Arts + Crafts: Gilding terracotta pots

Well friends, this past weekend I had a one woman crafts extravaganza during which I gilded a couple terracotta pots with the ultimate plan to use them for my succulents.  It was as exciting as it is unusual for me to do crafts.  I love artsy stuff and like to think I'm alright at amateur art, but crafts I pretty much never do, both because I typically lack the patience required to get a project completed and because I hate Michael's (it is SO hard to find anything there).

Nevertheless, after seeing really cute Pinterest'd gilded pots and blogs like this and this explaining how easy it is, I had to give it a shot.  And it's not that hard!

First, you need your materials.

I bought a gilding set for $11 which included everything as except for the sponge paintbrushes which were $0.50 each, but you can just as easily buy all your supplies separately.  

Specifically, you need:

-The soon to be golden terracotta pots

-Gold Leaf

-The special adhesive called "Size" (some sources suggest Elmer's spray adhesive works too)

-Sealer (Spray sealer works too)

The kit also came with a red basecoat and "Antiquing glaze" which I ignored.

First, liberally apply adhesive to the pot.  I used two wet coats, and try to minimize bubbles.  As soon as the adhesive is applied, quickly lay a gold leaf on top.  It will cling to the pot (and everything else) like super-thin gold clingwrap.  Before I started, I wondered how I would get it to look so imperfectly perfect... turns out that was not a problem.

Adhesive

Gold leaf'd

Next, push any gold leaf still flapping in the wind down with a little brush or sponge.  This is harder than it sounds because the second your fingers or little sponge get adhesive on it, the gold leaf will stick to your fingers/sponge instead of the pot, with the result that each tappy tap rips pieces of gold leaf off your pot.  Proceed with caution.

Once you've covered your goal area (usually, top of the pot or just one side), brush off any loose pieces of gold leaf with a paper towel, and then apply sealer liberally to the gold leafed area.  While you want to cover the edges as well for a good seal, painting on the actual pot will change the color somewhat.  Two coats seems to be enough.

Once your pots have dried, celebrate with a glass of wine or a fist pump or something, because your pots are ready for planting and you, ladies and gents, have graduated to crafty lady status!

I am a crafty lady