Chances are, you probably have one of these tacky green florist vases hanging around your house. (When my husband’s grandparents passed away and we cleaned out their house, we found dozens of them. Sigh…What a love story). I hate to throw them away. Actually, I hate to just throw anything away. I think about the landfills full of all the junk, then I think about people on the other side of the world who don’t even have clean water, then I have a hard time sleeping at night…anyway…so what to do with these ugly green things? Even though they scream cheap flowers, some of them have nice lines to them. This one even looked a little Art Deco to me. So I thought it might look lovely turned into mercury glass. I found lots of tutorials on the web, most calling for mirror paint, which I couldn’t find. So I tried it with metallic paint instead. And while I was at it, I sprayed a pint sized ball jar, too.
supplies:
- glass vase, jar or any glass object
- spray bottle with water
- rags or paper towels
- silver metallic spray paint
- clear matte spray paint
Start with clean, dry glass. Lay down paper or a drop cloth either outside or in a very well ventilated room. I spritzed the glass with my water bottle, then sprayed a light coat of metallic paint on it. I waited a minute, then used my rag to blot(not wipe) away the water. I let dry for about 10 minutes, then repeated. Your glass is probably looking very shiny and opaque and not at all like mercury glass, like mine below.
I wasn’t really liking this look. So I figured I had nothing to lose by spraying some clear matte on top, which I had bought to seal the glass. It turned the glass back to translucent. I spritzed again with my water bottle, then sprayed some more metallic paint just in some areas, then spritzed again with water. Let it dry for a minute, then blot again. This worked! Why? No idea, really. But now my glass looked translucent and worn and layered, like mercury glass. I love the sheen of the green through the vase. Let dry for as long as you can stand(preferably overnight), and go buy yourself some flowers. Enjoy!
Hulda, I don’t blame you. Starting a blog can be daunting. I like wordpress(the paid option), it gives you a lot of options and there are a lot of different theme options. But if you’re posting essays and want something simple, blogger and typepad seem to have a much easier learning curve. I say pick one and jump in. Good luck and send me a link to your site when you have it up!
Excellent blog! Do you have any suggestions for aspiring writers? I’m hoping to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you suggest starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m completely confused .. Any tips? Thanks a lot!