Yep, Another Faux Mercury Glass Post...

Procrastination. It probably should be one of my new year resolutions, but I'll get around to doing those later...


I know I've mentioned how my  daughter unwittingly started me on the path to blogging. She also sent me an invitation to join Pinterest. I LOVE Pinterest. It is probably as addictive as coffee. One of the first things I ever pinned was a photo of Pottery Barn mercury glass lamps. I'm sure you've seen it countless times. Really, who wouldn't love these lamps?

At first I pinned them just because I liked the way they looked. Then, I noticed there was a tutorial!
It is from iVillage DIY Hacks. It was titled, "Why Buy What You Can Make?" Well, cheapskate that I am, I clicked on it and found a brief tutorial that mentioned the magic potion for making these lovely lamps: Krylon Looking Glass spray paint. I LOVE spray paint! I was all over this idea.


I looked at Walmart, but couldn't find it. I looked at Lowe's and Hobby Lobby and couldn't find it. Then, someone mentioned it was in a smaller can, and they'd seen it at Hobby Lobby. I need very little incentive to make a trip to Hobby Lobby, so off I went with my 40 percent off coupon in hand! I found it when I looked with the small cans.

Meanwhile, I'd been looking for clear glass lamps to paint. I had seen tons of them, and never really wanted a clear glass lamp. I figured finding them would be simple. I was wrong - there were none. Zero. I was convinced all the early birds had picked them up, sprayed them and blogged about them. 


So, I kept looking for clear glass lamps and reading every mercury glass tutorial I saw in blogland. Most tutorials were lacking some information I needed - such as do you spray the inside or the outside of an object? Would it only work on glass, or could other materials work, too?


The paint was considerably more expensive than other spray paint, and I didn't want to experiment and ruin a cool thrift store find OR waste expensive paint.


I eventually found lamps I liked, and I'll tell you all about them in my next post. But meanwhile, the first thing I experimented on were a couple of glass candlesticks I picked up in November. 

 They were cheap, and it was 50 percent off day, too!

That's right. The pair was .75c - perfect! I liked the shape of them, and visualized them in mercurial silver. 


That same day, I found these:

I thought they made excellent candidates for the faux mercury treatment, too. The vessels are tinted amber, and the stems are clear.


Tonight I have sprayed multiple coats of Looking Glass paint on a variety of items, and so far this is what I have experienced:

• This paint is very thin and watery - not at all like regular spray paint. You are supposed to spray water on items before you spray the paint - that is what gives you a bubbly texture. I have found it pools, and must be "played with" to get a somewhat consistent coverage. You don't want complete coverage, because you want it to have imperfections like aged mercury glass. It takes some time and tweaking to get a beautifully distressed finish and to keep drips from forming strange patterns. 
• The candlesticks above were sprayed on the outside, since they were not hollow. They only took two coats.  The stems were sprayed on the inside, and they also looked good after only two coats. 
• I was able to scrape off the paint with my thumbnail after it had dried a short while. It may cure and be more durable, but it would probably be a good idea to give it a clear coat if sprayed on the outside of an object.
• The lamps were sprayed on the inside. It was fairly difficult to get an even coverage and a lovely mottled finish - there were more drips to deal with. I have sprayed at least 6 times, and they still appear to be very translucent. I was hoping for a more opaque finish. I'll keep spraying and post about the lamps next time!

One of my lamps had a funny little surprise I discovered! I felt like a kid opening a cereal box with a prize inside! Do they still do that?


Word for the Day:


Proverbs 16:16

How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!


May this new year have much wisdom, understanding, gold AND silver for you!


-Revi

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