Aged Stone Vase | A Stunning and Easy DIY
Have you seen an aged stone vase recently? I feel like I see them everywhere these days, and I’m all about it! I love all things aged and vintage, and that includes vases.
Disclosure: There are some affiliate links below, but these are products I recommend. I won’t put anything on this page that I haven’t verified and/or personally used.
First, I want to tell you THANK YOU for stopping by! I’m so excited you’re here!
If you’re here from Brendt with She Gave It A Go weren’t her sea glass vases beautiful?! And who doesn’t love a DIY project you can do on a budget?
If this is your first time visiting Open Doors Open Hearts I want you to know how honored I am that you’re here. I love having people over. So thank you! I hope you enjoy visiting as much as I love having you!
Now let’s get started on this ages stone vase DIY!
Places I’ve Found Aged Stone Vases
The first one I found was at my favorite vintage shop in town.
I loved it! But it was $75!
Definitely worth every penny, but unfortunately it was beyond my budget for a vintage vase.
Then I discovered Pottery Barn has a gorgeous collection of weathered stone vases. But again I couldn’t justify spending that much money on a vase.
So I did some research and discovered I can turn a regular vase into an aged stone vase!
The Back Story
I’m gonna be honest, I tried this a couple of times before I got it to work. Mainly because I’m a klutz.
The First Vase
The first vase was FREE from Joann Fabrics.
It had a round body and a LONG skinny neck. I tried to cut the neck off using a glass cutter.
Long story short it cracked all over. It was like one of those “Pinterest Nailed It” memes, but before the project was even finished haha!
The Second Aged Stone Vase Attempt
Then one day while I was perusing the clearance rack at Kroger I found a vase in the EXACT shape of the first vase but without the neck.
It was only $2!
I felt like it was meant to be!
Well, I dropped it and it shattered before I ever got started!
No, I’m not making this up. This is all 100% my hot mess life haha!
Third Times a Charm
At this point, I was determined to do this DIY.
So I cleaned up my glass mess and walked straight to the back storage room and started looking at the vases I had down there.
All the way in the back of one of the shelves I saw 2 vases.
I bought them at Pier 1 a few years ago on clearance. But they were in the back of the shelf because no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t make myself love them lately.
So I figured I had nothing to lose if I ruined these vases too.
With my current track record, my chances of breaking these vases was pretty high haha!
How Do You Add Texture to a Vase?
Joint Compound
In this tutorial the way I added texture to my aged stone vase DIY was by using joint compound.
It is fairly thick and therefore when it dries it maintains it’s shape.
When I smeared the joint compound all over the vase I intentionally was very whimsical and left finger marks all over.
I didn’t want it to have a perfect finish. I wanted the vase to have texture with character and imperfections.
This is the foundation for making the vase look aged.
How Do You Make a Vase Look Old?
Dirt
Yup. You read that right.
I used dirt to help make the vase look old.
When things get older they will almost always be weathered and dirty to some degree. Depending on what I find when I go to the flea market/thrifting, I’ll often just give the piece a good wipe down.
It only took me ruining the patina on one treasure for me to learn what MUST be scrubbed clean and what just needs a wipe down.
Sanding While Paint is Wet
Another technique I used to help make the vases look old and aged was grabbing sand paper and using it while the paint was still a little bit wet.
By doing that I was able to get that aged chipping effect. It took off larger sections of paint which I liked.
Supplies You’ll Need
- Vase
- Joint Compound/Vinyl Spackling
- Latex Gloves
- Parchment Paper
- Acrylic Paint (Color of your choosing)
- Sandpaper
- Dirt
Instructions
Step 1.
The first thing I did when I brought the vases upstairs was wipe them down.
They were a bit dusty, and I wanted to make sure I had a clean surface for the joint compound to adhere to.
I also gently rubbed one of the vases with 120 grit sandpaper.
The only reason I didn’t do both vases was because I forgot. If I had remembered in time I would have done it to both vases.
Step 2.
After the vases were ready for the joint compound I set them on some parchment paper and began smearing the joint compound all over them.
As you can tell these vases had a little textured detail on them. I wanted to cover this up and create a new texture.
To do this I ended up putting 3 coats of joint compound/vinyl spackling on the vases.
This is also why I switched to vinyl spackling. I used up all the joint compound we had haha!
If you were working with a smooth surface I assume you could get away with just 2 coats.
Also, while I was smearing this around I tried to make sure the final pass was always leaving horizontal finger marks on the vase.
I let it dry for 12 hours between each application.
Step 3.
After the 3rd coat was dry I did another quick sanding to just knock off the jagged edges.
I didn’t want to sand it down too much because I really wanted the texture.
Like I mentioned before, the texture is the foundation for helping make the vase look aged.
Step 4.
Now it was time to paint.
First I completely covered the vases with black and a dark gray acrylic paint. Before the paint was dry I did some sanding.
For this sanding, I specifically focused on the bottom and the top where you’d find the most natural wear and tear on an authentic aged stone vase.
Then I began painting the vase with white and light brown paint. No real system or plan. I just started painting lightly. I didn’t want the black to get completely covered.
Step 5.
After the paint was dry, I took some dirt and began rubbing it all over the vase.
I recommend rubbing it on lightly. But I will also say you can easily wipe the dirt off if you feel like it went on too dark.
Simply grab a clean dry rag and begin wiping that section down.
I did this final step until I the vases looked the way I wanted them to look!
That’s it!
This project took me a few days, but that was because of dry time. Actual worktime probably amounted to less than 1 hour!
This is a super easy DIY that adds so much character and charm to the space you put it in!
AND
It’s a one of a kind!
The DIY inspiration isn’t over yet! Make sure you visit Crissy with First Day of Home.
She is always doing fun, beautiful, and simple DIY’s! Stop over and say Hi!
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26 Comments
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Marie
I love how this turned out! I love the look of these vases too, but always think never mind when I see the prices. You’re too funny with the nailed it episode ☺️ Your determination was totally worth it!
Aliya
Thanks so much Marie!! I seriously felt like it was some kind of joke being played on me. haha But now that it’s all said and done, I LOVE the new vases!!
Jen
The vase turned out so gorgeous, Aliya! I love it. And using spackling compound and dirt…genius! Thank you so much for organizing this fun blog hop!
Aliya
Jen!!! Thanks for helping me organize this blog hop!! I love doing all the things with you!!!
Jennifer Howard
Aliya- Sorry about all your vase troubles 😂!!! Joint compound is the secret sauce to so many cool DIYs!! Your vase came about so good and your photos are all so pretty!!
Aliya
Thanks so much, Jennifer!! At the time I was disappointed, but before it was over I could either laugh or cry and I chose to laugh!! haha It was seriously comical that I kept breaking vases lol Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Pasha
Oh Aliya- these ideas are perfect! I’ve seen it done so much on Instagram but have never known how…. funny about breaking all the vases though 😬😂
Aliya
Thanks so much for stopping by Pasha!! And thanks for joining our hop!!!
Crissy
Yay, third time’s a charm! I have been wanting to try joint compound on something like this. Your vase turned out so incredibly well, Aliya! The coloring and texture are spot on. Those other two vases were just never meant to be. Thanks for all the great tips for this project. Can’t wait to try it! Oh, and thanks for hosting a great hop, my friend!
Aliya
Thanks so much for your kind words Crissy!! I love these vases now!! They are no longer sitting on the back of the shelf in the storage room in the basement!! Those cuties are out for all to see!! Thanks so much for joining us for this blog hop!! It means so much to me to have you!!
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Kelly Radcliff
Aliya third times a charm! I love how it turned out . You also styled it absolutely beautifully. Thanks for hosting this awesome blog hop. I’m honored you asked me to join.
Aliya
Thanks so much Kelly! Yeah, at this point even if the third attempt ended in a broken vase I was gonna go for vase 4, 5, 6, 7. Whatever it took to finally try this DIY. It was so fun making it! Thanks for joining us on this blog hop!!
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Robyn Huff
This is such a great project! Your photography is so perfect and captures every step so well. I love how the vase looks in your home!
Aliya
Thanks so much Robyn!! I truly appreciate your kind words!! Thank you for joining us for this hop!
Jordan
It looks amazing, Aliya! What a great project!
Aliya
Thanks so much Jordan!
Brendt Blanks
Aliya,
I have been dying to try this DIY, and now I am inspired to give it a go! Love this so much, it turned out amazing.
Thank you so much for organizing such a wonderful DIY blog hop!
Have a beautiful day,
Brendt
Aliya
I’m so glad!! I feel like there is no vase that is safe in the house now!! haha Thanks so much for joining us!! I am so excited to have done this hop with you!! Have a great week!
Aliya
Thanks so much Brendt!! It was so easy and I absolutely LOVE the final product!
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