Make Your Own Mercury Glass Votives and Vases

The other day I was in Walmart with my Michael and he wanted to look at a few of the Hot Rod magazines. So we meandered over to the electronics section where the magazines are kept and as Micheal checked out the latest sport cars and what not, I picked up Better Homes and Gardens special Make It Yourself issue. In the issue was this tutorial on how to make your own Mercury glass items. To me it looked fairly easy so yes I bought the issue...I am such a sucker for magazines.

Aside from needing a glass item to work with,  you will need a special paint made by Krylon called Looking Glass Mirror Like spray paint. OK not an easy item to find but it is carried by Hobby Lobby and you can check Michael's Craft store or A.C. Moore. If you decide to do this project be prepared, the price of the paint is a bit high...I paid $11.99 for a 6 oz can. In addition you will need a spray bottle filled with water and some newspaper and or paper towel.

First make sure you are working in a well ventilated area...I am doing this project on my back patio.

According to the tutorial you need to spray the inside of a clean vase or votive with plain water and then lightly spray the Looking Glass spray paint on to the water. 

Then holding the outside of the vase, swirl around the paint in the water to cover the inside of the container. 

Invert the glass piece and let drain on newspaper or paper towel. As you can see I used a paper plate.

Repeat the process 4 or 5 times or until you've achieved the desired look.

I sprayed a light coat of gold paint inside the votive to give it a little more of a warm glow. Since this paint can be washed away with just water, some tutorials I read on line suggested applying a protective coat of a clear sealant to ensure you keep the desired look. I think I'll be picking some up on my next trip to the craft store.

To get the look of the long necked vase just apply Elmer's spray adhesive and then wrap it with some jute string.

XO

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