.jpg "faux jadeite pumpkins paint tutorial")
i don't collect jadeite - real OR faux - but i love it!
the pretty seafoam - mint - jade greens of jadeite dishes and cookware
remind me of the color of our Shasta trailer (see my last post!)
and because of that, i've found these greens combine well with ANY color.
the pretty seafoam - mint - jade greens of jadeite dishes and cookware
remind me of the color of our Shasta trailer (see my last post!)
and because of that, i've found these greens combine well with ANY color.
in late August i picked up a ceramic pumpkin mug at Dollar Tree,
and decided to try my hand at re-creating the luminous look of jadeite -
with paint.
and it worked!
continue reading for my color-matching process and paint tutorial...
DWK
Jadeite, “Jadite” or “Jade-ite” is a type of jade green opaque milk glass kitchenware,
originally popular in the United States in the early to mid-20th century.
Manufactured by McKee Glass, Jeanette Glass, and Anchor Hocking through the 1940's,
the popularity of jadeite glass surged in the 1990's
when Martha Stewart made it a mainstay for entertaining, collecting, and decorating.
early versions contained uranium, which added a yellow undertone to the green -
and caused the dishes to fluoresce under UV light.
uranium was removed from the manufacturing process during WW2,
causing the green glaze hues to have a pale blue undertone, and no fluorescence.
Jadeite, “Jadite” or “Jade-ite” is a type of jade green opaque milk glass kitchenware,
originally popular in the United States in the early to mid-20th century.
Manufactured by McKee Glass, Jeanette Glass, and Anchor Hocking through the 1940's,
the popularity of jadeite glass surged in the 1990's
when Martha Stewart made it a mainstay for entertaining, collecting, and decorating.
early versions contained uranium, which added a yellow undertone to the green -
and caused the dishes to fluoresce under UV light.
uranium was removed from the manufacturing process during WW2,
causing the green glaze hues to have a pale blue undertone, and no fluorescence.
that pale blue undertone creates a perfect mint green hue -
like the color of mint chocolate chip ice cream! -
and that's the hue i wanted to replicate.
... but if i don't have any actual jadeite, how do i get the right color??
i do have a 'gift' of being able to see and mix colors of paint really well -
but it's not rocket science. you can do it, too!
i pull some photos from the internet for reference
so i can enlarge them and zoom in on my screen for clarity,
and gather things i DO have that are close to the color i want.
by starting with reference color photos, you know where you want to end up.
using actual items that reflect light helps you get as close as possible to the final hue you want.
(like a glass soda bottle base when you want to paint a 'glass' effect!)
here's my paint-mixing process:
like the color of mint chocolate chip ice cream! -
and that's the hue i wanted to replicate.
... but if i don't have any actual jadeite, how do i get the right color??
i do have a 'gift' of being able to see and mix colors of paint really well -
but it's not rocket science. you can do it, too!
i pull some photos from the internet for reference
so i can enlarge them and zoom in on my screen for clarity,
and gather things i DO have that are close to the color i want.
by starting with reference color photos, you know where you want to end up.
using actual items that reflect light helps you get as close as possible to the final hue you want.
(like a glass soda bottle base when you want to paint a 'glass' effect!)
here's my paint-mixing process:
photos from left:
* i had a small tin box painted a light green - with too much blue undertone.
i also had a vintage plastic cafeteria tray that i had spray painted previously,
using a color that everyone 'swore' was 'just like jadeite!'. it wasn't even close.
i also had a vintage plastic cafeteria tray that i had spray painted previously,
using a color that everyone 'swore' was 'just like jadeite!'. it wasn't even close.
just take a look at the photo on the left. both big NOPEs.
* the last item i had that was close to the right color was a vintage glass soda bottle...
that thick glass at the base of the bottle was exactly the shade of green i wanted.
in the photo above, you can see that i kept swiping paint next to the bottle base
to gauge how close i was to that color, adjusting as i worked.
* it took a few tries to mix paint to match it,
but a lot of white mixed with forest green and a touch of aqua did the trick.
(forest green has very little yellow in it)
* to test it out, i painted the plastic cafeteria tray again -
the photo on the right shows the result. MUCH better!
* the last item i had that was close to the right color was a vintage glass soda bottle...
that thick glass at the base of the bottle was exactly the shade of green i wanted.
in the photo above, you can see that i kept swiping paint next to the bottle base
to gauge how close i was to that color, adjusting as i worked.
* it took a few tries to mix paint to match it,
but a lot of white mixed with forest green and a touch of aqua did the trick.
(forest green has very little yellow in it)
* to test it out, i painted the plastic cafeteria tray again -
the photo on the right shows the result. MUCH better!
then i moved on to paint the thing i wanted to paint...
photos from left:
* the ceramic pumpkin mug i bought at Dollar Tree.
yeah, it's already green - but the wrong green.
* a base coat of bright white spray paint will make the jadeite green stay true to color.
i used gloss paint to make the green paint go on smoothly.
i used a very soft flat brush to assist in that application - no brush marks.
* two thin coats of green paint went onto the outside of the mug,
* one thick coat on the inside. (and no, i won't be using this to drink from).
after the green paint had completely dried for over an hour,
the finishing touch was two thin coats of clear gloss spray paint
(letting each one dry)
then one thicker final coat to get a high-gloss 'glass' shine.
* a base coat of bright white spray paint will make the jadeite green stay true to color.
i used gloss paint to make the green paint go on smoothly.
i used a very soft flat brush to assist in that application - no brush marks.
* two thin coats of green paint went onto the outside of the mug,
* one thick coat on the inside. (and no, i won't be using this to drink from).
after the green paint had completely dried for over an hour,
the finishing touch was two thin coats of clear gloss spray paint
(letting each one dry)
then one thicker final coat to get a high-gloss 'glass' shine.
.jpg "faux jadeite painted pumpkins")
i found a smaller ceramic pumpkin in my stash and painted it too -
but i mixed in a bit more white paint so the hue wouldn't be an exact match.
but i mixed in a bit more white paint so the hue wouldn't be an exact match.
then i displayed them on my studio's 'faux' mantel
along with some of my yellow pumpkins:
along with some of my yellow pumpkins:
.jpg "faux jadeite painted pumpkins")
.jpg "faux jadeite painted pumpkins")
.jpg "faux jadeite painted pumpkins")
do you collect jadeite?
would you like jadeite pumpkins to add to your collection?!
i hope you'll give this method a try!
later, i painted a larger ceramic pumpkin a deeper jade hue.
but that was after i snapped these final photos,
and then i took it camping with me.
here's a quick reel i shot this morning in my studio,
showing all THREE faux jadeite pumpkins...
would you like jadeite pumpkins to add to your collection?!
i hope you'll give this method a try!
later, i painted a larger ceramic pumpkin a deeper jade hue.
but that was after i snapped these final photos,
and then i took it camping with me.
here's a quick reel i shot this morning in my studio,
showing all THREE faux jadeite pumpkins...
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Same here ~ I don't collect jadeite but I love the way it looks. Your faux look turned out perfectly and looks great paired with the yellow! Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty.
ReplyDeletethank you so much, Allyson! and thank you for providing such a great linkup for creatives to share projects and ideas!
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