chollacholla made these AWEMAZING frosted glass centerpieces for her wedding shindig. The sky is the limit with this idea… beakers, mason jars, intricate vases, dollar store vases etc. Minimal materials are involved, and they will create one helluva'n ambiance. Introooducing… Adrienne Lalli and her wonderful frosted centerpieces! – Offbeat Shrie
I bought about 20 dollars worth of old clear and colored glassware and used a frosting spray to make them diffuse. They allegedly burn for a week, but I'm going to have a friend assemble them right before the reception.
The reception is in a dim room, so I hope that they'll just cast a nice ambient glow for the guests. You can do a whole lot of things with LEDs!
Materials:
Step 1:
Assemble your glassware. I found all the glass pieces by hitting up the local flea market (if you say it's for your wedding, they might give you a good deal). I looked for old mason jars, flower vases, and other containers that were clear and free of any printed material. I then threw everything through the dishwasher for a good squeaky cleanin'.
Step 2:
Frost the glassware. I purchased a can of frosting spray but failed to practice before applying it to the glassware. It came out pretty drippy and weird, so in a moment of panic, I used sandpaper to add “texture” and make it look intentionally imperfect. I've also heard that local sandblasting shops will frost glass for really cheap. I would recommend looking around if you want a perfect, professional look.
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Step 3:
Add stuffing. I stuffed the glassware with plain ol' white tissue paper to further diffuse the light inside. I imagine you could fill it with shredded paper, Easter grass, or leaves to get different effects! LEDs generally don't emit heat, so flammability shouldn't be an issue (though I would try it out first).
Step 4:
Assemble LEDs. This is super easy: after procuring your components, simply straddle the “legs” of the diodes over the button battery. However, these legs are polarized, so if the LED doesn't work, flip it over. The current has to flow in a specific direction. Once good contact has been established, secure the legs to the battery (tight!) with scotch tape. Tons of information on LED assembly is available online: just Google “throwies” for more instruction. These bad boys will burn for a week at least, so you can even make them the night before the reception.
Step 5:
Drop several LEDs into each container. Depending on the light level of your venue, you may want more or fewer LEDs. Test it out to see how bright you want it to light, or how moody you want them to look.
Ta da! Beautiful, DIY, handmade centerpieces that will light your event and wowzer your guests!
Where did you get the LED lights, or did I miss it?
You can get them on Ebay, or through the link I noted! There are many places online you can get bulk LEDs for cheap, and also Frye’s stores.
awesome! Thank you! I didn’t know there was such a thing as frosting spray…I could totally do this… and a week in advance using those led bad boys;) fabulous!
These are awesome! Thank you for the idea & the tutorial.
These are AWESOME! I am so going to do this.
wow! my wedding is over but im totally using this idea for a summer cookout party thing! thanks!
the martha has an equally cool tutorial on how to DIY your own mercury glass look-alikes using thrifted glass, a spray bottle, and mirror spray paint. she photographed then filled with candles above a mantle, but they would make a really swell centerpiece at your wedding.
I love this idea.
Also love “the martha” lmao.
Thanks for this!
I’m another one who didn’t even know there was such a thing as ‘frosting spray’ but I love knowing it’s possible to DIY frosted glass. (I’d always assumed it was something that had to be done when the glass was made.)
I might not use this for anything wedding related but I’m bookmarking it for future projects.
Also I’m stealing the word ‘awemazing’.
I love this tip. Thank you so much. What a great idea!! You can also just paint the interior of a Ball Canning Jar with latex paint. Voila, instant mood.
Thanks for the idea, I organise raves and this would be a totally fantastic idea for mellow lighting a chill out space.
If you slide a thin piece of plastic under one of LED legs to break the contact with the battery you would then have a simple pull tab switch so they don’t need to be switched on until the day. This means you could then put them together well in advance instead of trying to shoe horn the job during all the stress of the last few days of organizing time.
Also, in the UK, Maplin is totally the place to try for random electrical parts and they have stores all over the place.
I had been twisting my brain trying to work out how to get a whole bunch of candles lit between ceremony and dinner, without having to get one of my mates to miss out on the intervening festivities. I think this could be the solution I’d been hoping for! Awesome 🙂
I’ve been worried about the look of LED’s but you’ve shown me yet another example of how you can make them look great!
DealExtreme sells a 10 pack of the LED bulbs for $1.53:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1105
Oooh, pretty.
I’ve used glass etching solution with success. I obtained it at a stained glass hobby shop, but I’m sure you could find it online or at another larger craft store. Simply put the solution on the glass, let sit for a few minutes, rinse off, and surface is perfectly frosted in an even layer. I used vinyl sticker letters and masking tape to personalize some pint glasses, but you could use the vinyl material to also cut out stars, hearts, flowers, whatever. The part you tape off does not get etched, and leaves the shiny surface behind. The only issue is for larger pieces it might be cumbersome, but the benefit was that it was very even and professional-looking in the frosted effect.
These are so pretty … thanks for sharing!
thanks for sharing.. they’re beautiful! great project!
What type of LEDs did you use inside the vases? White or amber color? Diffused or bright? I want to order some online but there’s a bunch of different choices.
Thanks for sharing such a great idea. I got super inspired and have been practicing frosting a few jars and vases. So far so good, i’m yet to assemble the LEDs though. I’m thinking of having some with LEDs in them and some with a flower or two, just to mix it up a bit, perhaps with a bit of vine around the base.
Also a good idea from seamless gem about the bit of plastic to interrupt the circuit.
This is definately something I’m going to have to play around with. I’m planning a midnight garden wedding and am looking for ways to add some soft lighting to the tables in addition to candlelight. Might be another way to incorporate our colors into the decorations as well.
I love this idea and will be stealing it! I will probably use battery-operated flickering LED tea candles instead of making my own LED lights though. Orientaltrading.com sells them for $12-$15 per dozen, worth the price for the time it saves. Just switch them on and drop them in the frosted glass!
i need to know what to use to colour sandblast at the moment i just use river sand but would like to add colour pls help