Make This: Faux-Mercury Glass Lamp

This contributor post was written by Katherine of Making Chicken Salad. This is Katherines first post as a contributor here on pns and she is BRINGING IT today with her first tutorial. She’ll be writing monthly diy craft projects for you. Take it away Katherine”¦

I really love home decor that juxtaposes fancy and not-so-fancy elements. Recently I spotted a beautiful mercury glass lamp with a rustic burlap shade (and a high price tag!) and knew immediately that I wanted to make one of my own.

Here are the materials you’ll need: 1. clean, dry 1 gallon glass jug free of any labels or adhesive (mine is an apple cider jug from the grocery store) 2. bottle lamp kit 3. Krylon Metallic Silver spray paint 4. Extra-fine steel wool 5. burlap lamp shade (I used this shade in size small) 6. *optional: air-dry clay (only if the neck of your bottle is slightly wider than the lamp kit, as mine was)

Here is how you make it:

1. Take your bottle outside to a clean, well-ventilated area and spray it with one light coat of the silver spray paint. When spraying, make sure to hold the can about 12-14 inches from your bottle so that you apply only a light coat of paint. Its OK if you can still see the glass through the paint. The idea is to have a bottle that looks aged, not perfect!

2. After your paint is dry to the touch and no longer tacky, lightly rub the whole surface with extra-fine steel wool to smooth it out and remove small sections of paint.

3. Repeat steps 1. and 2. until you are satisfied. My lamp has three coats of paint. By applying multiple light coats (as opposed to one heavy one) your bottle will have a sparkly, aged texture–which is what we want!

4. Follow the instructions on your lamp kit to assemble and attach it to the bottle. This is where you may need a bit of air dry clay at the neck of the bottle to secure the rubber cork.

5. Insert a light bulb and test your lamp.

6. Once you have determined that everything is working properly add your lamp shade and enjoy your new lamp!

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About Katherine: Katherine Jalaty lives in Northern California, where she spends her time taking care of her family and making things for her new home. Her blog, Making Chicken Salad: The Art of Something Out of Nothing, is where she shares DIY projects, recipes and bits of inspiration from her own life and from other artists. Keep up with her on the blog or on Twitter @katherinejalaty.