings, Donna and Rich
Pin It For Later
More Holiday DIY Inspiration
- How to Create an Ornament Advent Calendar
- Dollar Tree Snowflake DIY
- Easy Cone Christmas Tree DIY
- How to Make Your Own Christmas Village
Get The Look
**Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. We appreciate your support. (disclosure policy)
The bells look amazing!! I love how “rusty” they look with the addition of the brown paint. It really adds some depth and an aged look to the finish. Nice job!
Thank you, JJ! I take that as a huge compliment coming from a fabulous artist like yourself! You just made my day! Thanks again, Donna
Donna, this is such a great hack. The bells turned out looking amazing. I love a great hack that saves money!
Thank you, Tammy! I completely agree! No need to spend lots of money when you can DIY for so much cheaper! Have a good day!
Oh my Donna!, I love this dupe! I wish I would have seen this before I purchased my bells, I could have saved myself some money! You have such lovely ideas and your projects are always so spot on. Thank you so much for linking up to Whimsy Home Wednesday!
That’s a bummer, those bells can get expensive! Thank you for the kind words! I really appreciate it! Hope you have a great week!
This is insane, Donna! I can’t get over how much they look like the PB bells. You did such a great with this DIY! I love the way it looks on your staircase and on your wreath as well. They’re totally fabulous! Hugs, CoCo
I know, it’s crazy how much they look like the PB bells! I was thrilled with the outcome and had a blast working with Rub ‘n Buff for the first time! Thank you!
Such a great deal. I love this
Thanks, Rachel! It was so much cheaper to paint them and fun too!
This is incredibly beautiful!! You did such an amazing job making these look JUST like the PB ones!! Wow, Donna. They look SO GOOD!!!!
I know, I can’t believe how much they look like the PB bells! I was thrilled with the end result! And it was fun working with the Rub ‘n Buff!
BRILLIANT hack, Donna! I’d love for you to join us over at the Creative Crafts Linky Party every Wednesday through Sunday
https://creativelybeth.com/creative-crafts-linky-party/
Followed and Pinned! 🙂
Creatively, Beth
Thanks, Beth! I appreciate that! I will check out your link party. Thanks for the invite!
Donna! Holy smokes! These are amazing! What a fabulous transformation. Thank you for sharing this post on the Home Imagined Link party. We are so happy to have you participate. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Thank you, Anna! I thought it was a great transformation too!! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! Blessings, Donna
These look amazing! All I could find were the red ones at Walmart – can’t wait to get painting!
I’m so glad you were able to find them, they sell out at our local store quickly! Have fun painting, you are going to love them! I get so many compliments on mine!! Thanks for commenting!
Love these!! Can you tell me how big the bells are?
Hello Cynthia! The bells are approximately 4 inches high and 3 inches wide! I hope that helps! Let me know if you make them! Thanks, Donna
Always LOVE a good Pottery Barn hack, Donna!
We will be featuring you starting Wednesday at the Creatively Crafty Linky Party! Pinned and shared!
Creatively, Beth
That’s such great news! Thanks Beth, we really appreciate it! See you at the party!