Convert A Yucky Old Glass Into A Beautiful Vase

Simple hack to convert an old Ikea glass into a beautiful vase

Do you have an old drinking glass in your cupboard that’s looking worse for wear? After years of going through the dishwasher cycle glasses often lose their sparkle and develop a cloudiness that’s difficult to remove (I’ve heard that vinegar can help). However, instead of throwing your glass out, why not repurpose with this pretty vase DIY?

Using only a few very cheap materials you can convert this glass:

Old drinking glasses can become cloudy after numerous cycles through the dishwasher.

Into this vase:

This is the glass when covered with the scraps of napkin.

First gather your materials. You will need:

  • A suitable glass. The one I used was about 14.5 cms / 5.5 inches tall.
  • Paper napkin (or you could use tissue paper)
  • Mod Podge (a waterbased sealer, glue and finish – widely available in many different countries)
  • An old paintbrush
The only materials you will need for this project are paper napkins or tissue paper, mod podge, an old drinking glass or tumbler and a paint brush.

That’s it.

  • the first step is to wash and dry the glass thoroughly
  • next, tear your napkin or tissue paper into small pieces. If, like mine, your napkin is 2 ply then separate the layers and just use the top layer.
  • next, using the paint brush dab some Mod Podge onto one of the paper napkin scraps and stick it onto the glass. Continue doing that until you’ve covered the glass with the tissue scraps. It’s fine to overlap the pieces just make sure they’re all stuck down. Start from the top, remembering to fold some paper over the rim of your glass, and work your way down. When you get to about 1 cm or 1/2 inch from the bottom stop and leave the whole thing to dry.
  • when the top part is completely dry (which may take several hours or, better still, overnight). Turn the glass upside down and prop it onto something tall enough to lift the glass’s rim off your work surface. I actually put some Mod Podge into a dish to work with and used the container as a stand. Then finish off around the base of the glass.
  • Leave to dry.
Stand the covered glass upside down on a suitable stand, such as a can or a tub to dry.

Once it’s completely dry add a few coats of Mod Podge over the top with your paintbrush, allowing each coat to dry before applying another, as per the directions on the container.

And that’s it. Fill with your favourite flowers, or it also looks amazing if you put a candle inside instead of flowers. The translucent nature of the tissue lets the candlelight flicker through which looks very pretty!

Feeling creative?

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