I have a special fondness for mercury glass no matter what time of the year but especially in winter. Winter nights are long and the days are short and anything that catches and reflects a little more light around my home makes me happy. 
I spray painted the inside of this clear bottle to give it the mirrored effect of mercury glass, then added this cute little snow baby graphic (I’ll give you all the who, what, where, when, how info at the end of this post!)
I love the look of dried cotton but since I didn’t have any available to me I made my own. What do you think?
On Christmas my sister-in-law asked me where I got the cotton and when I told her my secret she was so impressed.
On the reverse side of the bottle I added a different graphic.
In my powder room I have these great vintage bottles on display. I was fortunate enough to find a whole “family” of them at a local thrift store for $2.00 apiece. After a few light coats of spray paint I applied French perfume bottle labels which seemed fitting for a powder room.
A little twine and few sprigs of faux winter berry branches make these festive all winter long.
This is a vase I had on hand (one of those vases that collect under the sink after the flowers are gone). I added a pretty vintage earring for a little more bling.
Roses and mercury glass go so well together . . .
As an FYI, Looking Glass spray will not withstand water. I put my flowers in a ZipLock bag filled with water and carefully slipped it down into the vase. You could also insert a smaller vase inside a large one.
Here mercury glass is a part of my winter centerpiece. Silver and gold mixed together is festive for New Year’s and beyond.
A little warmth on a cold winter’s night.
One last touch of mercury glass in my home are these light fixtures that I purchased to hang over my kitchen island. Being a DIYer I tried to use my fancy spray paint on the frosted glass shades that used to hang here. Note: Mercury glass spray paint does not look good on frosted glass! They turned out looking more like metal shades than glass. Oh well, there are bound to be some failures along the way.
I thought these were reasonably priced and they came from Pottery Barn.
So, here are the details, as promised:
For all of the DIY mercury glass projects I used Krylon Looking Glass spray paint (found at WalMart) to create the mirrored effect. There are many good tutorials to be found online but for these pieces I simply followed the instructions on the can and sprayed a thin coat of paint down into the bottle followed by a spritz of water to make the water drop effect. I speeded up the drying time by using my hair dryer between each coat of paint. On the more “see-through” items (like the old bottles) I used 3-4 coats of paint and on the vases I probably used 5-6 coats of paint.
All of the cute graphics are from The Graphics Fairy. If you haven’t been to her fabulous website you’ve gotta go! To age the paper I dipped it in very strong coffee, placed it on a cookie sheet and baked it in the oven at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes. Then I applied it to my bottles with Mod Podge.
For the homemade cotton twigs I used pieces of polyfill stuffing which I sort of rolled into balls between my hands and “stuck” onto pussy willow branches at random. I didn’t use any glue at all and they’ve held up just fine.
Do you love the look of mercury glass as much as I do? For more bright and shiny inspiration be sure to check out my Pinterest Board “Mercury Glass Love”. I’ve pinned a lot of items that I’d like to try to duplicate myself, if I can find the right clear glass pieces. I’ve also pinned some ideas on how to use mercury glass pieces in home decor.
Keep your light shining bright throughout this winter season.
Blessings to you,
Hi Patti, Thanks for the lovely post! I love mercury glass too and have some. This year on a Christmas tour of homes in my town, I saw a table covered in mercury glass and candles that was stunning. I’m on the hunt now for expanding my collection! Happy New Year!
Thanks so much Anne. I was at Marshalls the other day and they have tons of mercury glass candlesticks on sale right now! I may go back and get some myself. Patti
Thanks for the tip that Looking Glass is not water proof. It will save me some frustration!
Hi Patti,
Your post is full of some great ideas! I love the cotton twigs and your mercury glass ideas are just
awesome! You should come by and share your post on Fresh-Cut Friday! I would love it!
~Liz
one thing I do not have a mercury bottle putting it on list to find love your look
come see what I shared at http://shopannies.blogspot.com
Look how creative you are! I live amongst cotton farmers and fields, so I have to say you did a great job with your faux cotton. And I love your “mercury” glass. Wonderful! Featuring on the Link Party Features Pinterest Board. Thanks for sharing at my History & Home Party, take care – Dawn @ We Call It Junkin.com
Love the touches of mercury glass.
Thanks for celebrating the New Year at Seasonal Sundays.
– The Tablescaper
I love the mercury glass bottle – am curious to know if it was difficult to spray through the small bottle opening? I’ve hesitated to try this on a bottle that shape for fear the spray paint wouldn’t reach all the glass surface inside.
I’d like to invite you to a new link party, called Happy Tuesday. We’re sharing anything that makes us happy – we want to spread good vibes and positivity throughout blogland. You can find out more info at the link below. I hope you’ll come and join us!
http://holidays-at-the-harris-home.blogspot.com/p/happy-tuesdays.html
Thanks,
Jenny
I love all of your projects they all came out just beautiful! I am so glad I found your blog… I have been wanting to do this technique and now you have motivated me to do so…. I would love to invite you to come share at One More Time Events…http://www.onemoretimeevents.com/2014/01/transforming-christmas-into-valentines.html Tammy
The mercury glass is gorgeous! If you have a minute, please come on over and share it at the Everyday Vintage link party at Helene’s Legacy. Your style is a perfect fit!
http://heleneslegacy.blogspot.com/2014/01/everyday-vintage-link-party.html
Hi Patti,
Saw your beautiful pic at nifty thrifty and had to come see more! Oh my gosh, what a fantastic job you’ve done. Thanks for sharing.
Love it, wow, your vignettes are so pretty and your mercury glass is stunning. Thanks for linking to Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty
So happy you linked up your mercury glass to Tickled Pink Times Two. I will be featuring it tomorrow 🙂
I also pinned it.
Make it a pink new year!!
I love how you think and create. So pretty!
Hi… Stopping by to let you know you have been featured at One More Time Events…Thank you for sharing …Xo Tammy
Wow, I love it all! The pendants look wonderful, even if they didn’t turn out as planned and your cotton…GREAT! Thanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY…
Blessings,
Cindy
Really beautiful Patti! I love mercury glass too. Now following you on pinterest!
Hi…. Just stopping by to let you know you have been featured at One More Time Events….Thank you for sharing! Hugs Tammy
Beautiful!! Thanks for linking it up at Monday Funday! Sharing on our pin board!