Wedding Blog

This week, I have been playing around with one of the world’s easiest DIY projects. We may or may not use it in our wedding, but it’s something that easily could be worked into reception decor in many ways….

The project was inspired by something I read a few years ago in dear, departed Budget Living magazine. According to Budget Living, you can approximate the look of antique mercury glass simply by spraying Krylon Looking Glass paint on the inside of a glass vase. I tore out the article and have always meant to give it a try, but I was stymied by my complete failure to find Krylon Looking Glass anywhere that sold spray paint.

First I tried the project with ordinary silver spray paint. The results were nice, but a bit flat. So, I finally gave up and ordered the real Krylon Looking Glass off the Internet. All it took was a few coats of the real thing, and I had a beautifully shiny creation!

My ordinary-paint creation is on the right and my Looking Glass vase on the left. It’s difficult to tell the difference here, particularly given the less-than-stellar photos, but in real life, the plain version is flat silver and the Looking Glass version is shiny and beautiful:

These flowers are fake, of course. Looking Glass has to be sprayed inside the glass to work properly, so this particular method wouldn’t work with flowers that need water. However, any other type of spray paint can be sprayed on the outside of the vase.

While I was at the art supply site, I also picked up some Krylon 18K Gold Plate:

Of the four looks I tried, my favorite may be simple white. This would look especially interesting with ribbed or textured glass, for a Jonathan Adler-like effect:

Simple glass vases in every size and shape go for 50 cents - $2 at my local thrift store. Cans of basic spray paint sell for as little as 99 cents — the price I paid at Home Depot for the white version. Even the most ritzy spray paint, like the 12 modern, party-ready colors in Maine Cottage Spray Paint, runs less than $20 per can and would cover lots and lots of glass…. And, not counting drying time, the project takes 10 minutes at the most!

Overall, these painted vases could form the basis for lovely centerpieces, often in the exact colors you desire, and at a truly budget price.