I try, like really try, to be artsy-fartsy. Sometimes things work out, sometimes it’s an epic fail. But there is one thing about my stubborn persistent personality that never fails…I am no quitter!
Such was the case in my mission to make DIY tinted glass.
What started off as a simple desire to recycle some glass bottles, ended up being a true test of my perseverance. All the blogs and videos I researched said how easy it was. In fact, it was so easy, it was even a great project to do with your kids (say what?).
Well…this was no easy project for a craft-challenged person like me. It took days of trying one thing, adjusting, and then trying another thing. Over and over it went.
So, if you are “special” like me and want to avoid the same mistakes I made, here are some lessons I learned in my quest to make DIY tinted glass.
- DON’T use spray paint labeled “sea glass”. It’s a lie straight from the pit of hell. I have never had any luck using specialty spray paint. EVER! I shook that can like there was no tomorrow, and it still came out splotchy.
- DO wear gloves. You might think you are a pretty neat and tidy person, that is until you have to mix 50+ drops of blue food coloring into your glue. Your hands will look like a smurf for a couple of days.
- DON’T be impatient. This project takes time. If you rush the process, it will end up being a waste of your time.
- DO make sure you use the right amount of food coloring. Anything less than 20 drops won’t look like you did anything.
So here’s what I ended up doing:
Materials
- glass bottle
- Mod Podge
- water
- food coloring
Directions
- Wash bottle. If it has a label on the outside you can also use Goo Gone to remove the adhesive.
- Mix together approx. 1 Tbs of water with at least 20+ drops of food coloring. The more drops you use, the darker your tint will be.
- Pour Mod Podge into a small bowl or cup. The amount will depend on the size of your bottle. You will need enough to coat the inside of the bottle.
- Mix a small amount of the food coloring mixture into the Mod Podge
- Pour a small amount of the colored glue mixture into your bottle and swirl around until the entire bottle is covered. If you put too much glue mixture it will take longer to drop and you run the risk of having streaks.
- Turn the bottle upside on a paper plate to remove any extra glue mixture for 1 hour.
- Flip the bottle right side up to allow the color to return to the bottom of the bottle.
- Place bottle on a cookie sheet and heat in oven at 185 degrees for 1 hour or until the bottle is dry and transparent.
- Once cooled, decorate with twine, ribbon or leave as is.
We decided to wrap the top with twine and put a cotton stem in the bottle. The kids (yes, once I figured it out, the oldest helped me) gave these to their teachers as a cute little teacher appreciation gift.