Dollar store vases transformed into faux mercury glass

     Yesterday, I told you all I would show you how I transformed dollar store glass vases into faux mercury glass to use as holiday decor.  My fireplace is just one big black hole, I really needed to transform it and give it some holiday life.  I love having a fireplace, but we really can't use it between my allergies and the safety concerns I have with little ones and pets. 

                      Here are the glass vases I purchased. 

I already had one in my stash, so I pulled that one out to use as well.  In total 5 vases, for $5 dollars.  Can't beat that.  I showed you how I turned this 25 cent punch bowl into a mercury glass lookalike and it's perfect for my little pine tree.

I used Krylon's looking glass to create this look as well as a spray bottle of water.  I washed the price labels off, ensuring no sticky residue left behind.  After that, I just flipped them over, and sprayed each vase with water.  Once I finished that, I lightly sprayed the looking glass all around each of the vases.  I went back inside and did some things, so they probably had about 30 minutes to dry before I repeated the steps of spraying with water and then immediately using the looking glass spray.

Here are the glass vases finished.

I'm really pleased with how they turned out.  My next step is to get some of those battery operated candles and place them inside for a cozy, warm glow.  I've also thought about maybe placing some holiday greenery in there.  What would you add to make this a little fuller?  Leave me a comment below.

DIY Picture Ornaments

     Today, I'm trying to catch up on some other stuff I have going on.  You know, the non-fun things, that one must do in order to have a functioning household?  I decided to take a few minutes off and write my blog as well as look for some great DIY projects involving family photos and Christmas ornaments.  I think it will be a great way each year to see just how much the kids have grown.  This is all part of my meaningful decorating plans, moving a little bit away from the commercial aspects of the Holidays.

Seriously, how cute is this?  I found this here on an adorable blog, full of great personal touches.  You can find the actual tutorial here.  What a great way to display school pictures, pictures used for Christmas cards or family vacation photos.  I found another great tutorial here.

I love the use of black and white photography on these.  So simple, and yet such an elegant touch.  You can see more here.  She also has a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, that is affordable, using dollar store snowflakes.  I think I know where I will be this weekend.

There are so many DIY ornaments here.  Great tutorials on how-to.

Talk about simple and sweet!! What a great way to use household items we all have to create such cute and memorable ornaments.   This one will be a great craft to get my kids involved with.

Check back tomorrow to see  how I transformed cheap dollar store glass vases into beautiful faux mercury glass display.

I've got the fever for decorating this Holiday Season...

I'm not running a real temperature. I do have my heat turned on today, and my favorite blanket over me.  

I tend to wait until Thanksgiving is over before I decorate for Christmas.  I'm in no rush to get through one holiday to get to the next.  It has become a tradition for us to put up our Christmas tree on the weekend after Thanksgiving. It's also a tradition for my children to make something special for each family member.  I try and find a cute but doable kids craft to celebrate the season, and to teach them that "giving" is more important than "getting".  I'm still searching for the perfect project that the 3 of them can work on together.  

Since the sun is shining today, I decided I needed to take advantage of this outdoor weather and get in some spray painting.  I am very excited to show you all what I made.  I purchased this punch bowl at an auction for a quarter....that's right 25 cents.  It's a thick, heavy glass, loved the shape, and the embossed fruit on it.  Now I knew I was never going to use it for it's intended purpose, it just didn't have a purpose when I first bought it, but leave it to me to figure something out.  I have been dying to use a product by Krylon called "looking glass".  It makes any glass look like it could be old mercury glass.  I'm still looking for actual mercury glass but I know it will be more than a quarter.  

Here's what it looks like after 3 coats.  I could have been done in 2 but felt that maybe giving it another quick coat would get all the spots I might have missed.  If you are looking for that "mottled" look then you will want to take a little water and spray that first, and then apply your Krylon spray.  

Once you use this, it is NOT recommended that you place food, beverages or plants in it.  However, I decided to wing it with a small pine tree that I left in it's original container.  I placed some small glass rocks on the bottom.  I had these left over from my daughter's "fairytopia".

 I planted a small pine tree that I picked up at Lowe's for $8.99.  After Christmas, I'm going to look for a small fake one to use every year.

This tree is receiving the feline sign of approval.  That's our "Dolce", one of the sweetest cats in the world.  

I should mention that I added some mulch to keep the tree in place and to make it look nice. I have a huge pile of it sitting in my drive way. 

And this is the first of many Holiday decorations to be put up.  Let me know what projects you plan on doing this Holiday Season?