Faux Mercury Glass(ish) Lamp: Before and After

Hello, all and happy Monday! Okay, so I'm not a big believer in happy Mondays but I like to think that if I keep telling myself that it's happy, it will be :)

I love mercury glass. I love lamps. Therefore, I love mercury glass lamps. These lamps are everywhere these days too. Unfortunately, they're also very expensive. I decided to look for a hollow glass lamp to try transform. A while back I saw a tutorial posted on Martha Stewart's website so I decided to give it a shot. I've learned that no matter how hard I try, I'm no Martha.

I got this lamp at a thrift store for $5. It isn't a cool shape like I really wanted but it is good enough for a first try...and it was cheap! I dumped the potpourri it was filled with and gave the inside a good cleaning.

I disassembled it and gave the inside a light spray of water like Martha's tutorial directs.

I gave the inside a coat of Krylon's Looking Glass paint. I tipped it to let it dry (though I don't show you a picture of that).

I waited a few hours between coats. I didn't have the patience to wait 24 hours like the tutorial says to. Maybe that's part of my problem :(

I gave the base a light coat too. I didn't want it to be quite as brassy as it was but to still look sort of antiqued.

Well, it doesn't really look like mercury glass but I do like the effect. I'm happy with it for now. It seemed like the paint was really, really runny. It didn't stick to the sides much at all...and I didn't do a thick coat either.

I think it will be a nice addition to my husband's dresser. That isn't the shade I'll be using, I need one a size smaller but I do love drum shades! What do you think? Have you attempted faux mercury glass? I'm willing to give it a second shot - I've got lots of clear glass votive holders!

I also wanted to mention that I'm so happy with the reaction to my daughter's new reading bench. I've gotten so many sweet comments and emails - it really means so much! I've also collected several new followers this past week. I'm thinking that it is time for a giveaway. I'll be posting about that in a couple days :)

See you soon!