Homes

Craft: Make your own painted glass vases

Painted-glass-vases

Brighten up a room with a collection of painted vessels in colours to match your décor. We’ve chosen warm hues, but you could try blues, greens or pretty pastels.

Glass-vases-materials

Make your own painted glass vases

Materials:

Old jar with a lid (to mix paint)

Paint

Water

Glass bottle or jar, cleaned and dried

Old baking rack or newspaper

Painted-glass-vases-step 1

Make your own painted glass vases

Step 1: Mix up paint by putting it in an old jar, firmly attaching the lid and shaking like mad (you could also mix it in a small bowl with a spoon). I used cheap white acrylic paint from my local dollar store as a base and tinted it with leftover paint I had lying around.

Painted-glass-vases-step 2

Make your own painted glass vases

Step 2: Add just enough water to the paint to make it pourable, then mix well. If it’s too thick, it will block the neck of the bottle and if it’s really runny it won’t stick to the glass. It should be the consistency of pouring custard.

Painted-glass-vases-step 3

Make your own painted glass vases

Step 3: Pour the paint into the bottle. If the vessel has a very narrow neck, you may need to use a funnel.

Painted-glass-vases-step 4

Make your own painted glass vases

Step 4: Slowly rotate the bottle to evenly coat the inside.

Painted-glass-vases-step 5

Make your own painted glass vases

Step 5: Tip the bottle over the paint jar to drain some of the excess paint.

Glass vases step 6

Make your own painted glass vases

Step 6: Stand the bottle up over the rack or newspaper to drain for about 15-20 minutes. Once most of the excess paint has drained, turn it upright and set aside to dry fully (1-2 days).

Glass-vases-finished-look

Make your own painted glass vases

The final look!

Handy tip! We used acrylic paint, which means the jar or bottle can’t be filled with water (it will wash off). If you want to use it as a vase, use an oil-based paint or put a small plastic tube (from florists) into the container.

Related stories