Recently we made a ton of “mercury glass” votives. We wanted to share the process…
Start by collecting glasses. I prefer flat bottomed, tumbler style glasses. the taller and thinner they are, the harder the job will be. Glasses with etching or cut designs are especially appealing.
Once you have collected enough glasses to start the project you’ll need to collect the supplies below. Hobby Lobby or Michaels will have everything you need.
silver, gold, or copper leaf. It’s easiest and less wasteful to buy the sheets and not the loose leaf
paint on adhesive and paint brush
Ready to begin. Wash out all glasses and dry completely. Paint a thin coat of adhesive on the interior walls of the glass (no need to paint the bottom)
Wait for the adhesive to dry, when completely dry it will become clear. Begin pressing the metal leaf against the sides of the glass, it will adhere to the walls.
The orange paper is what is left as the leaf attaches to the glass, you may have to smooth the leaf down against the walls with your finger
I usually want pretty heavy leaf coverage
Next comes the metallic paint. This adds a two tone effect.
I try to pool the paint in the corners in order to have no brush stroke marks
Let it dry and voila! Mercury glass
This is a really well done DIY! We are definitely doing a manicure on you this weekend!
yes, a manicure is in order… my poor florist hands..
Very interesting! Never even heard of this before, but I like it. Nice post!
Thanks so much for this step by step demonstration! Now we ALL can create such lovely “vases” for our special events! CGM
Thanks for posting this, my wholesale supplier let me down by not ordering some silver mercury cups I need for an event this week and now they can’t get them! Thanks so much! I can do this! One question, will the finish hold up with wet oasis?
Ugh… the wholesalers always seem to be a let down.. It should hold up fine as long as you seal it with the metallic paint and it’s given adequate time to dry. Good luck!
Elnora:)
Do you have a Facebook fan page for your site?
Ron
Is this water proof? Just double checking. TIA!
No! Not waterproof. When we use them as vases we put a smaller container of water inside of the mercury glass container.