Last week it was beautiful outside (finally) and so I decided to play with a little gold leaf.  I have tons of vintage glass jars and containers that I love to use for anything from storing  pens on a desk to holding flowers.  With the spring blooms coming up I thought it would be fun to use a little gold leaf on these jars and then dress them up with flowers.

What you need for this projects:

1. Glass jar or vase

2. Gilding size ( we sell this in the shop and online)

3. Gold or silver leaf (you pick!)

4. Poly or Annie Sloan clear wax to seal the gilding

First Step

Apply the size wherever you want the gilding to adhere to on the bottle.  The leaf will not stick without it.  I opted for varying areas of coverage to go with the vintage feel of the ball jar.  I used a small paint brush to apply the size, be sure to rinse out your brush when done.  Once it’s been applied it will have a milky look but will dry clear.  Let it sit for about 20-30 minutes .

Second Step

Take a sheet of your gold leaf keeping the tissue paper on one side so you can easily smooth it onto the surface and apply it to you jar.  This is a bit tricky and I used 2 sheets for this ball jar.  I applied the leaf and smoothed it down over the tissue.  Then I took a soft paint brush and went over the leaf to smooth it a little and wipe off the excess.

Third Step 

You will want to seal your gold leaf with a poly or clear wax  this will keep it from flaking off. And that is it..it’s a really easy project (it can be a bit messy with the leaf).

Join us May 31st for an Advanced Paint class (register online or in the shop) where we will be learning to apply gold/silver leaf as well as many other fun products!

** May 16-18 Rough Luxe Market put it on your calendar!