The Art of Verre Eglomise

3 Materials
$10
2 Hours
Easy
Have you heard of the decorative art technique of Verre Eglomise? Apparently it dates back to the 13th century and it refers to the process of applying a design and gilding onto the back of glass to produce a mirror like finish. When you combine it with Unicorn SPiT, it creates the most beautiful effect. Well in my humble opinion anyway icon
I’ve never tried Unicorn SPiT on glass before and because this was one of those playing around, experiment kinda things,I didn't want to spend a ton of money buying a piece of glass. Fortunately, we had one of those cheap clocks and a plastic doily in our craft cupboard that would work.
I dismantled the clock and used the doily as a stencil to spray a design onto the back of the glass, before adding some Unicorn SPiT. Not too much, just a few dabs here and there and then blend.
Once the SPiT had dried  I applied copper leaf to the outside edge of the glass. I had to keep flipping the glass over to make sure I was happy. It was a bit disconcerting to work on the back of the glass, you’re kinda layering everything in reverse. icon  
To finish off the mirror, I gave it three coats of Rustoleum's Mirror Effects spray paint.
And that’s it. The Verre Eglomise with Unicorn SPiT experiment was done and I must say, I'm really happy with how it turned out.
What do you think of the technique? Is it something you would try?
Suggested materials:
  • Unicorn SPiT
  • Copper Leaf
  • Piece of Glass
Michelle Leslie
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 5 questions
  • Ruth Guenzler Ruth Guenzler on Oct 10, 2017

    What in the world is unicorn spit? :)

  • Marianne Marianne on Oct 11, 2017

    Hi Michelle, when you sprayed to doily with black paint you left out the center. Can you tell me why? Also in the end you sprayed mirror paint is that so the front can be used as a mirror? I just love this idea, thanks so much for sharing. Marianne

  • Marilou112 Marilou112 on Oct 17, 2017

    Do you try to have the "spit" and gold leaf go within the design or just random?

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4 of 31 comments
  • Barbara Sharwood Barbara Sharwood on Oct 10, 2017

    This is just wonderful. We have a large clock that I was going to throw out. Not any more. Thank you!

  • Itsmemic Itsmemic on Oct 24, 2017

    I just love this with the metal planters next to it..lovely for a front porch...going to definitely try this as I was wondering what to do with my succulents that overran the concrete planters !

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