It’s already June 4th! Just one month until the July 4th holiday weekend, and I’ve got an easy project for you: a Patriotic Luminary that you can proudly display or present as a hostess gift if you’re visiting friends or family!
Let’s get started!
Supplies
Martha Stewart Glass Etching Cream (w/ brush included)
DecoArt Americana Multi-Surface Paint in Lipstick (Red)
DecoArt Americana Multi-Surface Paint in Night Sky (Navy)
Paintbrushes for paints
Plastic lids (upcycled) to hold paints
Sandpaper
Battery-operated votive candle
Rubber or latex gloves
Painters tape
Rubbing alcohol
Access to a nearby sink
Timer
Basic clear glass vase
Preparation
Step One: Put on your latex gloves for these first steps, to avoid getting any oils from your fingertips on your glass vase.
Step Two: Clean your glass vase with dish soap and water, dry thoroughly, and apply rubbing alcohol to remove any remaining oils. You want the glass squeaky clean so it takes the etching cream easily.
Step Three: Mask off wide vertical stripes using painters tape. I also covered up the bottom section of the vase, as that will be painted later.
The above steps take the most time. Definitely take your time with each step, because the better your preparation and masking, the better your etched glass will turn out.
Glass Etched Stripes
Step Four: Apply Martha Stewart Glass Etching Cream in thick, wide stripes in between the painters tape vertical sections.
Step Five: Let dry for 15 minutes.
Step Six: Rinse off the etching cream really well, then remove the painters tape. Rinse a bit more just to make sure there’s no cream bits lingering anywhere.
Aren’t the frosted stripes pretty?
Painted Stripes
You can use glass paint, but I like using my multi-surface craft paints, because they adhere to most surfaces including glass. (So you don’t have to purchase separate paints for glass, terra cotta, wood, ceramics, etc, which is nice.)
Step Seven: Paint on red stripes in between the frosted glass stripes. Again, only paint to the bottom of the frosted stripes, save the bottom section for your blue paint.
I painted two coats, and didn’t worry about going all the way to the edges of the frosted sections. This will be a luminary, and any little sections that are clear will allow the candlelight to shine through. Let dry.
Step Eight: Paint the bottom section of the vase with the blue paint. Again, I did two quick coats, as the multi-surface paint dries fairly quickly. Let dry.
Stars and Stripes
Step Nine: Take your sand paper or a sanding block and, using a corner of the paper, gently press into the blue paint making tiny holes in the paint by removing spots here and there. These holes will be the stars of the flag! Wipe away any paint dust with a clean rag or paper towel.
Step Ten: Using the same sand paper or sanding block, sand the red stripes – not the frosted ones – in a vertical direction. Avoid the frosted stripes and also avoid sanding back and forth. Just sand in one direction. Wipe away dust with a clean rag or paper towel.
And that’s it!
Patriotic Luminary
Just add a battery-operated candle, and you’ve got a pretty Patriotic Luminary!
Since the paint and etched glass is on the outside, you could also use this as a vase.
This makes a great hostess gift, which can be used again and again for years to come!
~Laura
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For the “stars”, what about using those stars you lick and stick on. Remember? Like the ones we would get in school for doing good.
That’s a fun idea Linda! Even though the stars have that sticky stuff on the back, I’d Mod Podge them onto the glass to make sure they stuck. 🙂
Laura / Pet Scribbles recently posted…70 Nautical Decor DIYs
Oh my gosh Laura…this is darling. I’m sort of a sucker for Americana…so this is perfect! 😀
Tammy recently posted…Patriotic Luminary
Thanks Tammy! I couldn’t resist doing a shabby, distressed Americana style! 🙂
Laura / Pet Scribbles recently posted…70 Nautical Decor DIYs