Christmas Crafting – Handmade Mercury Glass Ornaments

| |

It’s Day ten of Getting Ready for Christmas and today I am sharing how to make these gorgeous handmade mercury glass ornaments.

I have teamed up with my dear friend KariAnne from Thistlewood Farms (scroll down for a link to her post or click here) and today we are sharing two different ideas! I am sharing how to make these easy Mercury Glass Ornaments and KariAnne is sharing 7 Creative Ideas For Christmas Tree Toppers.

Mercury Glass Ornaments

Since I love mercury glass, I discovered a way to make my own mercury glass ornaments.

Want to learn how?

Mercury Glass Ornaments Handmade

Before I tell you more about the ornaments I made, I thought I should answer an important question.

What are mercury glass ornaments?

Mercury glass (or silvered glass) is glass that was blown double-walled, then silvered between the layers with a liquid silvering solution, and sealed. … Sealing methods include metal discs covered with a glass round or a cork inserted into the unpolished pontil scar.

I love mercury glass and I have always wondered when it first became popular. This type of glass became popular in the mid-19th century. ‘The technique was patented by Edward Varnish and Frederick Hale Thomson in 1849.

So why do I make my own? 

The answer is listed below.

Mercury Glass Christmas Ornaments

Is mercury glass expensive?

Authentic mercury glass is kind of expensive. A vase in perfect condition might cost between $80 and $100; painted pieces can sell for $200 or more; colored, engraved, cut, and labeled pieces can fetch more than $1,000. Exposure to air causes oxidation of the silvered inner surface and makes it flake off.
 
Mercury glass ornaments can be expensive, so I made my own that look just like the handblown ones. 
Red and White Mercury Glass Ornaments

I made 18 of these ornaments in less than two hours. Of course, this was way faster than when I made these Rose Gold Ornaments. It was faster because I had figured out how to make these. It’s so much easier the second time around!

Mercury Glass Christmas Ornaments

I really do love these ornaments. I strung them on some wire because that’s what Christmas lights look like when you buy them. 

Can you believe how the light captured the colors in these ornaments? Isn’t this photo amazing?

Mercury Glass Christmas Ornaments Handmade

I used traditional Christmas colors to make these.

Which ones do I like the best? 

The white/cream ones.

Mercury Glass Ornaments

On this blog, I may sometimes use affiliate links, which means a small commission is earned if you purchase via the link. The price will be the same whether you use the affiliate link or go directly to the vendor’s website using a non-affiliate link.

In case you are wondering, here is the list of what you need to make these mercury glass ornaments.

Krylon Looking Glass spray paint

Metallic acrylic paint

Light bulb shaped glass ornament (for other clear glass shapes click here )

Spray bottle with water

Hair Dryer

What You Need to Make Mercury Glass Ornaments

Step-By-Step Video to Make These Ornaments

Here is a short video tutorial that shows exactly how to make these mercury glass ornaments.

KariAnne’s Getting Ready for Christmas Post

My dear friend KariAnne at Thistlewood Farms is sharing her post titled 7 Creative Ideas For Christmas Tree Toppers.

7 Creative Ideas For Christmas Tree Toppers

Decorating a Christmas tree is so much fun—especially deciding what to put on the very top. Here are 7 ideas for creative Christmas tree toppers.


If you missed any of my Twelve Days of Getting Ready for Christmas, you can find them here:

You can also find KariAnne’s amazing blog posts here:

Christmas Inspiration


A Home to Share, by Leslie Saeta

Pin the image below to your Craft or fall decor boards on Pinterest (just click the Pin button in the top left corner). You can also follow along with me on Pinterest!

Mercury Glass Ornaments

For more real-time updates, follow me on Instagram @My100YearOldHome

Similar Posts

11 Comments

  1. My Christmas DIY TO DO list for this year includes a bunch of “mercury glass” ornaments. I’ve been wanting to make some for several years now but for whatever reason it hasn’t happened yet! Well, this year is the year for mercury glass!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *