How to Make Jadeite! (the faux way)

Want to have a jadeite collection like this one below but don’t have the money to buy expensive real jadeite pieces?

(Source)

(source)

Me too.  Here’s how!
The other day as I was walking through the aisles of my local Walmart (and looking for spray paint, of course) I noticed a can of spray paint that looked strikingly like the color of jadeite.  The wheels in my brain started turning and before long that can of spray paint was in my cart and I was excited to try my idea out. 
This is the spray paint:
Krylon ColorMaster in Pistachio (mine was satin, glossy would be better)


My tester piece is sitting next to it.  I wanted to try it out on something that didn’t really matter if it got destroyed (and something that was free/cheap). 
Here it is after one coat:


I was pretty excited to see that the color was very similar to a real jadeite piece I have:

Of course, it doesn’t have that translucent milky quality of real jadeite, but if you’d like a display on shelves like the first picture it would hardly be noticeable.  Like I have here: 

I decided that the finish was a little too “flat” for my tastes, so I sprayed on some polycrylic clear coat to make it more glossy.  If you can find the Pistachio color in glossy it would probably eliminate the need for a clear coat on top. 
I wanted to experiment a bit more with this so I got a few more things from the thrift store. 

I chose these items because they have very simple lines (most real jadeite isn’t heavily ornamented and has clean lines) and would allow me to try out other ways of doing this.  I sprayed just the outside on the top piece and left the inside of the bowl unpainted and it gave it more of a glassy look, but this wouldn’t work for any items that have handles or are not clear glass. 
I also wanted to see how the paint would look over something that was not clear glass.  White glass doesn’t allow much light to shine through but the color is still close enough to the real jadeite that it is fine. 
Here is the finished beaker from above:

The lighting in this picture is terrible but you can get a general idea of how it looks next to real jadeite (on the right):

Again, not quite as good as real but a looot more affordable!  

In simple steps, here is what I did:
1.  Find glass pieces that most resemble real jadeite pieces (it never hurts to gaze at beautiful displays of jadeite for inspiration!)  Look for clean lines, interesting handles, chunky glassware, and unusual shapes.  Avoid plates with etched Christmas scenes and very ruffly vases.  :)
2. Make sure they are clean, then spray one or two light coats of Krylon Pistachio on every side, inside and out.
3.  If you are using satin paint like I was, wait a few minutes and spray on a clear coat of polycrylic (I used Rustoleum brand’s)
4.  Let dry, arrange (perhaps with real jadeite to fill out your collection), and live it up like Martha! 

(marthastewart.com)

(Be aware that any china or glassware painted like this is no longer food-safe…use your real jadeite for that! ) 

Linking to Remodelaholic's Anonymous Link Party!  :)