154th Power of Paint Party… Faux Mercury Glass Bulbs
Welcome Paint Lovers to this week’s Power of Paint Party… the party about paint and only paint!
So I had this great idea in my head… I’d make faux mercury glass bulbs with Krylon’s Looking Glass spray paint. I’ve used it before to create faux mirrors and I’ve been dying to create some faux mercury glass with it.
The final outcome is almost there (I want it to look a little rougher)…but I took the long way to get here!
My original thought was to spray the interior of the bulbs. All the tutorials I’ve seen show doing the inside of the vase, etc.
I knew from my experience with my faux mirrors that you spray paint the opposite side you want to see… so it made great sense in my head.
Well… coats and coats later (I think about 8) it barely had a sheen of silver to it.
So… plan B! I spray painted the outside of the bulbs.
I think the spray area was too enclosed inside the bulb and not enough air movement (would be my guess). The key to using this spray paint is light coats…. waiting only a minute or so between recoating, which I LOVE because it makes for a quick project.
Aren’t they pretty! I want them a little more aged though. I sprayed them with a vinegar/water mix as a painted them. Maybe I’ll dab on some black paint… hum??? Any suggestions?
They’re going to be part of my mantel, which I’ll be showing you later this week.
So what have you been painting?
Power of Paint Party Rules:
#1… This is a PAINT party… so pretty please, link-up only paint related projects.
#2… If you want to be considered for the Spotlight, you need to put my nifty POPP button (you can find it up in my menu bar’s BUTTONS) in your blog post… that way others from your blog can check out all the paint projects too.
#3… Share the Love… visit the other paint pals.
Don’t forget… you can submit your paint project over at Power of Paint (my other blog) to have it featured.
I have been wanting to do some of these, now I will do it your way. I did read about putting some dark paint on the inside also to show through the spots where there is no paint to make it look old. Loved yours.
Thank you for posting. I tried the same thing last year and it totally did not work. I was pretty bummed. So glad I came across your blog. Just spray the outside. Duh…
Thank you so much for including my ideas with your round up of such wonderful projects!!!
These are great! I’m impressed you tried spraying the inside! I actually just made some too 🙂 I put a dark paint/glaze on the inside of the balls so that when I “distressed” them, the dark showed through. I submitted my post for a feature on your other blog 🙂
I’ve heard spraying them with soapy water first then spray paint. If you decide to try it please share, maybe I’ll get the courage to try it myself:).
I love those (looking glass) Mercury Glass Ornaments – they look fabulous just the way they are! You have given me inspiration for my first Christmas in my Beachy Beachy condo. Love yours and thanks so much for hosting each week. I really do appreciate it!
Awe… so glad I could inspire you Jeannie-JB!
Spray them with ammonia and dab with a paper towel… I did a tutorial on plates like that if you want to check it out!
Oh… heading over to check it out! Thanks Susan.
Your ornaments look amazing! And thank you so much for hosting!
xoxo,
Meredith & Gwyneth
Thanks Ladies!