Faux Sea Glass Centerpiece

If you have followed my blog for very long I know you have seen some of my previous faux sea glass projects.  I love making these because you can customize them to your decor just by mixing colors and you can use any old clear glass object - recycled, thrifted or new.  Whatever strikes your fancy at the time.

I made these last year from thrifted vases and use them all the time.  I just love the color and how the light bounces off them.  

This time I had a little helper - she loves when I pull out the paint brushes and paints and I enjoy working with her.  She did a great job on this little project.  It's so simple we were able to finish it in one afternoon - counting the drying time.

You only need a couple of products to pull this one off.  A jar of Mod Podge - I used the regular matte finish, a couple bottles of food coloring and a paper or plastic cup.  Oh, of course, your object to be painted.

Just put about a teaspoon of Mod Podge in a paper plate and start adding food coloring - one drop at a time  - and mixing until you get the color you desire.  Above you can see I have one that is blue that took several drops to make that hue, one that is about 3 drops of green with 1 drop of blue added and one that is about 3 drops of blue with one drop of green added.  You may have to play with these a little to come up with your desired color.  

Miss A is painting jars I had placed on plastic cups turned upside down.  This gives her a nice stable base to help her paint.  She painted three jars with the three colors and also painted some glass bowls we will be sharing later on.  It only took those three little dollops of paint.  This stuff really goes a long way.

Tip: Try to cover with only one brush stroke and not go over an area too many times as it will begin to get
       clumpy and not dry as smoothly.

Here is the finished product.  After they dried I did a sort of macrame net around the jars with some jute.  This is a very simple process and Lucy at Craftberry Bush has a great tutorial on how to do it.  I then wrapped the mouth of the jars with the jute and added a jute handle.  The vase is a cappuccino bottle that is painted and then wrapped with jute.

This little vignette sits on my dining room table on top of a round grass place mat.  I picked them up at Good Will - 4 for $2.  Not a bad deal especially since they are so trendy right now.  I then added some gypsum and some faux sea grass to the vase and a few shells.  Now, I have a cute little beach inspired centerpiece.

These are not dishwasher safe and I would only wipe them with a damp cloth if necessary.  This is not water proof  and will wash off if rubbed hard with a wet clot.  

What have you upcycled/recycled lately?  I love to hear from you so tell me about it in the comments below.  I answer all comments through email.

Until next time have fun creating something you love.

Hugs, 

I will be linking up at the parties listed on the "I Party Page" above.  Please visit them and check out all the great inspiration found there.