I’m going back to my DIY roots, y’all. Last week it was leather, this week it’s liquid gold. Two of my favorite DIY supplies, and they’ve been sadly waiting for me in my closet until I got inspired to use them again. Well it’s on, dudes. After these marbled candleholders, I got to wondering if liquid gilding could do the same thing. And it CAN! Boom. Gold marbled everything. Starting with a pencil cup.
Materials
- plain glass or metal pencil cup (this one happens to be spray painted white from an old project)
- small tub filled with water — be sure you don’t mind if it gets gold paint on it!
- popsicle sticks or toothpicks
- paper towels
- liquid gilding (I love this one!)
Make Time: 10 Minutes
In your water tub, use the popsicle sticks to gently drop some liquid gilding onto the top of the water. If you drop it gently, it should stay on the surface.
Use the popsicle stick to swirl the gold around a bit and spread it evenly over the water.
Hold the pencil cup sideways and gently roll it over the surface of the water. As you roll, it will pick up the gold from the surface. Continue to roll until you’re satisfied with the coverage. If there’s a spot that gets missed, you can just gently set that spot down on some of the remaining gold.
Set the cup on a paper towel to dry. When the gold is dry to the touch, gently wipe away any other remaining water droplets and smooth out any bumps. Let the cup cure for another day or so.
Eeeeeeek I’m super into how this one turned out! It’s better than I imagined, and it was a really fast, cheap update for my desk area (which was getting kinda boring). Hope you try it. Stay golden. xoxo
I am obsessed with your letter opener! Where is it from?
Also- I have been waiting until nail polish goes on sale- because I am also obsessed with your votive DIY! I want to make a bunch for my wedding favors! Thanks for the inspiration!
Ahhh! So many people ask me about that letter opener, and it was actually a gift from my sister. If you search “fox letter opener,” you can find lots of images of it but I can’t seem to find a place to purchase it any more. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
Here is where you can find it:
http://www.highstreetmarket.com/products/brass-fox-letter-opener
Ah! Thanks Beth!
Love this, Chels. I’ve been wanting to experiment with marbling using acrylic paint (to cut down on the crazy strong smell of nail polish), but I never would have thought to use golf leaf. Clever.
Love the DIY! And I love your desk area, too. It’s so simple and pretty.
I love the simplicity and the gold. Growing up I only liked silver but gold is growing on me. I think I need to purchase a pair of golden scissors!!! http://www.handmadebykelly.com
Ditto! I was all silver growing up. Now I kind of love how classic gold is. I’m sure I’ll keep flip-flopping, but that’s the fun part. 😉
I love this – I didn’t realise how simple it is to get that look! Defo one to try out 🙂
I love your project so much that I had to gush about it over on my blog! Thanks for posting such an awesome DIY project.
http://luxxurylivving.com/2014/08/diy-gold-marbled-cup/
Great idea!! I really need to try it :))
Jenny
This is such a great idea!
This is such a cool DIY! Have you ever tried it on glass? Does the liquid gilding slip off of glass? I have lots of mason jars, haha! xo – Jessika
I haven’t ever tried the gilding on untreated glass, but I do know that nail polish will stay on it. So my guess is if you give the gilding sufficient dry time (and maybe spritz with a sealant afterwards?) it would probably do fine!
Ohhh, how did I not know about liquid gilding? I’m such a noob. I’ll definitely be giving this one a go once I get my hands on some of that golden goodness 🙂
Definitely get some and try it out on different things! It’s not great on fabric or paper, but I love it on leather and hard surfaces too. Have fun!
This looks pretty cool! Like it would cost a lot.
xo
Maggie A
LOVEMAVIN/YOUTUBE || LOVE MAVIN/BLOG
I’ve been searching for some gold scissors forever! Can you please tell me where you bought those and what brand they are?? Also, your DIY is so cute. I love anything gold so I just night try it 🙂
This is so cool! I will definitely have to try this! http://chalkandlinen.blogspot.co.uk/
Just when I thought I had done everything I could with gold leaf! I am trying this asap! So freakin’ smart!!!
I never thought this would be so easy to do, it’s just like marble nail art. Why didn’t I think about it. Will I be able to do this on other material like plastic, or does it need to be glass/metal?
http://www.allsheneeds.in
Beautiful! Love the gold.
I’m loving all the marbling on various objects I’ve been seeing on blogs recently.
My favorite colors are GOLD, BLACK , and RED.
I think I might paint the cup red first. At the end do a thin layer of black? What do you think?
Give it a shot! I think that could turn out pretty cool!
Would this work using plastic pencil holders?
You could try with plastic but may find that the paint slips off of the surface. It might hold better if you prep the plastic with a spray paint primer.