- Mix one cup of white vinegar with one cup of water. Pour into misting bottle.
- Use a paper towel or soft cloth to wipe your glass clean.
- Protect work surfaces with a tarp, newspapers, or a drop cloth.
- Test mister to ensure you will get a very fine spray.
- Shake up your spray paint for two minutes.
Step 6
When I was painting the test tube vases, I used short dowel rods that I stood on end in an old piece of wood. All I did was drill some holes in a two-by-four. Then, I stacked each test tube on a dowel, leaving enough space in between to give me room to maneuver with the mister and spray paint.
Steps 7-8
Immediately spray over the mist with a light coat of the Looking Glass spray paint. You will repeat these steps two to three times, so it is important not to try to get all of the silvering done all at once. Light layering is essential to getting the desired vintage look of mercury glass.
Step 9
Very gently dab all over the misted and painted surface of the glass with a clean and dry paper towel. You want to blot up all spots of water and any larger droplets of paint. This step creates the aged look of the silvered glass.
Step 10
Repeat the misting, painting, and blotting process until you are happy with the final effect. I repeated the process three times on the vases pictured in this tutorial.
Step 11
Once the paint is dry, experiment with arranging your favorite flowers in your gorgeous mercury glass vases. They look really nice in groupings of various sizes and shapes.
In this example, I placed three mercury glass test tubes in an antique bed spring. The addition of a beveled mirror base created stability and an interesting reflective quality. Peonies seemed just right for this type of vintage floral arrangement.
Mercury glass centerpieces don't have to be expensive to look like you spent big bucks at a floral shop. Use the glass you already have at home. It is so easy to upcycle any ordinary jar or cheap vase into something extraordinary. There is something incredibly satisfying about giving a face-lift to a common, plain item.
We all hold the power of transformation in our hands. Let's go create and share some beauty today.