faux mercury glass toy car place card holders

My son has loved cars since before he could walk and talk.  I think his first word was “vroom”.
We’ve had Hot Wheels coming out of our ears over here for many, many years.  But over the past year  they’ve pretty much been stored in bins and not played with as much.  (Childhood is temporary – it’s bittersweet isn’t it?)  He decided to donate a bunch of them this Christmas, but before we boxed them up I grabbed a few from the pile to keep.
I wanted to make something special with them.  Something that would be a great keepsake.  Something I could give to him one day when he’s all grown up and say – “Remember these? – you used to drive me crazy racing these things around the house.”    
faux mercury glass toy car place card holders
This was the simplest project, and I’m crazy about the results.  Bonus – my boy thinks they’re pretty cool too!
I started with toy cars and clothespins. 
diy car place card holders
I used Krylon’s Looking Glass Spray Paint, black spray paint, a 50/50 vinegar water mixture, and a damp paper towel to create the faux mercury glass look.  I had seen many great faux mercury glass projects using this paint on clear glass vases throughout blogland, and I was hoping that using it on these metal cars would yield similar results.  It worked wonderfully, and I actually love that on metal you get more of a pewter-ish antique-y look.  (those are real adjectives right?) 
diy faux mercury glass place cards
In case you have a growing-up-too-soon car lover on your hands or if you just want to make some of these wannabe mercury glass toy car place card holders,  here’s a little play by play – it’s super easy to follow – there’s only 4 little steps.   
faux mercury glass tutorial
The looking glass spray paint dries almost instantly, which makes spraying multiple coats a breeze.  You’ll want to spray multiple coats to get good coverage.  This paint is really thin, so the trick is lots of light coats.  Once the cars are covered in the looking glass paint, you can move on to step 2. 
faux mercury glass tutorial
There’s no right or wrong with this step, but the overall goal is to add a touch of black to the cars.  This way when you get to step 4 you’ll get that splotchy wannabe mercury glass effect with light and dark spots. 
faux mercury glass tutorial
Mist with your mixture and then spray the looking glass paint.  Using a damp paper towel start to blot/dab the cars.  That’s when the faux mercury glass magic starts to happen as the vinegar water mixture works to create a cool paint effect.  Each car will have a totally unique look when you’re done.  I’m kind of crazy for the antique-like look this paint technique created.  
diy toy car place card holders

Once the cars are dry just glue them to the clothespins.  You can leave the clothespins natural or spray paint them like I did.  I used super glue to attach them – those little cars are permanently parked now.  And they add such a fun, whimsical vibe to the Christmas table setting in our breakfast room.  
christmas place card holders
I really love that we’ll be able to enjoy these cars for years to come.  Saying goodbye to phases of childhood is a lot harder to do as a parent than it is as a kid.  This project was a way for me to cherish and hold dear those special memories……..I’m getting all cheese-y and weepy  – sorry.  
I’m sharing this project as part of a blog hop featuring Krylon’s Looking Glass Spray Paint.  If you’re visiting from Tatertots and Jello, welcome!  Be sure to check out another project featuring this amazing spray paint over at Infarrantly Creative
*This post was sponsored, but you all know my love for spray paint is heartfelt and very real.  

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  • I'm so in love with these. And we, too, have Hot Wheels coming out our ears. But they don't come out quite as often as they used to. 🙁

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