Faux Milk Glass Tutorial

Milk glass is what I like to call a generation-skipper. What I mean is...your grandma owned and loved it, your mom hated it because it looked "outdated" and we love it because it is "vintage." See what I mean?

I personally love hobnail (like this) and milk glass (like this). But am I going to pay $45+ for a hobnail or milk glass cake stand? No way, José!

I've been stalking my local thrift stores for serving pieces and mason jars for the wedding (wedding inspiration board coming soon!). When I saw the following two pieces, I got an idea (does anyone else have their greatest ideas standing in the middle of the Goodwill aisle between a disgruntled employee and a customer having a conversation with himself?!).

First, I saw this pressed-glass platter.

See how the top is smooth, but the bottom has a design pressed into it?

Then, I looked at the next shelf over and saw this...vase? I'm not sure what it is, but the square design on the outside matched the edges of the platter perfectly!

So I happily gave the Goodwill $4 for both pieces, took them home and got out my trusty white spray paint, paper towels and painter's tape.

I wanted to leave the exposed (top of platter & outside of vase) glass unpainted, so I covered them with paper towels and taped the edges for a clean line.

See how I've left the underside of the platter exposed?

I did the same with the vase. I wanted to paint the inside, so I covered the outside. I wasn't concerned about this part having a clean line since it would be on the bottom (and unseen unless you flipped the cake stand over).

And this is what is looked like when I was done!

Bottom of the platter

Top of the platter

I let the paint cure for almost 72 hours before gluing the pieces together. I originally planned to use super glue to bond the two pieces (like I did here), but once the pieces were painted, I realized I'd be gluing glass to paint. I didn't want the super glue to eat away at the paint, so I opted for my trusty hot glue gun! It won't be super durable, but if you're careful with it, you should be good to go!

Total cost:

Crystal vase: $1.99

Pressed-glass platter: $1.99

White spray paint, tape, paper towels: already owned

Total cost: $3.98