Sunday, September 7, 2014

diy tortoise shell vase

Happy Monday, friends! We had some cooler weather over the weekend, it was
 exactly what I needed to get me in the mood for a fall project. I've always loved the
classic look and warm glow of tortoise shell and thought I'd try my hand at a DIY vase
to use with my fall decor. It's the kind of project that is so forgiving you can't mess it up.
The more imperfect the better, I promise!



Here's the super simple how to:

Most important: Random and imperfect is perfect!

I used a 10" x 7" glass hurricane from Michaels $5 (with 50% off coupon) here
and acrylic paint in Yellow Oxide, Burnt Umber and Black
I didn't purchase anything, I had all the items. Any vase will work that has a wide
 mouth allowing you to access the inside with a paint brush. 
I painted on the inside of the vase to keep the reflective character of the glass.


#1
 Wet your paint brush slightly (allowing the paint to bead up) and paint the inside of
 the vase.  Allow to dry, use a blow dryer if you're impatient. :)

#2   
Dab random splotches of burnt umber paint on top of the yellow. Don't load a lot
of paint onto your brush.


#3 
While burnt umber paint is still wet use the paint brush to spread the paint into
 larger splotches. Checking the outside of the vase as you go and adding more
burnt umber paint as needed, you want a lot of the gold covered.


#4
Next dab random splotches of black paint with a q-tip. Rolling it around a bit to get
irregular shapes. Try to keep the splotches from being in an even pattern. See above. 


#5
Check the outside of the vase and continue to add black as necessary.
At this point some of my brown and yellow paint had been wiped away from my
hand rubbing against it, just paint a dab more onto the glass.


Let dry. 
If, at any point you're not happy and would like to start over take your vase
to the sink and rinse away the water based acrylic paint. :)


  If you're happy with your vase, let dry and treat with care. I filled a tall cylinder with
water and my branches and carefully set inside. I did read you can set paint onto glass
by baking the piece, but I was fine with using mine for fall, and then cleaning it up.
 It only took about 20-30 minutes to complete and I'd rather not have to store another
 large vase. 


Have fun, and let me know if you try it!

Sharing at Savvy Southern Style - WOW Us Wednesdays

26 comments:

Diana @ Your Day Simplified said...

Wow, that is awesome. I am totally going to give this a try! You certainly make it look easy.

Cassie Bustamante said...

it looks so pretty and i am with you- use it for fall, clean it up, and then do something else with it! :)

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style said...

Wow, Pamela, great job. It looks like one you would buy off the shelf.

ℳartina @ Northern Nesting said...

How pretty!! Love it filled with the greens!

Unknown said...

I love it- great idea and love the gloss look, so painting on the backside is perfect. Have a great week friend! xo Nancy

Simply LKJ said...

What a great idea! Love how it turned out.

Julia@Cuckoo4Design said...

That is so good, I would have never thought of trying this. Pretty

Dana Frieling said...

Oh, that turned out so neat! I remember having tortoise rimmed glasses back in the day...classic.

Julie said...

This project is so creative and turned out great, Pam! I love how it looks in your vignette. It is just the right Fall touch.

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Super fun project. Love this idea.

Patty Day @Pattys Epiphanies said...

WOW the vase is awesome! Love, Love it!

Kris @ Driven by Décor said...

I'm crushing on anything tortoise patterned at the moment so I adore your DIY vase. Just perfect for fall!

Vel Criste said...

So fun and it didn't even look DIY Pam! Gorgeous piece, thanks for the easy tutorial!

Elizabeth @ The Little Black Door said...

It looks just like the real thing. How I love tortoise shell! :)

Anonymous said...

Very pretty and I love the greenery in it. It's great when you can make something and have it look so good. I have always loved tortoise shell. I think I'll give it a try.

The Bold Abode said...

That is super cool and I love that you can wash it off if you don't like how it turned out!

Jennifer@The Chronicles of Home said...

Great idea. It almost has an animal print vibe to me. Tortoise or leopard - either way, it looks great for fall!

Lisa @ Shine Your Light said...

How pretty Pam! You know you had me at "paint"!

Jane B. said...

Looks great, love it!

Julie Taylor and Danni Greenwalt said...

Very clever...and it looks great displayed with the blue books..

therelishedroost said...

Great job I love it!

SHERRY HART said...

You amaze me!

Kristin@bliss-athome.com said...

this is so great Pam! I love this idea! xoxo

Shirley@Housepitality Designs said...

I have seen the tortoise shell large candle in PB and so pricey....what a clever, creative and gorgeous vase you created!....

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