Make Beautiful Swirled Paint Vases

I think these vases are just beautiful and I couldn’t believe that it was something I could make myself when I first saw them. Just one of the vases alone is pretty but the combination of the 3… awesome!

I can’t wait to buy some paint and try this out. I even have a couple of plain glass vases that need an upgrade so they’re perfect to practice on. Keep your eyes open for cheap glasses or vases at thrift stores to practice with and get your technique down.

Buy different colors of acrylic craft paint and you can either swirl similar colors like these blue vases, or contrasting colors like this. All you’re going to do is swirl the different colors of paint around inside the vase.

Start by adding a few drops of one color and then adding one more on top.  Begin slowly swirling it around the glass vase, adding a few drops more at a time.  You want it to go slow, that’s what ensures it will cling to the sides.  You’ll be tempted but don’t add any water at first or the paint will be too thin and won’t stick to the glass.

However, if you find your particular craft paint is way too thick and simply won’t move no matter what, add 1 or 2 drops of water to the bottle of craft paint and shake well.  Then try again.  Twist and turn the vessel to coax the paint towards the top. Completely drain the vase of all the leftover paint, using a paper towel. Make sure you fully drain them and then lay them down on their side to dry for 24 to 48 hours so the paint doesn’t drip back down with gravity.

The stripes on the littlest one come from starting the paint at the top instead of the bottom.  I can see them in all sorts of fun colors or even pure white with gold metallic paint swirled all around.

This project is from Kate Riley of Centsational Girl. You can find the rest of her photos of this project along with the tutorial on Centsational Girl.