The large mirror in the garden room was left behind by the previous owners of the bungalow. I was never particularly keen on the dark green, marbled frame so when we re-decorated last month I decided it was time for a bit of bling. I had seen a few You Tube demonstrations of people using gold leaf so how hard could it actually be?
I protected half of my kitchen island worktop with a cloth and placed the mirror flat. I covered a section of the frame with special glue and then waited for twenty minutes or so until it had gone tacky. Now for the gold leaf. The first piece I tried to handle disintegrated in my fingers. The second sheet floated down onto the glue but not in the place I wanted it to be. The third sheet was going well, I was holding my breath and then....I breathed! It skittered across the worktop onto the floor. This was tricky stuff. And it kept sticking to my fingers. Aaagh.
Two days later I had finished the mirror and was fairly expert at picking up the sheets and positioning them. The gold leaf certainly needs very delicate handling. (Even though I thought I had sufficiently protected the worktop, small particles of gold leaf had floated to the uncovered area. I now have a gold flecked work top!)
Fortunately I wanted a slightly distressed look for the mirror so the crackled look was fine by me. It's not a great finish, the gold is a bit shiny and blingy but I think it looks okay. I've got quite a lot of gold leaf left over. I wonder what I could use it for.
I would have used gold paint!
ReplyDeleteThat's what my decorator said!
DeleteI guess you were on a steep learning curve with gold leaf in your fingers. Good job you wanted the distressed look because when Paul asked you how it was going, you probably said, "I'm distressed!"
ReplyDeleteHe just kept well out of my way.
DeleteI like the gold instead of green. Gold leaf is hard to handle. Now that you know all the particulars of working with it, your next project should be easier. Some spray lacquers are quite nice.
ReplyDeleteI had nothing to lose as I didn't like the colour of the original frame.
DeleteIt is such tricky stuff to handle. The finished frame looks good though.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't look too bad but I might replace it in the future.
DeleteYou've done a very good job and it looks amazing.
ReplyDeleteI've only ever tried my hand with gold leaf once, and like you, found it was much harder to handle than I thought it would be. The expert who showed me how to do it made it look so easy. I think I'll use gold spray paint next time!
I quite enjoyed it once I got the hang of handling it. I might experiment with it in the future if I do some painting.
DeleteI use a rusty red undercoat, then a gold 'wax' on top. When rubbed down a bit it looks genuinely antique.
ReplyDeleteHmm, that's interesting. Sounds like it would be more effective than gold leaf.
DeleteMum had a mirror where she changed the frame colour. She used gold paint and then distressed it by rubbing bits lightly with something. I can't remember what. I paint mirror frames all colours.
ReplyDeleteMum had a mirror where she changed the frame colour. She used gold paint and then distressed it by rubbing bits lightly with something. I can't remember what. I paint mirror frames all colours.
ReplyDelete