Last year I made some mercury glass candle holders, which are currently sitting out on the kitchen window sill, but after an unsuccessful ornament shopping trip at Hobby Lobby, the candle holders got me thinking…. Could I make glass ornaments with a mercury glass finish for our tree?  The answer is yes.

Mercury Glass Ornaments

What you’ll need:

• Clear, glass ornaments
• ‘Looking Glass’ spray paint
• White vinegar
• Water
• Spray bottle
• Paper towels
• Gloves

Start by cleaning off the ornaments –> they should be clean and dry because the mixture doesn’t work well on greasy surfaces.  Mix up 1/4C vinegar and 1/4C water in the spray bottle, and get your area for spray painting ready.

Lightly spray an ornament with the vinegar / water mixture.  Emphasis on lightly, because you don’t want beads dripping down the side.  Then immediately spray a thin layer of Looking Glass spray on the ornament and sit for a minute.

After a minute, dab the outside with a paper towel to give it the distressed look and remove some of the excess paint.  Wait  another minute before repeating to allow it to dry some.

This part was much easier on flat surfaces than the round ornaments, and I found myself dabbing the glass with the paper towel more to stop any drips.  Also, since you’re holding the ornament while doing this, I learned the hard way to wear gloves.  Luckily the Looking Glass spray washed off pretty easily..

Repeat as many times as it takes to get the color you want –> I did 4 coats on mine before letting them dry for a few hours in the garage.  The process can get kinda hectic, so I recommend doing one ornament at a time.  I also accidentally dropped and broke one of the ornaments, oops.

Once they’re completely dry, they’re ready to be hung on the tree!

These are way better than the generic, out of the box ornaments, and I like how they look when the light hits them.  I’m calling this project a success!