This is a foolproof tutorial on how to make your own decorations into mercury glass DIY style!
Real mercury glass, despite the name, does not contain mercury. It's actually created by glass makers blowing a double walled piece. Then, through a small hole, a silvering formula is inserted between the two walls. The hole is sealed and presto!
That's how mercury glass is made.
If you love the look, but don't consider yourself a glass blower, I've got you covered. Check out this step-by-step tutorial on how I made some of my Christmas ornaments look like mercury glass!
Why this method is the best
I've tried many methods to get a perfect mercury glass effect. This is, by far, the best! Especially for small pieces like I'm going to show you here.
A lot of people will tell you to work on the inside of your decoration. The problem with that is that you have zero control over the paint because you can't actually reach it.
I find that applying the paint to the inside, rather than the outside, usually ends up with a more streaky appearance. Not a very authentic look!
This method works on the outside of the decoration so you can control the paint better and end up with a finished product that you love!
This method is simple and fast. So let's begin our mercury glass DIY...
Supply List
In this tutorial I'll demonstrate this method on plastic Christmas ornaments, as well as a clear glass Christmas tree decoration.
The plastic ornaments came from Hobby Lobby and I picked up the glass tree at Target for $2!
Setting up for your mercury glass DIY
With the ornaments, I wanted to work in batches so I put a few nails into a 2x6 board and set it on some saw horses. Then I used some wire scraps we had laying around the farm and tied the ornaments to the nails.
You can see here in the next photo how I had mine set up.
Your set up could be even simpler though if you didn't want to work in batches.
Another option would be to simply fix the wire on the ornaments just like I've done here, but instead of attaching it to nail in a board, you can manually hold the ornament up by the end of the wire.
Then, while holding onto the end of the wire, spin the ornament around while you apply spray paint.
However, you do want to make sure that you can hold the ornament far enough away to get a smooth finish with the spray paint. If you hold the can too close to the ornament, you'll get an uneven application of paint.
If you're painting something that can stand up on it's own, like my clear glass Christmas tree, you can simply place it on a piece of cardboard or any surface that is flat and you don't mind getting paint on.
The 50/50 mix
The last thing you'll need to prep for this project is your vinegar and water solution. Mix your 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup vinegar into the spray bottle to create a 50/50 mix.
This amount should be plenty for most projects.
Creating the perfect mercury glass effect
First you'll take your mirror effect paint and apply an even, smooth coat all over your piece.
Next, take your hair dryer, set it to low heat, and gently go over each piece. I applied heat evenly to each decoration for 20-30 seconds.
You want the paint to be pretty dry. Dryer than you probably think! If it's wet at all, it will start to get streaky in the next step.
After your mirror effect paint is set, you'll take your 50/50 water/vinegar mix in a spray bottle and spray it all over the ornaments.
Make sure your spray bottle is set to a finer mist and not stream!
Let your 50/50 mix sit undisturbed for about 30 seconds. Then take your hair dryer, and again, gently apply low heat all over your decoration. I probably only had the hair dryer on each piece for 15 seconds or so.
Buff out your mercury Glass
Now you're ready to reveal your mercury glass effect!
Take a paper towel and gently wipe down your decoration. You'll notice that in some areas the paint will flake right off, but in other areas, the mirror effect paint may still be completely intact.
Remember when I said earlier that this method is the best because you have full control over the paint? Now we're getting to the part where this method shines!
If you have a spot where the mirror effect paint is not flaking off, take your paper towel and start rubbing that specific area. You might be surprised how hard you can rub it before the paint starts to flake off!
This is actually ideal because you'll just rub off the paint until you have a look that you like. Again, lots of control over your paint with this method!!
The pictures above show what my decorations looked like after one coat. I let them dry for another 20 minutes and then decided to do a second coat.
You'll follow the same steps for additional coats.
- 1Mirror Effect paint
- 2Dry with hair dryer
- 3Spray with 50/50 solution
- 4Quick dry with hair dryer
- 5Wipe with paper towel
Complete the vintage look
To get the most authentic appearance, I would suggest doing two coats of the mirror effect paint as described previously. The second layer really helps create that double wall effect that real mercury glass has!
This next step is optional, and you can see the results in the pictures below. I decided to darken the inside of my decorations to give them more of an antique look.
To do this, take your Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint and VERY carefully squirt a little bit inside the ornament. I'm talking a super small amount here, only enough to have a little mist of paint floating around inside there.
That means you're only going to tap the trigger on your spray can for a fraction of a second!
Shake your decoration around so that the fine mist of bronze spray paint adheres to the full surface area inside your decoration.
If you want to make it darker, repeat. It's better to repeat this step many times rather than put too much wet paint on the inside. You'll risk it looking streaky!
The following pictures show you what the decorations look like after the bronze spray paint was applied to the inside.
If you're doing ornaments, you may also want to spray paint the tops with the bronze spray paint.
And there you have it! I let mine dry for another 30 minutes and then put them to use!
Have you ever made your own mercury glass DIY before? What do you think of this method? I'd love to see what kind of projects you come up with!
Looking for more Christmas Decoration Projects?
DIY Beautiful Garlands and Wreaths
Make Your Own Stockings (FREE Christmas Stocking Pattern included!)