Faux Jadite

Can you spot the fake pieces? 

Jadite was produced from the 1930’s through the 1970’s by Fire King and a few other glassware companies.  As I’m sure you know, dishes that get used on a regular basis often end up broken, especially ones that have been around for awhile.  Jadite’s relative fragility coupled with Martha Stewart’s public adoration of it have made it spendy to collect. Some pieces go for $500 or more.

Being that I’m a new teacher and therefore on a tight budget, I decided to make some fake jadite to supplement my collection.  There are many tutorials on painting glass and, after trying a few of them and wasting a bunch of supplies, I found that regular acrylic craft paint worked the best.  When I used glass medium, as some tutorials suggested, it made the glass look wavy.  Latex (interior house paint) worked okay, but was too thick and made the glass look too opaque.  Plus it took FOREVER to dry. 

I bought clear glass containers at the dollar store – a shaker (like the kind for parmesan cheese), a sugar jar and salt and pepper shakers. 

After thoroughly washing and drying them, I squirted a little paint all the way around the inside of the rim of the container.  I let the paint drip down a bit and then used a brush to smooth it out. 

I turned them over on an egg carton to dry and the next day had four new lovely pieces of (fake) jadite.  The total cost was about $5, not including all of the test runs. 

Using glass pieces with screw on lids makes this project quick and easy.  You can use open containers or vases but you have to be careful to keep the excess paint wiped off of the rim as they dry.  If you are going to use an open vessel, it’s best to choose one with a narrow mouth to help keep the painted inside hidden.

Note: These are not food safe! No one wants to pick bits of green paint out of their dinner.