Gold Leafing, Anyone? November 10, 2012

Have you ever thought about gold leafing a piece of furniture that you paint? I hadn’t given it much thought because I had only heard of the mess that it makes when you use gold leaf.

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Here I am, on my last night in Texas, looking at my sample boards. On this board, I wasn’t crazy about the cracking technique used on the surface of the board but I did love gold leafing effect!

I can see all sorts of pieces, where gold leafing would be so wonderful to do!

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I have all of my sample boards out drying, before I pack them in my suitcase, tomorrow morning. If you would’ve told me two years ago, that I was going to be filling half of my suitcase with sample paint boards, I would’ve laughed out loud! But here I am!

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I’m so excited about all that I’m learning! Hope I will find a way to share it all with you, soon!

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13 Comments

  1. Laura on November 11, 2012 at 5:32 am

    I have never tried gold leafing. IT always looked so difficult. Hope your trip is wonderful.

    Hugs,
    Laura

    P.S. Sorry I haven’t gotten back to you with the paint color. It’s been a doozy of a week. Since you are going away, I can see there is no rush, but I will get back to you this week.

    • Barbara Bussey on November 11, 2012 at 6:01 am

      Hi there!
      I’m looking forward to doing more with gold leaf. Everything I ever heard about it always seemed so complicated. But truly it isn’t! At least it wasn’t in class!
      Talk soon,
      BB

  2. Donnamae on November 11, 2012 at 5:32 am

    You’ve really peaked my curiosity with gold leafing..can’t wait to see! 😉

    • Barbara Bussey on November 11, 2012 at 6:05 am

      Hello Donnamae, I’m looking forward to experimenting with goldleaf much more. Basically you start with a rust colored undercoat, apply an adhesive, let that dry a bit, brush on the gold leaf, and apply a sealant. We went outside to brush off the little flakes left on the edges. Finally, you send a bit with fine sandpaper to dole to finish and distress it a bit. There’s your 25 cent tutorial!

      • Donnamae on November 11, 2012 at 5:34 pm

        Thank you! Your check is in the mail! 😉

  3. Sarah on November 11, 2012 at 5:58 am

    I have a friend that applies gold leaf to all kinds of furniture, frames, etc. She doesn’t do it herself, but has an artist friend who does. It is incredibly beautiful. It will be fun to see your pieces………Sarah

    • Barbara Bussey on November 11, 2012 at 6:07 am

      Sarah, I just told Donnamae all of the basic steps, but if I can do it, anyone can!

  4. Karena on November 11, 2012 at 7:14 am

    Barbara, I have tried gold leaf only once, and yes it was a big mess. What do you think of gold leaf paint instead of the squares? I have found it in small bottles so it wouldn’t cover a large surface…

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

    • Barbara Bussey on November 11, 2012 at 8:46 am

      It’s available from Rub & Buff, but I don’t think you get the same effect. It’s a good close second, though!

  5. Cynthia on November 11, 2012 at 9:59 am

    I have silver leafed a piece of furniture I painted and it came out great. It is a lot of work and messy.

    Cynthia

  6. classic • casual • home on November 11, 2012 at 11:39 am

    I have a mirror I was thinking of gold leafing…sort of intimidated though.

  7. Kathryn Cain on November 11, 2012 at 2:58 pm

    Can’t wait to see

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