The Little French Farmhouse: mirror paint

Friday, November 4, 2011

Make Your Own Mercury Glass and.....a Lamp Re-fashion

I love mercury glass but it can be expensive.

I decided to make my own and I think it turned out pretty close to the real deal!

I'm going to tell you how I did it! Here is my version of this DIY project:

First, you're going to need a can of this Looking Glass spray paint. It's made by Krylon and I found mine at Hobby Lobby. You will also need a few cotton balls and a bottle of black acrylic paint. Lastly, find a clear glass vase or candle holder. I forgot to take a picture before I painted mine, but it was just a plain glass vase that I bought at Walmart.

There are only a few steps involved and it is very easy and quick.

First, spray the INSIDE of your container with a very light coat of the mirror paint. It will appear dull at first but as it dries, it will become really shiny. Repeat with very thin coats of paint until you have 5 coats applied. When it dries, put a bit of black acrylic paint on a cotton ball and gently rub in a circular motion randomly around the inside of the glass. This will remove bits of the mirror paint leaving an antique looking finish. If you find that you have removed too much {which I did} you can just spray another really light coating of mirror paint around the inside of your glass container.

Once it's all dry, put a candle inside and there you have it, your own DIY mercury glass container!

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While I had the mirror paint out, there was another thing I wanted to try. I've seen this done on Pinterest too, and loved it! This lamp here was my inspiration. It is the Haley lamp from Crate and Barrel. I loved the finish but wasn't as crazy about the modern shape so I decided to try and find something a bit more traditional.

Off to the thrift store I went to see what I could find.