DIY Gold Leaf Painting

Hey y'all! 

I have a quick and easy DIY gold leaf painting for you today! It took me less than half an hour to make, and along the way I discovered some gold paint that actually looks like real gold leaf (without all of the hassle of applying real gold leaf). 
Because with a 6 month old baby, I have approximately 3 seconds to pursue anything creative. So, like who has time for difficult things. 

Here's a close-up of my latest gold leaf painting (and probably my easiest art project to date). 

I actually made this for my office that I'm currently re-doing, but it's still in progress, so I decided to hang it in the dining room for a little while.

So, here's a quick tutorial.

I started with a square canvas, added a little Modeling Paste (affiliate link) to give it some texture, and painted it black (Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze to be specific). Jesse helped me make a simple wooden frame that I spray painted silver.

Then, I taped a stencil to the canvas. This is one of my favorite stencils that I've used several times now (you can tell by the layers of pink and white paint all over it). I can't find the exact stencil I bought, but this link will take you to one that's almost identical.

Then, I just applied my gold paint. 

I usually use a mini paint roller when I'm using a stencil because it doesn't bleed under the stencil, but this paint is oil based and really thick, so it worked pretty well with just a paintbrush. I gooped it on pretty thick, too, just because I liked how it looked.

The gold leaf paint I used was called Precious Metals in

 18 kt Gold (affiliate link). It comes in a tiny little container, but a little goes a long way. And it's amazing.

 I've used a lot of real gold leaf in the past few years and this paint is the closest I've found to the real stuff.

Once you are done applying the paint, just remove the stencil and let it dry.

And that's all there is to it!

Pretty easy, right? 

That's all for today, guys! 

Thanks so much for being here. I'll leave you with a picture of Ava, who is 6 months old as of this week. She loves laughing at her daddy, dancing in her jumper, hats, bathtime, and waking up at 3 am. 

 'Til next time.

P.S. For more art ideas, go here and here.

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