The Mudroom

Over on Boston Mamas, my Use-What-You-Own Hanukkah Table Setting is featured. Fun! Central to the design are these pretty dipped vases. They’re super easy to make, customizable for any holiday or event, and usable long after the celebration is over.

Ready to go? Here’s what you need:

• Protective table covering
• Plain glass vases (the kind that end up in closets from florist arrangements or in the 50-cent-bin at your local thrift shop)
• Rubbing alcohol
• Baking sheet or tray
• Tinfoil
• Gallon of white latex paint (Please note that you will have nearly all the white paint left, so choose a shade that will work in your house or for some other project later! I used a gallon left over from a bookshelf we painted.)
• Gallon freezer bag
• Pint or more of additional colored latex paint (Check the OOPS! rack at your local hardware store for discounted colors that were returned by customers.)

1. Clean your vases thoroughly with soap and water. Dry, then wipe down with rubbing alcohol.
2. Place a protective covering on your work surface.
3. Cover a baking sheet or tray with tinfoil.
4. Dip the vases, bottom-first, into the white paint. Hold each vase in the paint for about 10 seconds, then pull out and let the paint drip off. Set down on tinfoil-covered baking sheet or tray; bottom-down for a clean top edge (as I have done in this example) or top-down for a dripped edge.
5. Let dry for one hour.
6. Create a “bucket” with your gallon freezer bag by folding the bottom corners of the bag onto themselves. Secure with tape.
7. Fill your “bucket” with your second paint.
8. Dip the vases into the second paint. Swoosh the paint around so you get edges that have some movement, then pull out and let the paint drip off. Set down on a newly-tinfoil-covered baking sheet or tray; again, bottom-down for a clean top edge or top-down for a dripped edge.
9. Let dry for one hour. Wipe down bottoms if there is a thick layer of wet paint.
10. Fill with flowers and enjoy!

Please note that the paint WILL COME OFF if these vases are put in a dishwasher or washed by hand with too much vigor. Rinse and dry carefully to make them last!

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