Faux Mercury Glass Vases
The leaves have fallen, and it’s chilly outside! Time to get cozy inside with some more DIY projects. Today I’m sharing how you can create some very pretty faux mercury glassware!
All those pretty/aged candles and vases you find in the shops for $30+ can now be made for a few bucks. Yeeeessss. The past year I’ve seen SO many different tutorials for homemade faux glassware, but I hadn’t seen any DIY’s that you can actually turn into a vase (the usual tutorial sprays paint INSIDE of the glassware). I wanted to actually use my vases to hold flowers, so I tried something… Instead of spraying the paint inside the glassware, I sprayed it on the OUTside. It turned out lovely! Here’s how I did it.
Supplies:
- Glassware: an old glass vase, jar, or even an old glass container. If you can’t find anything, head to your local thrift store.
- Krylon Looking Glass Mirror Spray Paint
- Spray bottle
- White Vinegar and water mixture (1/2 water + half vinegar)
- Paper towels
- Drop cloth/paper
- Respirator mask (safety first!)
- Gloves (messy)
- Optional: goggles
Directions:
- Clean and completely dry your glassware.
- Get your tools all ready: Put your vinegar + water mixture into the spray bottle, set the nozzle to the lightest mist setting possible. Lay down your drop cloth (outside or in a very well ventilated space), and set your glassware up. Get your gloves, mask, and beautiful goggles on. Have your paper towels nearby… ok, let’s do this!
- Spray a layer of the mirrored paint on the outside of a glass. Follow this with a light spritz of the vinegar + water mixture. Let that sit for 2 – 4 minutes.
- When your wait time is up, dab the vinegar + water mixture off of the glass. DON’T rub. That will smudge the paint. Just a light dab.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you’re happy with how the glass looks! I added about 4 layers of mirror glass to each piece (each layer was followed by a spritz of vinegar + water and then dabs).
- Let the paint dry for 24 hours.
Add some flowers and enjoy!
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Bzm11686139 on Jul 20, 2020
WOW!!!!! Mercury glass without the health risk.
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Hi. I love how this looks! So cool! And I want to try it. But... I am kind of confused about how to “dab” the vase. Am I dabbing it with a dry paper towel or a slightly moistened paper towel?
I’ve made vases for a wedding for centerpieces; should they be sealed or will they be ok for fresh flowers?
Will this technique work on colored glass?