Hi all, hope your Tuesday is going fabulous! I’m really excited to share this post with you. Do you ever have one of those bursts of inspiration where suddenly you think of a million completely awesome DIY’s that you just have to do… I totally had that this weekend. Inspiration comes and goes for me, sometimes I feel so utterly uncreative and then -BAM- I’m hit with 5 million visions of DIY goodness.
I had one of those totally crafty moments this weekend and cooked up a bunch of new ideas for our apartment. First up… a good ole Pottery Barn knockoff. After seeing these gorgeous milky mercury glass vases by PB, I knew a DIY was in order.
I’ve experimented some with DIY faux mercury glass before. There is a plethora of ideas and materials out there for making your own mercury glass. But, surprisingly I could find nothing about adding a milky white glow to it. After reading up a little on tinting glass, I tried my hand at making milky mercury glass. I must say, I’m pretty happy with the results 🙂 If you are totally loving the milky mercury glass effect follow along with a tutorial below.
Make your own Milky Mercury Glass PB Knockoff
1. Gather your vases, the chunkier and more organic looking the better! I even found a vase with bubbles in the glass and really like the depth and texture it added.
Make sure the mouth is wide enough to spray paint into. I bought several candle votive holders to do trial runs on.
2. Get some all purpose white craft paint (that specifies the ability to paint on glass) and some nail polish remover. Strange as it sounds, the nail polish remover acts as a paint thinner to provide translucency to your paint.
3. Begin adding some nail polish remover to your glass container, just a very little amount. You will then add 1-4 drops of paint to the nail polish remover. (1 for a very small container, 4 for a larger one)
4. Begin swirling your glass container to allow the paint to mix with the nail polish remover. Once they have mixed, gently continue swirling the liquid around until it has covered the entire inside of the container. If necessary you can use a paintbrush to ‘scoop’ the paint up to the lip in order to cover the top of the jar. Have a napkin nearby to wipe off any excess paint that drips out of the container.
Your glass should be clearly milky, but still slightly transparent after coating with paint. If your paint is too heavy, add more nail polish remover to thin it. If it is too light, go back with more paint.
5. Once the container has been coated, set upside down on a paper towel to dry. Make sure there is a waterproof surface underneath. Drying time could take a while, I waited a full day before add the mercury paint.
6. Tape a bag or papertowel around the outside of your glass to protect it from the spray paint. Then coat the interior with Krylon’s Looking Glass spray paint. Several coats may be needed. Apply thinly to avoid drips, or if you like the texture of drips, spray away!
Once it dries, remove the bag and you are done. In display, I would suggest not adding water or otherwise greatly irritating the interior. I found mine scrapes off easily.
Aren’t these just perfect for fall? I’m totally digging them 🙂
I hope you enjoyed this knockoff and tutorial! (If you did, feel free to pin away;)) You can see more DIY’s I’ve done here. Or check out my pinspiration boards. Thanks all!
Let me know if you try it and how it goes for you? Do you love the look, or prefer the traditional mercury glass appearance?
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If I use this technique (or metallic Mercury glass on a hurricane oil lamp, can I still use it?
I love them. I’m going to try them using a colored pastel paint and also a metallic gold. Can’t wait to see what happens.
Ooh, that sounds pretty! Best of luck 🙂
Love it! Thanks for sharing at my Twirl & Take a Bow Party! Stop by House on the Way today to see it featured!
Thanks so much! I feel very honored 🙂
Wow! I love how these look:) I am going to try it!! I am featuring them tomorrow on Tell Me Tuesday! Have a great week:)
How sweet! Thank you very much 🙂
I really-no-TOTALLY- like the look of your vases better! When I saw the pics I actually thought yours were the Pottery Barn ones and theirs were the knock off 😮 great job!
Thanks Jessica, that is so sweet of you!!! 🙂
I love the look of these vases. Is there a coating, perhaps Polycrylic, that could protect the paint from chipping?
That’s a great idea, Dianne. I’ll have to look into Polycrylic. I also think that if I had used special glass paint (and waited longer on the drying time) it would have been less sensitive.
These are gorgeous! I have seen the PB ones, but never thought of making my own. Wow, you did a great job. I found you from craftgawker, and I’d really love if you’d come link them up at the Lovely Ladies link party. It’s hosted by six bloggers, so that’s lots of exposure for your mercury glass 🙂 Here’s the link- http://bit.ly/1cv3QZW
We’d love to see you there!
-Molly at Just a Little Creativity
Thanks so much, Molly! I will head over there now 🙂
These are very cool, I love when you can make things yourself that are really expensive.
Thanks 🙂 I totally agree, there is such a sense of satisfaction that you made it for way less!