When to say "I don't" to DIY

I love a good DIY project, but not when it looks cheap. I truly believe it is my life mission of mine to make my clothes, jewelry, house décor, wedding décor, etc look expensive but in a super cost effective way. However, there’s a balance. If something is going to be cheap but look cheap then I don’t want it. I spend a lot of time researching everything I buy because I want to make sure I am spending my money wisely. I am not opposed to spending more when it means I am getting a higher quality item, but sometimes it is not worth it! And, most the time, I can find or make something that does the same thing but for cheaper. I mean, seriously, I can’t imagine spending more than $20 for mascara. Dior mascara users – I’m talking to you! Okay, I’ll admit I have been eyeing the Dior Iconic mascara for myself, but I would feel so guilty spending that much for mascara. I guess I would spend that much if someone promised me that it wasn’t made by small children in a third world country and that the packaging was biodegradable…

Getting back on track, let’s talk mercury glass. Oh, that beautiful mercury glass. Real mercury glass is super expensive. It was very popular to have mercury glass in the early 20^th century because it looked like silver but was cheaper. Over years, the faux silver finish in mercury glass flecks away leaving that beautiful old vintage appearance. These vintage pieces come with a vintage price tag. There are processes that mimic this effect, but even fake mercury glass is expensive. Call me crazy, but I am not spending $3.20 plus tax and shipping for each FAUX mercury votive. This was the cheapest I could find online.

Luna Bazaar

So, DIY it, right? There are so many tutorials online on how to make your own mercury glass. Here’s the best one tutorial that I have found from Take the Side Street blog.

Here’s my tips:
I tried spraying vinegar on the glass first before you spray the paint. That just makes the paint run. Spray the vinegar after you paint the inside.

Rub away the paint unevenly to mimic the real thing.

Make sure you have lots of time. I tried it once and here’s what it looked like:

Blah. It looks okay, but when you put a candle in it, it looks cheap. Remember, I hate cheap looking things. I think if I spent a little more time painting it and only used the vinegar after, I am sure could get it to look really good. However, I am sort of impatient and I want 54 votives so I found that this project was too time consuming for just an okay result. Plus, the spray paint isn’t super cheap. For reference, I found mine on Amazon for around $11 for a little can.

I was this close to abandoning my mercury glass wedding fantasy until I found mercury glass votives at Michaels. Sound familiar? Yep, I got all my other candles at Michaels, too! So, I strutted my bad thrifty self into Michaels with my 40% coupons and walked out with my mercury votives (over the course of several weeks). Best part was that with the coupon they were about $.85 for each mercury glass votive. They come in packs of six. I’ll get some votive candles through quickcandle.com to put inside. Behold, inexpensive pretty mercury glass!

DIY next to the Michaels one.

I also bought these tall mercury glass pillar candle holders, too.

Love 'em. Bonus? I get to sell these afterwards and get my money back. I like the thought of re-using wedding stuff and it makes me happy that another bride will get her mercury glass fantasy wedding, too.