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For this week – I am going to be showcasing a couple of the holiday crafts I have been working on around the house.  One of my big projects has been my outdoor decorations – and as soon as I saw these is the Pottery Barn catalog – I knew I wanted to do the same thing.  And it is a good thing – because they were sold out of these almost immediately.

Photo via Pottery Barn

So I was super excited when I found some BIG blue ornaments at a yard sale in late September.  I got five of them for $2.50.  A couple of weeks ago I gathered them up and decided to try my hand at a faux mercury treatment.   Here are some before pics!  Like my lovely spray painting set up?  Who said you can’t use a shepherds hook off season!

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Ok – so there are a there are literally a ton of different ways out there to recreate mercury glass.  I am going to show you guys how I did it.  First, I sprayed the ornament with silver metallic spray paint that I happened to have on hand.

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Then to create the mottled, aged look – I did quick burst sprays using some silver hammered metallic spray.  It created the “spots” you see on mercury glass pretty well.  And if you ever oversprayed on the hammered spray – you just needed to recoat with a little of the metallic spray and start over. 

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So here is a final shot of them drying.   I think they turned out pretty well.

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Now – I will have to say that they would have probably looked a little more like PB’s version if I would have used the mirrored spray paint.  But I still love how they came out.  I will have to show you my full outdoor display later this week.  

So what do you think?  Have you ever done a faux mercury glass project?  What technique did you use?  I wanna know!

Linking this up to

Before and After Party with Sarah @ Thrifty Decor Chick
Christmas Crafts Party with Kate @ The Centsational Girl
Get Your Craft On with Kim @ Today’s Creative Blog

Power of Paint Party with Mary Ann @ Domestically Speaking
Weekend Wrap Party with Jen @ Tatertots & Jello

25 frugal friends said ...

Holly @ Roller Coaster Life said... @ December 6, 2010 at 8:43 PM

Love them! They look great! I can't wait to see the rest!!

Kelsey said... @ December 6, 2010 at 9:35 PM

These look great!! I have done several faux mercury glass projects and I've always sprayed the inside with two different colors of silver (one matte and one shiny) after I have sprayed the inside heavily with water. It always turns out really pretty! I have been trying to track down that mirrored paint for a while now. can't find it anywhere except online! Let me know if you find it!

Megan // Honey We're Home said... @ December 6, 2010 at 9:57 PM

Very pretty and great way to spray them. I like the shapes of the ornaments too- great deal at the garage sale!

Bonnie@Creative Decorating said... @ December 6, 2010 at 10:53 PM

I think they are great, especially for the price! You just come up with some awesome projects!

Kristen said... @ December 6, 2010 at 11:05 PM

Those look great! You can't beat the price on them either, the real mercury ones can be so so expensive!

Barbara Pilcher said... @ December 7, 2010 at 12:24 AM

That's very clever. Love the look. I never thought of using a shepherds look like that, but I will remember it now.

This week I am giving away three dozen Christmas ornaments. Two dozen are vintage Shiny Brite and one dozen are hand blown European glass teardrops!

--Pink Overalls
www.diyhomestagingtips.com

Linda@Coastal Charm said... @ December 7, 2010 at 1:29 AM

Soooo PRETTY and sooooo THRIFTY!!! I use some hanging hooks (you hang them in trees) to spray paint items...love your idea too!

Blessings,
Linda

Unknown said... @ December 7, 2010 at 6:18 AM

They turned out really pretty. I never thought about hanging the large ornaments on the hooks outside, but it would be cute ;)

Erin said... @ December 7, 2010 at 7:27 AM

I love this and the shepherd hook is genius! Love the tips, thank ya lady!

Anonymous said... @ December 7, 2010 at 7:37 AM

quick newbie painter question... when you say "mirrored" spray paint are you referring to Looking Glass or Chrome??

Thanks for all of the great posts! I love love love mercury glass but I need to make it pet/toddler/budget friendly; I don't know why I never thought about spray painting to achieve the PB look. Thanks again!

Sarah @ ImSimplySarah said... @ December 7, 2010 at 8:27 AM

Thanks for your sweet comment on my PB Inspired Numbers Canvas!
I love this PB Inspired KnockOff you've done here with the Mercury Ornaments...I was SO CLOSE to doing this myself, but haven't been able to find cheapo ornaments to do it with. Way to score those nice big ones for $2.50! Have a Merry Christmas!
-SimplySarah

fafner said... @ December 7, 2010 at 8:48 AM

Beautiful as always! It's amazing what you can with just a couple of dollars.

Karen said... @ December 7, 2010 at 1:03 PM

They look great and you didn't even have to pay PB prices-although I did love the way they used the ornaments in the catalog this year.

Beth said... @ December 7, 2010 at 3:34 PM

They look great!

Mystica said... @ December 7, 2010 at 7:59 PM

No I haven't and yes I would certainly like to try! Thanks for the tutorial.

I have posted my first giveaway on my blog. It is a gift card from CSN Stores. I will appreciate if you could all enter!

Michelle @ Ten June said... @ December 8, 2010 at 9:37 AM

Ohh I love mercury and these are just beautiful! Great job!

Anne said... @ December 8, 2010 at 10:52 AM

Love it! I have some silver spray paint, so i'm halfway there and i'm inspired! As always, its so fun to check your blog for new ideas!

Ami Allison said... @ December 8, 2010 at 11:53 AM

GORGEOUS Jess!!! I wanted to stop by and say hello!! :)

Gina said... @ December 8, 2010 at 5:42 PM

Beautiful! I've always wanted to try this-you make it look easy-I'm inspired!

bj said... @ December 8, 2010 at 6:01 PM

You did a fantastic job. Love it.

Aaron {the girl with the boy's name} said... @ December 10, 2010 at 7:17 PM

Great job! Lovely.
-Aaron

Anonymous said... @ December 10, 2010 at 10:47 PM

What a cute idea! I am your newest follower! You can follow me at http://craftycierra.blogspot.com/ Dont forget to enter my giveaway! If you are interested in doing a blogswap, please email me at CierraLarsen at hotmail dot com

/Cierra

Unknown said... @ December 11, 2010 at 1:06 AM

These are so very pretty!Such a big impact for such little cash....Great Job!

Elizabeth said... @ December 13, 2010 at 5:19 PM

Beautiful! I love all things Pottery Barn! Would love for you to visit me at Sew Chatty and link up to Made with Love Monday! The party will be open until Friday if you want to link up multiple projects. Hope you have a great day! http://sewcahtty.blogspot.com

Unknown said... @ October 22, 2011 at 11:42 PM

These are fabulous! How did I miss these last year. Yes, how said is that - I'm stumbling & pinning 2010 Christmas stuff on Saturday nite. WhooHoo ;) (actually, a perfect nite in my book) How's Little Man?

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