gold leaf – Melodrama

DIY Gold Accented Gift Boxes and Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Published on December 9, 2015December 9, 2015 by Krys1 Comment

Remember when getting clothes for Christmas was a big bummer when you were a kid? Nothing was worse than opening boxes filled with sweatshirts and socks. Isn’t it weird how much that changes as we get older? Now I love getting clothes for Christmas!

Something I like to do when giving apparel as gifts is to be as clever as possible with my gift wrapping. This year I teamed up with LOFT to bring you some easy and interesting ways to wrap your holiday presents.

Instead of wrapping your apparel boxes in the standard wrapping paper fare, try decorating them instead. There are a ton of ways to do this, and you probably have everything you need in your craft arsenal already. You can use markers, washi tape, stamps, stickers…just let your creativity flow.

I went with gold accented clothes boxes this year, so all I had to do was paint random brush strokes with gilding adhesive and then laid my gold leaf over it. I brushed the excess off and ended up with a really chic gold accented gift box.Another thing I did was used metallic gold tape to create abstract line patterns.I’m telling you these are so easy and inexpensive but make a really beautiful presentation. Yay for DIY metallic gift boxes in any design you want!

Another fun thing I like to do for stocking stuffers and little gifts is to use a cute pair of socks instead of standard Christmas stockings.The socks act as an extra little gift that the recipient can actually wear and use.

Now go pick up a pack of cheap-o apparel boxes and decorate them to your hearts content!

This post was sponsored by LOFT through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about LOFT products, all opinions are my own.

DIY: Tissue Paper Gold Leaf Phone Case

Published on February 20, 2015August 4, 2015 by Krys4 Comments

Hello darlings! Guess what? Earlier this year my BFF Martha Stewart herself (kidding) asked me to be part of a thing called the “12 Months of Martha”. In case you’ve been living in a world of normal, non-craft-obsessed people and are wondering what that is, I’ll tell you. It’s where the fine people at Martha Stewart Living send me and some other choice bloggers packages of craft supplies to create a new project for each month of this year. It’s a major win for me because I use all of these products anyway so now they’re basically just throwing them at me. Anyway, it sounds super fun and I’m excited to be included.

Now that you know what’s going on, you can stay tuned to see what I come up with. You can check out what others are making by searching #12monthsofmartha on Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.

I won’t go on about every item that was in the box, but it did include decoupage and craft paint, which I used for this month’s project. The gold leaf is also MarStew but it’s from my own stash.

You probably know by the title of this post that I made a fancy pants phone cover. To make the case I used a decent quality colored tissue paper (the thick kind with the smooth, shiny side) and a cheap clear case that you can get at almost any store (I got mine on Amazon for $3). I also used Martha Stewart Crafts decoupage, gold leaf, and craft paint.

First, I ripped the tissue paper into random strips and shapes. Then I painted a layer of decoupage on to the inner-side of the phone case. I arranged my pieces of paper over the glue and then patted them down and carefully smoothed out any wrinkles. Push the paper up the sides of the case so they’re covered too. After that I let the decoupage dry a little until it was sticky and applied gold leaf to those areas.

Try to only apply gold leaf to the exposed areas, as it may show through your tissue paper depending on how thick and opaque it is. If your paper is really thin and sheer you may want to double up on it before applying the gold leaf. Anyway, carefully apply the gold leaf to your desired areas and let everything dry. Trim the excess paper from the edges and camera hole with an exacto knife.

At this point you can apply a couple more layers of decoupage to seal the deal, or you can do what I did and apply a layer of white paint to the back to give a nice finished look and to make the colors pop. I forgot to take a picture of that step. Oops. Just slap it on.

Once you’ve applied your final coats of decoupage to seal it all, let dry for several hours, or better yet overnight.

Now I can walk around looking very accessorized and people will stop and say “Where did you get that phone case?” And I’ll say “DIY, baby” and toss my hair back as I strut away pretending to be on a very important phone call (with Martha Stewart, of course).

DIY: Decorative Tray Made From A Picture Frame

Published on January 8, 2015August 4, 2015 by Krys26 Comments

If you’re horrible like me and need as much help as you can get keeping things organized, you can probably benefit from something like a vanity tray. These help keep all your odds and ends looking tidy by giving them a designated space to lay on. They’re super helpful on dressing tables, bathroom countertops, and even coffee tables to hold remotes and whatever you usually have laying around. Since I’m the worst and messiest person while I’m getting ready, I’m going to use mine to hold jewelry and other stuff that basically lives on my dresser and never really gets put away.

I had one of those inexpensive, basic picture frames that we all seem to have (probably from IKEA, am I right?) so I had the idea of turning it into a tray. When I turned it over it was definitely deep enough to become one.

First you’re going to need to complete a couple of steps to make it actually look like a tray and not just a flipped over picture frame.

Take the back out of the frame. I’m talking about the cardboard part that has the little thing that makes it stand up.
Then remove whatever little thingies that held in place. It’ll be little pieces of metal or staples usually. Fill and paint whatever holes and joints are showing on the frame.

Now you’re going to remove the actual piece that makes the frame stand up. Keep the cardboard back. It’s going to be the bottom of your tray.

Now it’s the fun part! You can do this a couple of ways really. You can use decorative paper, you can use a photo collage, or you can paint your own design like I did. I wanted a colorful abstract design on mine.

I gathered all necessary materials and got down to creating my design. I painted the cardboard piece white so it was a blank canvas.

I used several different colors in a random pattern and then applied the gold leaf.

Almost done. Assembly time! Put the cardboard into the frame. The frame is technically upside down at this point. Put your design right side up. Place the glass over it.

Now put stuff on it.

See, for all intents and purposes, it’s a tray!

You can change the design any time you want by either painting over it or using decorative paper under the glass.

Use it where ever you may need things to look a little more organized.

DIY: Gold Leafed Champagne Flutes

Published on December 30, 2014August 4, 2015 by Krys4 Comments

New Years Eve is approaching and I have champagne on the mind. I took a look at a set of plain, cheap champagne flutes that I bought, and got inspired to jazz them up a bit. I wanted something glam and fun, and got the idea to use gold leaf sheets to give them a gold-flaked confetti look.

All you need are inexpensive champagne flutes, gold leafing sheets, and adhesive. If you’re an avid crafter and champagne lover you probably already have these available.

Decide where you want the gilding on the glass to be. I wanted a very random and imperfect, broken up pattern, as if gold flakes were floating down the glass. I painted the adhesive heavily on the parts I wanted more gilding and then used a small brush to dab glue on randomly around the glass to create smaller flakes. Let the glue dry until it’s clear and tacky.

Then simply stick and rub the gold leaf sheets onto the glass until it sticks to the glue. Once you have all of the glue covered, use a soft brush to tap down the gold leafing and then brush away any excess.

Look at what a difference a little gold leaf makes.

To protect the gold leaf, carefully go over any gilded parts with a gold leaf sealant. Let dry completely, preferably overnight, before using and washing. You can gently hand wash in cold water with mild soap and drip dry.

Cheers!

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: