DIY Aged Vase

I have to start by saying, I didn’t create this technique or come up with the idea! I’ve seen it floating around instagram and the internet, and decided to try my hand at it on a vase that I was thinking of replacing. Can I just say, I was STUNNED by how easy this was and how much I love the final product! The process is repetitive, but easy. It took about 40 minutes total (including a 30 minute drying time for the mortar) and cost us $3! So with no further ado…. here are the steps I took to age the vase that sits in the center of our breakfast table!

Needed for this:

Old (or new) vase or pot
1 or 2 cans of flat finish spray paint (I only used 1)
Gloves
Dirt
Piece of sandpaper
*optional* Mortar (I’ve seen people use mud as well. Anything that will dry and add texture will work!)

To prep:

1. Lay out something to create a flat surface in your yard. We have a dry/dirt area on the side of our house that I just laid brown bags over to create a work surface. If you don’t have that, a cardboard box or even newspapers can be helpful!

2. Collect a bowl full of dirt (lol)

3. Apply gloves!

This is the vase we started with. Not an unattractive vase by any means! I was just ready for a change!

The process:

p.s. If you need a visual of any of these steps – you can see my instagram highlight here !

1. Spray paint your vase in desired color. I chose flat black! This coat doesn’t have to be perfect, but cover the pot or vase.

2. Immediately afterwards, while spray paint is still wet; grab a handful of dirt and spread it all over the pot/vase with your gloved hand.

3. Another coat of spray paint.

4. Another coat of dirt.

5. Another thin coat of spray paint.

6. *optional* Smear a thin coat of mortar all over to give more texture. Again, mud could also work here — or anything that can be applied that will dry and add a little more texture!

Apply another coat of spray paint and then let dry. I sat mine out in the sun and it was dry enough within 30 minutes.