Milk glass, also called opal glass, is an opaque milky white glass that is very popular in home decorating.
Milk glass made about 100 years ago was very ornate, however milk glass made in the 1930's and 1940's (also called depression glass) was less ornate and is what we see most these days.
Vintage depression glass is highly collectible, but you can make your own reproduction milk glass using just a few inexpensive items.
photo courtesy of Marianne Madden flickr.com/photos/mmadden/4697138609/There are 2 ways of creating DIY faux milk glass - you can either paint the inside of the glass or paint the outside of the glass.
Painting the Inside
If you paint the inside of the glass, you will not be able to use it for liquids, such as flowers with water, and you will have to be careful not to scratch the inside.
Painting the inside will give you a more glass-like result.
If you are going to use the glass by itself without putting anything inside, you might prefer painting the inside.
Painting the Outside
By painting the outside, you can use the DIY faux milk glass with flowers and water, but you will have to be careful not to scratch the outside and you will get a more opaque and less glass-like result.
You will need:
Glass Vessel
If you are painting the inside of the glass, make sure your glass is clear. If you are painting the outside of the glass, your glass can be colored.
Look around your home for cheap vases, mason jars, or used jelly jars that you don't love, or you can find one at a garage sale, a thrift store, a dollar store, or a discount store.
Look for glass that has a shape and size that appeals to you. Many people make DIY faux milk glass out of vases, but you can also paint glass figurines, boxes, salt and pepper shakers, a lamp, jewelry, or any other glass object. Ensure you do not use any painted item to serve or store food - it should be purely decorative. Clean the glass very well and remove all labels completely before painting.
Paint
You will need white latex or acrylic craft paint (if you plan on painting the inside) or white gloss spray paint (if you plan on painting the outside).
Milk glass is usually seen in white, but also comes in pink, tan, black, blue, and yellow, so you can use those colors also.
Painting the Inside
To paint the inside of your DIY faux milk glass, simply pour a little of your paint inside the glass and rotate the glass until it is fully covered.
Turn the glass upside down to dry.
You will need to elevate it a bit so the dripping paint does not pool around the glass.
You can put it inside a disposable cup (assuming it is smaller than the cup) or elevate it on top of some old pencils laid on their side.
After about 8 hours, you can turn the glass back upright to finish drying.
Make sure to read the paint instructions for how long it needs to dry before using.
Tip - if you want a little more sparkle in your life, consider painting the inside of your glass with mod podge and glitter.
Mod podge and glitter will leave the glass somewhat see through, so you can leave it as is or you can paint the inside using opaque paint once the mod podge and glitter have fully dried.
Painting the Outside
To paint the outside of your DIY faux milk glass, put your glass in a well ventilated area.
Spray paint the glass until it is fully covered. You do not need to paint the inside, but you do need to paint the top.
Use several light coats instead of one heavy coat to avoid drips.
If needed, you can turn the glass over once it has dried to paint the bottom.
