Early in our engagement I found a deal for 70 glass votive holders (with tea lights included, although we're using battery op for the wedding) for $20. I really liked them but with the fake lights they looked a little blah because you could see right through to the plastic. So I fixed them up with a bit of frosty spray paint!
I got the Krylon Sea Glass from Michaels for $8.99. It comes in several beachy colors including cobalt and sea green, but I just wanted a generic frosty look so I got the gray one.
I've only done 5 of them because I just wanted to test out the techniques, so I can't say for sure how time-consuming this will be for all 70, but for $30 total they turned out great and even if it takes a few hours I'll be happy with the time investment.
My tips for spraying based on screwing up the first few:
- Place the votive facedown. Don't try to hold the votive as this results in a very uneven application.
- Spray from 10 inches away - this is in the directions on the can but you know how some of us have to learn the hard way haha. If you spray too close, the paint builds up streaky and opaque.
- Go with light layers, keeping the sprays to 2-3 seconds and make sure to hit it from 360 degrees. For the first few, test it out after every layer to see what level of opacity you want. I did one with too much paint, and it went from frosty to straight up gray and blocked all the light from the candle. For me, 2 light coats was perfect, just enough to obscure the plasticky look of the fake candle.
- They will dry to the touch within 5-10 minutes but I would let them sit longer, as my test ones picked up little fuzzies and specks from moving them around. The can says 15 minutes but I'd let them sit 30 or so.
- Obvious disclaimers: wear clothes you don't care about, do this outside if at all possible or make sure there is proper ventilation.