High-SocieTea
"Where the Art and Elegance of Taking Tea is Treasured"
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CrafTea
As delicate as gossamer wings, gold leaf will transform old, worn out home decor items like a caterpillar into a butterfly. For very little investment in time and money, you can create beautifully glistening decor to adorn your Afternoon Tea table. Slowly and carefully, transfer the piece of gold leafing to your object and press it into place with the artist’s brush. You need to work slowly because the
"The Guilded Age"
Gold Leafing
All you need are a package of gold leaf sheets, gold leaf adhesive, gold leaf sealer, an artist’s brush, and a sponge brush. All of these supplies are readily available in craft stores. We are going to gold leaf this old, brass candlestick. But, you can decorate picture frames, vases, lamps, even charger plates that will not be used to hold food. Just use your imagination. And if you don’t favor the color gold, there is silver leaf and copper leaf with which you can decorate as well. 
To begin, start by brushing on a layer of leafing adhesive with a sponge brush. Don’t worry if it runs. Just put some paper towels underneath your work to protect your work surface. Once you have covered your project with the liquid adhesive, go back and look it over for missed spots. You can touch it up at this point. Then, let the adhesive dry (usually less than an hour) until it is tacky to the touch. Now you are ready to apply the gold leaf.
Working with the artist’s brush, press the bristles down near the edge of the sheet of gold leaf and "drag" the brush to break a smallish piece of leafing from the sheet. If the gold leaf does not stick to the brush, dab at it to pick it up. 
gold leaf material is so thin that it tends to fly around, and you don’t want to lose any big pieces.
Don’t worry if the gold leaf wrinkles or breaks apart a bit as you press it into place. This will only add texture and interest to the piece. Continue working with smallish pieces until you have covered the entire object. You will have tiny pieces break off, and you will be able to brush away any overlapping pieces that don’t stick to the object. If
you brush off any substantial sized pieces of gold leaf, simply pick them back up and apply them to an uncovered part of the object.
When you have covered your entire object in gold leaf material, you need to seal it to protect the gold leafing from tarnishing. You can use a spray metal leafing sealer or a liquid artist’s varnish. Once you have applied the sealer, let the object dry thoroughly, preferably overnight. When it has dried, you are ready to use your new golden objet d’art.
Whether it’s gold, silver or copper leafing, you can transform your home with "museum quality" looking objects for very little cost. It’s fun, simple, quick, yet impressive. Your guests will think you inherited a fortune from a rich relative. But, you will know the secret to bringing the "Guilded Age" back to life.
Photos: Copyright 2007-2008 Lighthouse Literary, Inc.
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