Wednesday, March 30, 2016

DIY Mercury Glass

Like I promised, here's a quick little tutorial
on how to DIY on how to simulate mercury glass.
Mercury glass seems to be all the rage,
especially in the "wedding scene".
Problem is, it can be pricey and difficult to find matching pieces.
So how do you solve that problem...create your own
cheap, matching mercury glass.
 
Here's what you will need:
 
Your glass pieces you are going to turn to mercury glass
Spray bottle
White vinegar
Water
Soft rag
Newspaper (if needed)
 
Here's how you do it:

1.  Make sure that there is not too much humidity in the air.
     Ideally, you probably want it to be around 70 degrees (or warmer).


 
2.  Find a glass piece(s) that fit your need/style.
     I found mine at Snowline Hospice for next to nothing.
     Be sure to wash and dry the glassware.
 
 
 
3.  Make sure you are in a well ventilated area.
     If needed, protect your flooring from over spray.
     I did my project outside, so there was no need.

 
4.  Take your clean glass and spray it with a mixture of
     1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar.  Make sure you have the spray
     nozzle set to mist.

 
5.  Lightly spray your Krylon Looking Glass spray paint
     over the water/vinegar coated glass.
     Some instructions I have read say to spray the inside of
     the vessel, I chose to spray the outside because at
     some point in time I will put flowers in it and I don't want
     to ruin the paint job.
     You can turn your piece upside down if you like,
     I, however, wanted to paint it standing right side up.
I'm a rebel!

 
6.  Let your piece dry for about a minute, then lightly dab with your cloth. 
     If you want your piece to look more distressed,
     you can rub and remove paint in areas of your choosing.


7.  Repeat the steps above until you achieve your desired look.
     I found it took about 4 separate passes to get the
     color and coverage I was looking for.
 
 
You can see with the larger piece that it is still
somewhat transparent (can you see the candle?).
You could probably get creative and see how
this project turns out with colored glass and the mirror spray on top.
I imagine it might turn out like this.
 
turquoise mercury glass! Now we need to figure out how to do that!:
 
I can image this DIY project being used in a wedding or a bridal/baby shower.
 
So what do you think?
Pretty easy right!
Go ahead, get out there and give it a try.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You amaze me!! Where do you find out about such things? Those turquoise glasses are just beautiful. I will admire these things at your house!! AA

Brenda said...

I'm not super creative, but I read lots of blogs and love Pinterest. I get most of my ideas from those places. I do like the turquoise as well, I need to research how to do that.