SHOPPING CHALLENGE: How to turn a hideous wedding present into something you don't hate, in one easy step!!

Pretty wrapping, but who knows what lurks inside... {Via decor8}

I really, truly believe that it is the thought that counts when it comes to wedding presents. Even though the idea of asking for stuff makes me squirm, gift lists have made the process of giving so much simpler and less awkward for everyone involved, as well as minimising the risk of a seventeen-toaster calamity.

Sometimes people, especially those who aren't invited to the wedding but would still like to give you a token in celebration of your marriage (I LOVE those people), might get you something that wasn't on your list, and that's great too, because surprises are amazing and It's The Thought That Counts.

But seriously. What do you do when someone gives you a gift that is so ugly it makes you want to stab your own eyes out with a [designer, from-the-list] fork?

Behold: The Vase.

I know you're not supposed to say this. My mother will kill me. But I am confident that the very sweet person who kindly gave us this, erm, vase will never ever in a million years find this blog. (If only they'd never found that vase. Whoops, there I go again.)

I think we can all agree, it's "not my style". Otherwise known as, "ugly". And I'm not the type of person who can breezily ask for the receipt to exchange or return a present. The very thought makes me want to throw up. No, I'm the type of person who smiles sweetly, says thank you very much (and means it - I genuinely do appreciate the sentiment, if not the aesthetic), then shoves the offending item into the far depths of the wardrobe where it cannot assault my eyes any further.

And there this particular vase would have remained, were it not for a drunken conversation with my friend Yvonne about the most hideous gifts we had received for our respective weddings. Knowing that I could trump anything she had to offer, I delved into the wardrobe and emerged triumphant, brandishing the vase like a hero returning from battle clutching a severed head.

After agreeing that it was, indeed, hideous, Yvonne came up with the most shatteringly obvious solution to the vase situation: "Why don't you just paint it?"

Paint it, you say? Paint...it? Why didn't I think of this? Of course! I should totally paint it!

So I did. And here, in true before and after style, is the how-to.

Time: 36 hours (painting: 15 minutes; drying: 2 hours; thinking, planning and researching: 33.75 hours)

Cost: £5.19 (paint: £4.99; newspaper: 20p; never having to look at that chartreuse, black and silver combo ever again: priceless)

You will need:

♥ Ugly wedding present.
♥ Paint. I used Humbrol Acrylic Hobby Spray in 22 Gloss White.
♥ Wine. I'd had a long day, ok?
♥ Pretty flowers to make your crappy spray-painted vase look better after it all goes a bit wonky.

Project essentials.

Directions:

1. Find well-ventilated area in which to paint. This may prove harder than anticipated. You may end up doing it in the middle of your communal hallway with all the windows open. Sorry, neighbours.

2. Cover painting surface with newspaper.

3. Place ugly gift on newspaper. (Is this too detailed? Sorry, I'll speed it up.)

4. Spray with paint. Sherry of Young House Love swears by the "thin and even coats" application method, so that's what I went for. Unfortunately I've never done this before, so I don't know what thin and even coats look like. I suspect they don't look like this:

My paint is dribbling. Sigh.

5. Wait for what seems like four hours, but is actually 15 minutes, for the paint to dry. Touch paint. Realise it's not dry. Try to cover up finger mark with more paint. Fail. Sigh. Repeat.

6. When vase is finally dry, fill with cheap supermarket peonies and hope that people will be so distracted by the pretty flowers that they will not notice the big blobs of paint all over it. Be thankful that at least vase is no longer chartreuse.

Ta-da!