I once took a theater design class in college. In that class, we had a special guest who came to talk to us about hand making our own props. She was crazy talented (and also, just plain crazy) and the first day of class she wrote the following on the board: MAKING YOUR OWN STUFF - LESSON ONE: Cheap / Fast / Good... (Pick Two)
- 1 set glassware
- sharpie paint pen gold
- patience
At first, I was like, “yeah, ok, little does she know”, and then I had to design a show with 20 characters, 8 sets, and almost 50 props with a budget of- Oh wait, there was no budget. And I learned the hard way. You really can only pick two.
This project picks “cheap” and “good”. But definitely not fast (also, not for those with carpal-tunnel).
Good: The set, when finished, looks stunning. And expensive.
Cheap: It’s inspired by a vintage bar set a friend of mine got for her wedding that cost the gift-givers upwards of $300. My version harkens back to my college days with a budget of- you guessed it- zero! I already had an old glass pitcher and plain stemless wine glasses. All I needed was that, and my trusty gold sharpie paint pen (and a lot of patience…).=
Sidebar: Don’t drink 3 cups of coffee in rapid succession before you do this project. You need a steady hand. Again, learned the hard way. Oops.
Step 1: Clean and dry the surface of your glass.
Step 2: Test your paint pen on a piece of paper before you start marking up your glassware to make sure your pen doesn’t leak or have too little paint on it. Then just start making tiny dots all around the base of the pitcher and glasses, gradually thinning out the dots as you get to the top.
Step 3: And there you have it. A gorgeous bar set that costs $0, but looks like you got it at the swanky vintage store uptown. Be sure to hand wash after use, no dishwasher for these glass treasures. It might need a touch up every six months or so with the paint pen, but all in all, it’s a LOT of beautiful bang for your no bucks.
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