I'm missing the sparkle of the holidays so I thought I'd bring a little back with a quick and easy project that has a casual but chic flare.


 
Gold leafing can be so easy. Especially if you are working on a small piece and you don't care if it's perfect. 


 
To zip up a small plant container, just grab an old, used, terra-cotta pot and make sure you wipe off any mud on the exterior surface. I purposely left the white staining on the sides because I prefer the casual used look.


 
Pick up some gold leaf sizing/adhesive at your local craft store. I used an old small paintbrush to randomly apply it to the bottom half of my pot. Just remember, wherever you put the sizing, the gold leaf will stick!


 
Let the sizing set for about 30 minutes. The instructions say to wait for 1-2 hours, but the trick is to let it dry just enough to allow the gold leaf to stick easily. (hint: your finger will stick to it and then easily pull away)


 

 
Once the sizing is ready, place one sheet at a time of gold leaf onto your pot. Don't worry about it being perfect, you just want it to cover the sizing that you have applied. You can tear extra pieces off, that are overlapping or hanging over the edge, to place them on other uncovered areas of your pot.


 
After completely covering the sizing with gold leaf, take another dry, clean, brush and just firmly brush the gold leaf down so that it is firmly stuck to the pot. Any areas that are not stuck will just flake off (which is exactly what you want it to do).


 
Next, after all the little flakes and extra gold leaf have dropped off, re-brush with the side of your brush while rotating your pot to be sure you rub all of the gold leafed areas. This process is similar to burnishing, which sets the leaf and gives it a nice warm glow.

To complete the project, especially if you will be placing the pots outside, apply a thin film of varnish over the gilding. (You can also purchase everything you need for gold leafing this project as a set here.)


 
Voila...a little more sparkle in your life...who doesn't need that?

Lori