DIY Spray Paint Vase

Now that it is summer, I finally have time to do all the fun little DIY projects that I get ideas for throughout the year. Today's project features one of my favorite things: Spray paint. I will feature spray paint in a variety of projects on the blog but for the first DIY project of the blog, I give you...

Materials Needed: 

• Empty bottles
• Cardboard (or newspapers) 
• Push pins (if using) 
• Primer Spray Paint (I recommend Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Spray Paint Gray Primer)
• White Spray Paint (I used Rust-Oleum Semi Gloss White Spray Paint )
• Gold Spray Paint (My favorite is Rust-Oleum Metallic Gold Spray Paint)
• Painter's tape (I used 3M Scotch-Blue Multi-Surfaces Painters Masking Tape, I love FrogTape Multi-Surface Painting Tape too)

Directions for DIY Spray Paint Vase 

1. Wash and remove the labels from the bottles. 

I did this by filling the sink with sudsy water and soaking the bottles for 10 minutes. Then I peeled off the labels and scrubbed the glue off with a sink scrubber. For the taller bottle I took the label off using a hair dryer. I used the hair dryer to heat up the edge of the label so I could peel it away. When the label stopped pulling easily I would pick up the dryer and heat up the next section until I had gotten the entire label off.

2. Prime the bottles with spray primer. 

Once the bottles are dry, I used my gray spray primer to give a base for the paint to stick to since we are working with glass. My favorite to use is Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Spray Paint Gray Primer because it is easy to see the gray beneath whatever top coat I add. This helps me be sure I'm covering the entire object. Be sure to follow the directions on your spray paint so that you get the best coverage possible.

I like to place small items on pins stuck into cardboard when I'm spray painting. This elevates the object so that I can get a better angle to spray paint the bottom and get all the way under the edge.

3. Spray paint with color of choice.

After waiting an hour for the primer to dry, I spray painted the bottles with a Rust-Oleum Semi Gloss White Spray Paint and let it dry for 2 hours. This one I wanted to make sure had time to dry since I would be using tape on it and didn't want the paint to pull off.

Keep in mind the direction of the wind when you spray paint so that you don't waste paint. Also, often multiple light coats - holding the can a little farther away from the bottle - are better than applying a heavy coat the first time so that the paint doesn't drip. I did not have that problem with this paint.

4. Use painters tape to tape off the design of your choice.

When taping the vase, keep in mind that you want to cover whatever you DON'T want to be gold. Go over the edges of the tape where paint will be applied with you finger to make sure it is pressed down securely so that paint won't get under bubbles in the tape. When that was done, I taped off the design I wanted and then taped paper over the rest of the areas that I wanted to keep white.

5. Spray paint with Gold. 

I used Rust-Oleum Metallic Gold Spray Paint because it's my favorite gold spray paint. I let it dry for 30 minutes, since that's how long it needs to dry before it can be handled.

6. Remove tape. 

When it's safe to handle, peel off the tape and paper and let the bottles continue to sit for 24 hours until they're fully dry. I added a stripe to the taller vase (which meant a little extra time to dry) just for fun.

7. Add flowers and enjoy!

I have a lot of other projects I have planned with this gold spray paint! What kinds of projects have you done where spray paint comes in handy?


Thanks again for reading!