Sea Glass Paint: how to easily create beautiful beach glass in just a few steps. Don’t buy frosted glass bottles — easily paint your own!
If you love the look of sea glass like I do, then you’re going to love these new sea glass paints from Martha Stewart Crafts.
I can’t get over how easy it is to use this sea glass paint to achieve frosted sea glass effects!
FTC Disclaimer: I’ve received products to try out in my role as a Plaid Crafts Ambassador. These sea glass bottles, however, are 100% my own project! Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. I explain more here.
This paint line comes in five different shades: Beach Glass, Blue Calico, Scottish Highlands, Sea Lavender and Sweet Pea.
Today I’m using (below) Beach Glass, Scottish Highlands, and Blue Calico.
You can use this paint on non-porous surfaces such as glass, mirrors, plastics and ceramics. I’ve only tried it on glass so far.
Some highlights of this paint are its superior coverage and that it can be used both indoors and out.
The sea glass paints come in convenient 2 ounce bottles, are non-toxic and made here in the USA.
Sea Glass Paint: how to easily create beautiful beach glass
Supplies:
- Martha Stewart Crafts Sea Glass Paints — Plaid Crafts
(colors used: Beach Glass, Blue Calico, Scottish Highlands) - Glass bottles — recycled
- Craft sponge stippler or pouncer
- Paper towels
- Rubbing alcohol
- Plastic lids to hold paints — recycled
- Brown raffia ribbon
- Buttons
Tutorial:
Step One: Remove any labels from the bottles.
I include this as a step if you’re using recycled bottles. I soaked these bottles in a small bowl of rubbing alcohol for about 20 minutes, then rinsed them while removing the labels. (It was fairly easy, but I haven’t tried this method on larger labels yet.)
Step Two: Wash and dry the bottles, then clean them with rubbing alcohol to remove any leftover oils.
I used paper towels for this step, then left them to dry for awhile before proceeding.
By the way, you can find similarly-sized bottles online — like these on Amazon — as well as in craft and dollar stores. Just hunt around!
Step Three: Apply the sea glass paint to a glass bottle using a sponge pouncer.
Dip the pouncer lightly into the sea glass paint, then pounce the color onto a paper towel, until you’re left with this amount of paint:
Begin pouncing the paint onto the glass bottle. I did one side at a time.
Once I had all sides and bottom done, I let it dry upside down, before pouncing the paint onto the neck.
To paint the neck and avoid painting my fingers, I stuck my rubber-gloved finger into the mouth of the bottle, then pounced the paint onto the neck and top.
I love the texture in this paint. Here’s a shot of the bottle opening so you can see it up close:
The paint dries to the touch fairly quickly, but let it dry for a full 24 hours.
Step Four: Allow the paint to cure, either by air drying for 21 days or by baking in the oven.
I chose to air-dry mine for 21 days, however if I wanted these bottles to be dishwasher safe, I would have cured them by baking in an oven. Here is a link to the Plaid Crafts website on how to do this safely.
Step Five: Decorate your bottles!
I wrapped brown raffia ribbon around the neck of each bottle, threaded the ends through a decorative button, then tied the ends in a knot as you see below.
These are dried Sweet Gum Tree pods that I found on the ground years ago when visiting friends in Pennsylvania. They have such a unique look and texture!
The bottles are resting on paper maché boxes I painted last year using chalk paint. Click here to see the full tutorial.
I’ll be trying out these sea glass paints on more projects soon, so stay tuned!
Happy crafting!
These turned out beautiful. I have been dying to try out these glass paints, just have not had the time. I am bumping it up on my list of things to do! Love, love them.
Thanks so much Pamela! I know you’ll love using these paints for your own creations!
Can you decoupage using mod podge over the Sea Glass Paint.
Good question, Dorothy! I asked the experts at Plaid Crafts and this is what they said: If you use regular Mod Podge, it will work but probably won’t be long-lasting or permanent. (So probably not a good idea.) There is a dishwasher-safe version of Mod Podge — called Mod Podge Dishwasher Safe Waterbased Sealer, Glue and Finish — that can work IF… 1) you let the sea glass paint fully cure before doing any decoupage with the Mod Podge Dishwasher version… and 2) then let the project sit and have the Mod Podge Dishwasher version fully cure as well. (The cure time for the sea glass paint to be fully cured is 21 days. The cure time for Mod Podge Dishwasher Safe is 28 days.) I hope this helps, and please let me know if you try it!
I have an outdoor project that I want a seaglass look to. Is this durable enough for outdoor use?
Hi Krista — Yes, these Martha Stewart sea glass paints can be used outdoors.
Where can I buy these paints? Michaels in San Diego doesn’t carry them
Hi Deborah, Unless you can find these paints online (on the internet) I’m unsure where to purchase them at this time. Because of the pandemic, it is hard to find certain products these days due to shipping, manufacturing, and so on. If I learn anything new, I’ll post it here. Stay well!
Is there any way I can use this paint to paint inside the glass bottle🤔
Hi Sandy, I’ve never tried using this paint inside of a glass bottle, and checking with my fellow bloggers not finding anyone who has tried it specifically with this paint. I think part of the beautiful effect of this paint is the texture you see and feel on the outside of glass bottles once it is dried. I don’t think the texture would be seen well at all if it was used on the inside of glass bottles because you would still have the shine of the glass on the outside. I hope this helps. And by all means, if you try using it on the inside of glass bottles and love it — please let me know!
We’re can I buy the paint from I live in Australia and work in age care ,doing activities .
Hi Christine,
I’m not familiar at all with the craft industry in Australia, so I decided to do some searching on Google. I found something called CraftOnline.com.au which bills itself as Australia’s largest online crafts superstore. They seem to carry a paint called FolkArt Enamel Paint in Frosted Aegean Sea. It looks like that is a frosted glass paint which should give you a similar finish. (Go to their website and search for “sea glass paint” and you’ll see it.) I also searched on Amazon’s site specifically in Australia and the Martha Stewart Paint is sold on there.
If I did something on glass with an etch cream could I use this where I did the etching cream to add some color to it ? And I’d I did it to a wine glass do u think it would last if hand washed ?
Thanks in advance
Debbie
Hi Debbie,
You can actually make a nice frosted effect with these sea glass paints instead of etching. Using a stencil, you can create some nice frosted effects. Combining the sea glass paint with etching cream isn’t a good idea because the chemicals will mix and most likely not give you the result you want. In terms of washing, here is what the Plaid Crafts company suggests:
Can I bake-to-cure Martha Stewart Sea Glass Paint on a glass surface to make it permanent rather than air drying 21 days?
Yes, the bake-to-cure method of curing Martha Stewart Sea Glass Paint is the best way to create a permanent and washable frosty, sea glass effect on glassware. Begin by allowing 24 hours of dry time after the paint has been applied. Next, set painted glassware in a cold oven, set the temperature to 350°. Bake the painted glass for 30 minutes then turn the oven off. Do NOT remove the baked glassware; allow it to stay in the oven until completely cool. When using this technique, allow the painted glass to both heat up and cool down with the oven.
How should I clean a project created using Martha Stewart Sea Glass Paint?
Once baked to cure to a glass surface, Martha Stewart Sea Glass Paint can be hand washed.
NOTE: Do not allow a painted surface to soak in water.
I hope this helps!
I am looking for a way to dye glass bottles that are used to hold mouthwash. Do you think this paint would be safe to use for something that you put your mouth on? If not, what could I use to dye some glass bottles that would be safe for drinking?
I don’t think any paint is safe around one’s mouth, but I’d also be concerned if the mouthwash came into contact with the paint: would it affect the paint? It might. An idea might be to paint such a bottle only part of the way to the top, thus keeping the top clear glass only to be safe. I hope this helps!