Quick and Easy Crackle Glass

Scarlett Butler
by Scarlett Butler
4 Materials
$8
2 Hours
Easy
You know that feeling when you find a treasure in your basement, and you just know it has to go in your burgundy and lace bathroom or you’re just not going to survive?? Well ... the struggle is real.
Here’s the treasure ... a heavy wrought iron candle holder. Everything was in good shape, so it just needed a good washing before I could try to work some magic. But what direction should I take with this piece? It was beautiful already, but my bathroom has an Old South meets the Pirates of the Caribbean look to it. I decided to create a frosted and crackled glass look that would look like it was straight from the Pirates ride at Disneyland. All I needed now would be some of those faux fireflies. :)
I watched many You Tube videos on how to create a crackled glass look, but none of them quite hit on what I wanted. So, I decided to create my own process using what I had on hand.


Enter a a roll of wax paper and the all-powerful Mod Podge!


I tore off a pretty good-sized sheet of the wax paper and crumpled it up really well. The crumpling makes the paper not quite so stiff and adds some beautiful crinkles!


Then I tore the paper into smaller, irregular pieces that were a few inches wide. I used the Mod Podge to glue the crinkled paper to the glass candle globes. Use a random pattern and smaller pieces to fill in the gaps. Don’t worry if every part of the globe is not covered uniformly. It just adds to the piece’s “coolness” when finished!


Once the wax paper was applied, I covered the whole thing with Mod Podge to secure it. Let dry.
Now comes the fun and messy part! I had some silver metallic paint on hand, but any gray paint will do (my bathroom has silver fixtures, but you can use brown tints to match gold or bronze decor). I mixed one part water with two parts paint, dipped my brush, and touched my brush to the wax paper globe and let it drizzle down. The paint mixture automatically will follow the wrinkles in the paper and make some great rivulets as it runs down.
I followed this procedure around the surface of the papered globe. Here’s how it looks so far.
Hmmmm .... after it dried, I liked the result but wanted the crackles to be a bit more obvious. Time to add some black paint, again mixed with water. (My goodness I have a messy craft table....)
Now we’re talking! More drizzling with the darker paint really brought out the detail. It also created a nice depth on top of the silver paint. To soften the lines, I drizzled a bit more clear water and dabbed the surface with a paper towel.
Look at these cool veins and rivulets! And all I did was drizzle and dab.
After this part dried, it was time to add some sparkle! I mixed the final coat of Mod Podge with some silver glitter. (Depending on your decor, you could go with gold glitter instead and use brownish paint as described in the above steps.) I just placed a few “shakes” of glitter on top of about a tablespoon of Mod Podge. Mix it up well, and paint it on nice and thick.
Here’s the finished product after it dried.
Here you can see the sheen of the Mod Podge and glitter when held under a lamp.
Here it is in its place of honor in the burgundy bathroom. You can’t see in this photo, but some drop-in LED candles added a beautiful shimmer. (I wouldn’t use real candles with this particular project as the whole thing could burst into flames!)
I think it’s a perfect fit! Stay tuned for more improvements on the burgundy bathroom! (Note the awesome finds from our local used furniture store added here!)
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Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • Dedra Thomas Dedra Thomas on Apr 25, 2018

    Is the wax paper prone to brown over time with the heat of the bulb?

  • GMS GMS on Apr 26, 2018

    I'm confused on the attaching of paper,you state you ripped into small pieces, is that what you attached to the light or did you just wrap the paper around it after you crinkled it?

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2 of 11 comments
  • Tonya Tonya on Jul 20, 2018

    Great idea. I love how it compliments the black candelabra!

  • Shara Garland Shara Garland on Jun 26, 2021

    I have two of these candelabras, my mother had them in her barn with the tag still on them. I have never used found a place to use them, but I just love them. I like how you used them.

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