In our backyard, we have this gorgeous rose bush that grows the prettiest bright pink blooms you’ve ever seen.  Seriously.  These flowers are ah-mazing.  Each spring I pick them….but I always end up sticking them in a boring, plain glass vase.  Blah!  This year, however, I decided that their indoor home(s) needed a little makeover in order to do them justice.

I ended upcycling two cheap glass vases with supplies I already had on hand….horray for inexpensive projects!

It was a bit of an experiment and I found not one but two glues that work well….and the best way to keep the glitter on the vase and not on your hand or in the water!

 

How to Make Glittered Vases: Two Methods!

Supplies

I glittered up two vases using two similar but different methods:

• Tall glass vase from the dollar store
  • Polycrylic
  • Rose gold fine glitter
  • Clear gloss spray sealant
• Round glass vase from 30th birthday flowers from The Hubs
  • Outdoor Mod Podge & foam brush
  • Turquoise and light blue fine glitters (mixed to make a mint shade…oooo la la!)
  • Clear gloss spray sealant

 

Vase #1: Tall with Poly

I’ve had this particular vase for a couple years now.  Back when I was still working before I had my son, I helped organize a fun after-hours work event, and one of my tasks was creating the centerpieces.  We had a very tight budget, so it was Dollar Tree to the rescue!

All of us ladies each took a centerpiece home after the shindig, and ever since, this vase has been collecting dust in the back of a kitchen cabinet.  However, since the roses started a’bloomin’ in my back yard about a week ago, I thought it would be the perfect time to give this vase (as well as one of its shorter and plumper cousins) a little makeover.  Because GLITTER.

 

I looked around the interwebs a bit to see what type of glue works well in floral vases.  I was interested in learning about how to not only keep the glitter in place with all the stems that would be rubbing up against the sides, but also how well the glitter and glue handle being submerged in water.  (This of course wouldn’t be a big deal if you’re using artificial flowers that don’t need watering.)

Some folks use Mod Podge, others used floor finish, polyurethane, or even regular Elmer’s Glue.  However, most of them failed to mention anything about how their newly-glittered vases hold up with normal use, let alone when housing water, so it was time to do a little experimenting of my own.

Since I wasn’t in the mood to do any hardcore science water durability investigation, I just decided to go with my go-to glitter glue: polycrylic!  This past holiday season, I created some personalized glitter ornaments for my son and niece, and I had excellent results using polycrylic as the glue.

 

It’s also waterproof so that means it should be fine in this project too.

 

After I made the glittered ornaments for Christmas, I had lots of fine glitter left over….that’s why I love variety packs!  Plenty of supplies left over for whenever inspiration strikes….at least that’s what I tell my husband when he asks why I had to buy something in every color.

 

For this vase, I chose a pale golden pinky peachy color called Rose Quartz.

 

To add the glue to the sides of the vase, I poured a little bit of polycrylic straight from the can and into the vase.

{And I know my well-loved can of poly looks gross around the rim….when I popped off the lid, I also said “Ewwww….”  My apologies.}

 

Then I just swirled the polycrylic around the inside of the vase until all areas were covered.

 

The excess polycrylic needed to be removed, so I simply poured it back into the {gross} can until there weren’t any more drips.

 

Next, in went the glitter!

 

And some more swirly twirly fun to coat all the sides….starting to look pretty, huh?

 

Then the excess glitter was tapped out of the vase and {mostly} into a small dish.  Notice the sheet of white computer paper underneath the dish though?  Yeah, you’ll want one of those to salvage all the extra glitter….and to keep your house from looking like a strip club.

To transport all the extra glitter back into its little tube, I used one of my handy dandy and oh-so-adorable mini craft funnels.

 

Tada!  Now the vase was glitterfied!  After letting it sit and dry for a couple hours, I pressed my finger lightly on the inside to see how well the glitter would stay on.  It stuck pretty well for the most part, but some specks of rose quartz prettiness remained on my skin….not good.

So, just to be extra careful, and because I like multi-step projects, I decided to give the inside a coating of some clear gloss spray sealant.

 

Just one light coat around the entire inner surface proved enough to keep the glitter in place…yessss!

Oh, as you can see, I didn’t worry about covering the top portion of the vase’s rim in glitter, but feel free to cover yours!  It’s not as noticeable in person as it is in this picture though.

 

Vase #2: Short with Outdoor Mod Podge

Like I mentioned, this project was a bit of an experiment….so I decided to try a different method with another vase.  Well, sort of.  I just changed the glue.  But it’s still experimenting!

This vase was a recent addition that I got earlier this month.  My husband sent me flowers for my 30th birthday (does that mean I’m officially an adult now??)….the flowers were pretty, of course, but so was this adorable round vase.  I feel so fancy with a round one.

 

Instead of polycrylic, I decided to test out some Outdoor Mod Podge.  A while ago, I purchased a sampler pack with six different kinds of Mod Podge (once again, variety pack love) and I’ve yet to use this little bottle.

Also, since it’s for projects that will be exposed to the elements outside, it should be fine being submerged in water for a bit.  Plus I didn’t really want to use my regular Mod Podge since it’s a little pricey.

 

Since the roses in my backyard are a beautiful shade of bright pink, I thought a nice minty color vase would really make them pop.  Well, wouldn’t you know that out of all my shades of glitter in my variety pack, there was not a single shade of mint.  Nuts!

So I ended up creating my own mint glitter by mixing two bottles: a turquoise shade called Amazonite and a light blue one called Blue Topaz.  It’s not a true mint, but close enough.

 

I then added the Outdoor Mod Podge to the inside of the vase using a foam brush.  It’s a little thicker than the regular variety, but it still brushed on easily.

 

Then in went the homemade mint glitter concoction….

 

….and more swirly twirly fun.

 

Wham-o!  Looking pretty, huh?  Same thing happened here though as with the tall poly vase earlier.

After letting it dry for a while, the glitter easily came off with just the slightest touch….boo.

So, I took this bad boy outside and gave it a blast of the clear gloss spray sealant.  Now that glitter stays put!  I think this is the key here to keeping the glitter in place, more so than the glue itself.  But who knows….I’m no scientist!

 

The Final DIY Glittered Vases!

And here they both are!  Super pretty and glittery, and MUCH more visually appealing than their former selves.  They’re now a great home for the roses that adorn them.  Not a bad inexpensive DIY project!

{And please pardon my severely lackluster floral design skills….I didn’t take that class in high school.  Seriously, it was offered!}

 

While I only had these pretty roses beautifying the inside of my home for a few days before they got too wilty and sad looking, the glitter and glue have remained in tact and are holding up just fine with the water.  And heck, even if they do start to wear down and chip, it would be an easy fix to just slap on another coat!

I think this DIY project would work great for centerpieces at weddings or bridal/baby showers as well as the usual home decor or gifts.  Once again, because GLITTER ALL THE THINGS. :)

 

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Thanks so much for stopping by!