Milk Glass Vases on a Budget

I love the look of vintage milk glass. The glass is delicate and the white color of it goes with everything. It’s a timeless look, really. However, I do not want to pay those antique store prices for real milk glass. That stuff ain’t cheap! So what’s a girl to do? Make it herself, of course!

Step One. I started out by searching my local Goodwill for glass vases. Actually, I went to a Goodwill in a neighborhood that I know has nicer stuff. I generally look for the ugly stuff – it may be dirty, have a weird discoloration, or a really out-there kind of color. What you want to look at is the bare bones of it – does it have a good shape, no chips, and is it the right size for whatever arrangement you want to put in it. I chose these three vases. The total of all three together was $2.37

Step Two. I headed to my local Home Depot and found some spray paint that works on glass. This is super important because you don’t want it to chip off. The paint was $3.97.

Step Three. Wash and dry the vases. You don’t want any residual dirt or dust on them, as that will make the paint not adhere correctly.

Step Four. Put the vases in a well-ventilated area (I chose outside) and on a piece of cardboard or a drop cloth and paint away! I put mine in the grass because who cares if the backyard has a white square on it for a little while? It’ll just get mowed down! Make sure your paint can is held right side up and keep it about a foot away from the vase. You don’t want to get too close or else the paint will drip – and you don’t want that because that will mess up the lines of the vase.

Step Five. Remove any bugs that fly onto your vase and get stuck. This probably won’t happen to you, but of course in my world, it did. So what did I do? I pulled that sucker off by his wings and sprayed a little more paint to touch up over it.