Faux Mercury Glass - DIY style.
I don't know about you gals, but I love the look of mercury glass. It has that awesome elegant and vintage feel to it. It's also EXPENSIVE.
This gorgeous piece from pottery barn, the medium vase alone is almost $50 for one!
After reading a couple blogs on people's various experiments with faking mercury glass, I decided to give it a try.
There were a few methods that were suggested:
One involved liquid silver leaf, alcohol and Looking Glass Spray by Krylon.
http://studio5.ksl.com/index.php?nid=59&sid=13547898
One method suggested using a bottle of water and Krylon Looking Glass Spray.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/diy/diy-idea-mercury-glass-lamps-108875
And the last method I saw suggested using silver leaf sheets, and Looking Glass spray.
http://thetreasuredpetal.wordpress.com/2009/04/20/making-mercury-glass/
I opted to try the last method. (Although the first method intrigues me.)
The vases I managed to snag from HJK Imports. (I got the smallest vase pictured at about $4 each before shipping.)
The process itself is just that... a process. So, make sure you have PLENTY of time to do this.
Lessons I learned:
1. Make sure you give yourself 3 times the amount of time you think it'll take. (Aka, don't wait last second like me.)
2. Work in a well ventilated space (the fumes are awesome.)
3. Applying the silver leaf sheets in patches looks better than an even application.
4. You must apply the looking glass spray in a thin and even coat, and allow to dry completely before adding another coat. (3 coats looks best) If you apply to thickly, your paint will pool and not stick.
5. Don't do this at night or work in the dark! Otherwise you'll do awesome cool things like I did, like spraying myself in the face because I didn't see which way the can was facing. Also the night air doesn't make the paint stick as well.
6. None of these methods are water proof for your vases... make sure you use a liner if using fresh flowers.
All that being said and done, here were the end results:
I also did some votives I had.
In Action
Cross posted to weddingplans
This gorgeous piece from pottery barn, the medium vase alone is almost $50 for one!
After reading a couple blogs on people's various experiments with faking mercury glass, I decided to give it a try.
There were a few methods that were suggested:
One involved liquid silver leaf, alcohol and Looking Glass Spray by Krylon.
http://studio5.ksl.com/index.php?nid=59&sid=13547898
One method suggested using a bottle of water and Krylon Looking Glass Spray.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/diy/diy-idea-mercury-glass-lamps-108875
And the last method I saw suggested using silver leaf sheets, and Looking Glass spray.
http://thetreasuredpetal.wordpress.com/2009/04/20/making-mercury-glass/
I opted to try the last method. (Although the first method intrigues me.)
The vases I managed to snag from HJK Imports. (I got the smallest vase pictured at about $4 each before shipping.)
The process itself is just that... a process. So, make sure you have PLENTY of time to do this.
Lessons I learned:
1. Make sure you give yourself 3 times the amount of time you think it'll take. (Aka, don't wait last second like me.)
2. Work in a well ventilated space (the fumes are awesome.)
3. Applying the silver leaf sheets in patches looks better than an even application.
4. You must apply the looking glass spray in a thin and even coat, and allow to dry completely before adding another coat. (3 coats looks best) If you apply to thickly, your paint will pool and not stick.
5. Don't do this at night or work in the dark! Otherwise you'll do awesome cool things like I did, like spraying myself in the face because I didn't see which way the can was facing. Also the night air doesn't make the paint stick as well.
6. None of these methods are water proof for your vases... make sure you use a liner if using fresh flowers.
All that being said and done, here were the end results:
I also did some votives I had.
In Action
Cross posted to weddingplans