How I Made It: Gold Leaf Diamond Mirrors

Hey Guys!

Who doesn’t love to gold leaf? I mean, in a perfect world, I would gold leaf everything. But that could get expensive and a little too reflective for the sanity of my family. But, a perfect way to add a dose of the beautiful finish is by gold leafing small pieces to make wall art. Mirrors and gold pretty much go hand in hand, so I’m going to share with you how I created a gold leaf diamond on circular mirrors- they’re perfect for filling in small spaces or gaps in a gallery wall!

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Supplies Used: Gold Leaf, Adhesive Size, Sealer, Craft Paint Brush, Circular Mirrors, Picture Hanging Command Strips, Painter’s Tape

How I Made It:

I love a simple DIY. I’ll say this over and over again- there is nothing more satisfying that making something with little effort and having it turn out beautifully. My electrical tape planter is the perfect example of this. And like that upgrade in appearance, these mirrors do fine slapped onto a wall but they really come to life with just a little embellishment.

I definitely have to say that the most imperative part of the process is ensuring the mirror is as clean as possible. Dust will prevent the gold leaf from adhering to the mirror and you won’t be able to go back and clean much without destroying the gold leaf finish.

For the square-ish diamond shape, I just grabbed a card that I had handy and used that as a guide to lay down painter’s tape.

Instructions for gold leaf are pretty much the same no matter what you’re putting the stuff on. I painted on a layer of adhesive and let it sit until tacky.

Then, I lied the gold leaf onto the surface and lightly smoothed into place.

I finish off by painting on a layer of sealer. I haven’t tried a spray acrylic, but I want to since traditional gold leafing sealer clouds the finish some. I have read that you can also leave the gold leaf unfinished to preserve the shine, but I haven’t tried that either.

I created 3 mirrors and am using them in the gallery wall in my living room for now. I hope to have the wall taken down in the next year or two, but I know I’ll be using these mirrors in other places when the time comes to break down the gallery wall.

 

I love how happy and collected this wall is! I’ll be chatting about this wall more next time, make sure to check back soon!

I hope you’ve found this post interesting and helpful! If you enjoyed it, please give it a share and let others know about it too!