Create Your Own Antique Victorian Floral Vase For Timeless Elegance At Home

You're enamored with all things Victorian era and ready to create a parlor worthy of a visit from Queen Victoria herself in your home. You've read our the ultimate guide to Victorian decor and incorporated as many of those tips into your overall design as realistically possible in today's modern age. Now, it's all about the decor adorning those ornate side tables and weighty fireplace mantels. What could be more period-appropriate than a heavily decorated urn vase filled with an abundant spring bouquet? All you need to do is stick some hand-molded filigree decorative elements onto a Victorian era-shaped glass vase covered in tissue paper and paint and wax the entire thing within an inch of its antique look-a-like life.

You can, of course, choose any shape vase you like, but sticking with shapes familiar to Victorian style will ensure your resulting decorative feature is more authentic. Examples include the bulbous double-gourd shape by James Cooper and Sons that was popular in Britain from the late 1800s or the triangle shaped vases made by the famous potteries of the era. Variations on the urn were also favored throughout the period. Likewise, traditional Victorian hues, which include dark blue, red, and chocolate brown, will bring the period to life in your home. However, there's also no harm in mixing your centuries. Covering a vase adorned with Victorian frills and fancies in the bright and playful paint colors that are making their way back into 2025 home trends, like electric pink or Gen Z purple (that is, lilac and lavender), totally works if you have a quirky aesthetic or prefer a more contemporary interpretation of this bygone era.

For this project, you'll need a glue skillet and pellets, silicone molds, hot glue, a vase, white tissue paper, paint, and antiquing wax. If you don't already have a glue skillet, the Surebonder Electric Hot Glue Skillet comes highly recommended at about $40. Pick up a 1 pound bag of Surebonder Skillet Hot Glue Pellets in cream for about $8, too. You'll also need to pick up some silicone molds, and Amazon is the place to get the most variety. An antique rose mold replete with stems, leaves, and blooms by Redesign with Prima Store costs less than $20; ICOCONG sells a mold with assorted baroque buttons for about $13; or adorn your vase with classic Victorian scrollwork with an almost $25 mold by FUNSHOWCASE. Since you're working with hot glue, make sure you have a pair of safety goggles and heat-resistant gloves on hand.

Look for vase shapes popular during the Victorian era. Dollar Tree sells a 7 inch clear Mario glass vase for $1.25. Pick up a 12 inch Canora Gray Odette glass table vase for just over $30 on Wayfair. Walmart has a simple glass urn vase standing 9 inches for about $20. You'll also need some white tissue paper — and some craft glue. We recommend Mod Podge Satin for a sturdy finish that's in between matte and shiny. An 8 ounce tub goes for under $5 on Amazon. You can paint over it with light sanding. For the base paint, you can pretty much choose any color you prefer; use the hues we mentioned earlier in the article as a guide. You'll finish your vase with an antiquing wax — a 2 ounce bottle of Speedball Mona Lisa Antiquing Glaze costs about $10 — for a period-authentic dusted look.

Heat the glue pellets according to the manufacturer's instructions. Meanwhile, don your protective gear and lay out your silicone molds. Spoon the liquified glue into your molds and allow it to harden — about 10 minutes in the freezer or possibly longer if you leave it to cure at room temperature. If you have a small vase, you can also pipe the glue into the molds directly from your hot glue gun. While your molded embellishments are firming up, paint the outside of the vase with craft glue, then lay a sheet of tissue paper over it — a 100-pack 14 x 20 inch white tissue paper sheets by Artdly sells for under $7. Don't smooth out the wrinkles; to decorate your home like the Victorian era, you need items that look realistically antique. Continue adding sheets until the entire vase is covered in tissue and leave to dry to the touch — about 20 minutes.

Trim away any excess paper sticking out over the top and bottom of the vase with a box cutter, and glue your molded embellishments to the vase using a hot glue gun. The vase should be fully covered in decorative elements, but don't overlap them. Once the glue has hardened to the touch, it's time to paint the vase in your color of choice. Use a large brush to coat and a smaller brush to get into those nooks and crannies between the embellishments. Allow the paint to dry, then apply the antiquing wax to the raised areas, rubbing it with a cloth to bring up the shine.