DIY Mercury Glass

Can it really be time for DIY Christmas decor inspiration already? Like it or not, I believe the answer to that one is "Yes."  So I'm getting on the bloggy bandwagon right now and sharing the first of many DIY Christmas decor ideas/projects/inspiration in the weeks to come.  I hope you'll join  me!  Today's tutorial:  DIY Mercury Glass.

I abide by the notion that this blog is about being r-e-a-l.   So I'm telling you up front that this project was a r-e-a-l pain in the butt. I mean it.  Let me start off by saying that I've recently come across more than a few DIY mercury glass tutorials in blogland.  I ended up trying three different ones, and essentially mashing them all up together because I wasn't really satisfied with  any one method alone. Hopefully I can spare you some pain by sharing how I did it.  Not saying that my way is the best way, mind you. Just that it's the best way that worked for me.

Sorry about the lack of photos but I was so consumed with making these suckers that I was too busy and/or frustrated to be bothered with taking any!  I only have befores and afters.  Hopefully my instructions will be enough.  Any questions, just shoot me an e-mail or a comment!

Supplies

Krylon Mirror-Like (Spray) Paint
cheap glass containers
vinegar
spray bottle
paper towels
black acrylic paint (any small plastic bottle will do, you don't need much at all)
cotton balls

For starters you'll need a can of Krylon Like-Glass Mirror (Spray) Paint.  I couldn't find it at Michael's, Jo-Ann's or Hobby Lobby so I ordered it from Amazon.  (I've since learned that you might just find it in Michael's floral department, so look there first!) 

I also picked up some really cheap glass containers from the Dollar Store.

      

I initially followed the instructions on the can: I sprayed the outside of the glass with a few light coats of paint, letting it dry about 1 minute between coats.  Yes, this was my first misstep.  Then I sprayed the newly dried painted glass with a light spritzing of water and let the water do it's magic on the paint.  So far so good.  But after this part I thought that maybe the coating was a bit too see through and that maybe I should have been spraying the i-n-s-i-d-e of the glass?  I had even mentioned this to my daughter prior to spraying, but did I heed my own advice?  Of course not.

Realizing the error of my ways, I then painted the inside of the glass (following the can's instructions), after which I sprayed the inside with a combo of one part vinegar to one part water, followed by wiping down random areas with a wet paper towel, soaked in the water/vinegar solution.  Problem was, I wiped too hard and too much paint came off!  I had to respray the inside!  Lesson: use a gentle touch when wiping down areas on the inside of the jar.

Finally, once the inside was dry, after about 10-15 minutes or so, I put some black acrylic paint on a cotton ball and gently rubbed down random areas on the inside of the glass, leaving a light black/grayish smudge. It was this step that seemed to make the most impact visually. 

CAVEAT:The paint is really thin and really runny on the glass.  I had a hard time managing to avoid lots and lots of runny, drippy marks on the glass.  I did a lot of swirling, and swirling and swirling, trying to spread the paint around the inside of the jar as opposed to just having a veritable dripfest.  Good luck with that.  Also note that I didn't even try the glass jar with the lid.  Since it was a bit more dimensional than the smooth jars I was afraid the paint would not adhere very well to it.  Perhaps one day I'll test my luck on that.

      

Compared to store prices, I'd say I paid a total of about $4.50 a jar, plus blood, sweat and tears labor.  Truth be told, next time I'd just as soon buy some already made.  Does that make me a terrible DIY-er?  It's not that I'm not proud of my little accomplishment. It's just that life is short, ya know?

And that Christmas wreath behind the glass?  I made it recently and will share it with you soon!  Hope you've enjoyed my little tutorial.  And if you have any similar stories to report I'd love to hear them!

Until next time,

Don’t miss another thrifty, 

DIY home décor post!