Dare to DIY - The Look of Mercury Glass

My big DIY project of the past several weeks has been remodeling my embarrassingly out-of-date guest bathroom.  From the brass-accented fixtures to the honey oak cabinetry to the stained glass pendant lights that look like they belong hanging over a booth at Applebees...

Yowza.

I've put a lot of work into giving this room a bright, clean, contemporary look, but on that you'll have to take my word for the time being and look for the Big Reveal in a future post.

Today let's talk about small things...



These kinds of thing to be exact.

What's the point of having a fabulous bathroom if it's junked up with little tools and tidbits and tchatchkes everywhere?

Part of my inspiration for this little DIY organization solution came from these small lidded glass canisters sold at Crate and Barrel.  Luckily, I was able to collect up a group of similar containers at garage sales for far less than the $16.95 to $29.95 it costs for each of these beauties, nice as they are.

However, with my chosen palette of antique white, cream and pewter gray, I was afraid clear glass might look a bit... mmm, brittle.

Since I have been dying to try a faux mercury glass project using silver Krylon looking-glass spray paint, I decided this was the time. 

Besides my glass containers and the Krylon paint, I needed a few simple supplies

• newspaper
• cellophane cling wrap
• rubber bands
• paper towels
• my homemade glass cleaner (Find the recipe here.)

Here's how you do it:  First stretch the cling wrap over the mouth of your glass container and smooth it down to cover the entire outside.  

Next use a sharp blade to slit a cross into the film over the mouth of the container, peel it back, and secure it with a rubber band.  At this point, only the inside of the container will be exposed to the paint.

In a well-ventilated space, use the newspaper to cover your work area.  Lightly spritz a small amount of glass cleaner lightly into one container, followed by a light spray of the Krylon looking glass paint.  Easy does it.  (I guess I've made my point -- you understand you want to have a light touch here, right?  Okay I thought so.)

Swirl the paint around the container to create a mottled, bubbly appearance.  Finally, turn it over onto the newspaper to drip dry.  Repeat this process with the rest of your containers and their lids.

After the paint has dried for at least two hours, very gently blot inside with a paper towel to remove any remaining liquid residue.

Your glass pieces should look something like this.

And your bathroom should look a lot neater with all those little, necessary objects rounded up and contained.  Do try this at home!