12/10 DIY

DIY Striped Mercury Glass Vase

DIY Striped Mercury Glass Vase

I’ve seen vases filled with ornaments everywhere and wanted to join in on the pizzazz.  The display is so festive while still being simple, which I love keeping things simple :).  To go with my silver Christmas decor, I decorated the vase with Looking Glass Spray Paint.  (Before we get into it, can I just talk about how much I love the mini white bottle brush trees displayed in the photo above??  I perched them on top of candle stick holders, which they themselves look like abstract silver trees, no?  Love it all.)

Krylon looking glass spray paint

You can get the spray paint here (affiliate link).  I introduced this paint in my mercury glass votives DIY and I’ve really wanted to use it again since.  While in that project I painted the outside of the glass, this time I wanted to try painting the inside of the glass, which is what the intended technique for this spray paint is (if you want the reflective side to show on the outside).

For the prep:

Tape and aluminum foilI chose to do vertical stripes because one, I love stripes, and two, I feel like I don’t see them  as often as I do horizontal ones, so why not give it a try?  What made this difficult was that I had to apply the tape on the inside of the vase since, remember, I’m spraying the paint on the inside surface.  I made it easier on myself though by not being too nit-picky about getting the stripes perfectly straight or placing them at even widths and spaces.   I just eyeballed their placements, and I say that if it looks good to your eyeball, then it’s good enough!  To protect the outside of the vase, I wrapped around and taped some aluminum foil.

*Quick tip for the Looking Glass Spray Paint:  This stuff runs very easily, so it’s extra important to apply in thin layers.  The directions recommend spraying at least 5 light coats, but I think I ended up doing about 10. 

I started spraying at the inside bottom of the vase and then quickly stroked upwards past the top edge of the vase. Doing this on every section of the inner surface once is one layer.

Removing the tape after painting is the best part.

Mercury Glass Stripes

Second best part is filling it up with ornaments.

Striped Mercury Glass Vase with Ornaments

I got these ornaments at the Dollar Tree and in this case, “you get what you pay for” applies.  For at least the ones that I got, their imperfections would be very apparent if hung on a Christmas tree, but they are absolutely appropriate for stacking in a vase.  And c’mon, I spent a total of $2 on all of them.  Totally worth it.

How do you like my choice of silver and green ornaments?  I’m curious to know what color scheme of ornaments you’re decorating with this season!

 

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21 comments on “DIY Striped Mercury Glass Vase”

  1. Love the silver and green! And I think that Dollar Store ornaments are perfectly appropriate for a vase because this project looks fabulous! I love the trees on top of the candlesticks. When I first looked at them, I was like where did she get those? Such a great idea, Amy!

  2. Lovely arrangement, Amy – the ornaments go well in your beautiful vase (or the other way, in a cloche, right?)
    PS: Can I just say how much “I” love the mini white bottle brush trees?! Love love love <3

  3. You’re totally convincing me to give silver a chance. This looks like something you would see in a Neiman’s store display, so very elegant! I got the mercury glass spraypaint after seeing your votives and love it! out of curiosity, have you ever tried the seemingly less expensive Rustoleum Mirror Finish?

  4. Love this super easy idea!! It looks like you bought the vase from an expensive store!
    Stopped by from Work It Wednesday amd started following you on facebook and pinterest ;)
    Feel free to visit my blog :)

  5. It looks absolutely perfect! I am always so impatient with spray paint and usually end up with globs or drips. Doing ten thin coats would be the supreme challenge for me. Love the way the green ornaments reflect off the silver stripes. And those bottle brush trees are killer.

  6. Amy, this is just gorgeous! Thank you so much for joining us and sharing at Best of the Weekend – pinning and sharing! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and thank you for being such a fabulous party guest! Can’t wait to see what you have in store for 2014! Enjoy a very merry weekend!

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