Faux Sea Glass & Ideas for Summer Centrepieces

beach style/ centrepiece/ crafts/ decor/ diy/ mod podge/ seasonal/ shabby chic/ wedding

I have always loved sea glass. My favourite part of being on the beach is treasure hunting for pieces of it and sea shells. I also love a creative challenge and so when I saw the Silhouette Challenge for July was "summer" themed, I set out to make a decorative jar with the the look that I love...

There were a few options that I found online to getting the sea glass look. My original inspiration came from this beautiful bottle that I found HERE on Pinterest.

Lauren Saylor of A Fabulous Fete hand painted the writing on the bottle. I was hoping she was going to share how she got the sea glass look on her bottle, but she bought it at Michaels already weathered.

The plan was to use an etching cream, but when I read all of the warnings of the toxicity on the package and saw the price tag which was beyond my budget, I began to think of alternative non-toxic solutions to get the look.

The first thing that came to mind was to use pastel coloured tissue paper and adhere it with "Mod Podge". There were some challenges with this technique, but if you have a wide mouth jar without writing on it, you will be in good shape. I found this particular jar at the thrift store. I used a piece of tissue paper that I had in my stash and found one of them was just the right shade of aqua and had some texture to make it look like the picture above.

Faux Sea Glass using Tissue Paper

FOR THIS LOOK, here is what you will need...

widemouth glass jar
Mod Podge in matte finish
tissue paper in muted colour
net, twine or rope to cover the rim of the jar with
brush for applying Mod Podge
hot glue and glue gun for attaching net around rim

Steps

1. Find some pastel coloured tissue paper you like and cut it a little larger than what you would need to wrap the jar. 2. Brush on a generous layer of Mod Podge and immediately wrap the tissue paper around the jar being careful not crease it or tear it. 3. Apply Mod Podge over the tissue paper and let dry. 4. Cut off the excess paper on top and on the back where they meet. 5. Attach net or twine of your choice to the rim of the jar with hot glue. 6. Cut the vinyl letters on your Silhouette and carefully apply letters to the jar.

To imitate her beautiful handwriting, I figured that my "Silhouette would come in handy to try and get a script verse cut out of white vinyl to achieve the look. Make sure to use a thick font no smaller than 72pts. I attempted smaller sized type and inevitably lost bits and pieces of it when I tried removing the vinyl around the letters.

Although it is not real weathered sea glass, I am pleased with the results. The jar, net around the rim, tray and shells all came from the dollar store. So for less than $5, I have a pretty summer vignette. I think it would make an awesome centrepiece for a wedding with the couple's initials.

The jar to the far right was also covered in an ombre coloured tissue paper. Altough there is some overlap of the paper as you get closer to its neck, I think it still looks pretty with the netting around the rim.

Faux Sea Glass using Food Coloring,
Mod Podge and Paint

FOR THIS LOOK, here is what you will need...

small glass jar or small bottle
Mod Podge in gloss
food colouring
acrylic paint in a light shade of aqua
sponge brush for applying Mod Podge
sea sponge for applying the paint

Steps

1. mix 2 drops of blue and 3 drops of green into a tablespoon of Mod Podge and mix well. 2. Using your sponge brush, cover your jar or bottle with the coloured Mod Podge, patting it with the sponge brush so that you get a bit of texture. It will look milky when wet as in the bottom left photo and then will dry transparent 3. Let dry well. 4. Mix equal parts Mod Podge and acrylic paint in a light aqua shade. 5. Wet your sea sponge and wring dry. 6. Put a small amount of paint on the sea sponge patting it onto a piece of paper towel to get rid of the excess. 7. Pat the sponge onto the jar or bottle, trying to get an even amount of pattern throughout the entire piece. 8. Let dry and seal if desired with varnish.

NOTE: This technique is better suited for small glass containers, as it is more difficult to get a consistent pattern on a larger surface. Also note that the colouring is not permanent. it will come off with water. I really like how this particular technique looks on these small square vinegar bottles that I had on hand. They already had an aqua tint to them and looked the most like sea glass with the food colouring and the paint. What do you think?

Faux Colored Glass using Food Coloring

FOR THIS LOOK, here is what you will need...

clear glass jar, bottle or vase
food colouring
vinyl lettering of your choice

Steps

1. Adhere vinyl to jar or vase. 2. Mix 1 drop of blue and 2 drops of green food colouring into a container of water. 3. Add more water until you get the colour you want. A little goes a long way!

I think this would look so cute for a beach wedding. What do you think? I hope I have inspired you to put together a cute summer vignette with the help of your "Silhouette"...

My Silhouette Challenge buddies and I are all sharing projects on our blogs today, so peruse the projects below for a wealth of Silhouette inspiration!