There’s nothing like starting a DIY blog to make you look around at all the design pieces you’ve had for years and really question: do I even like this anymore? I have quite a few accessories that no longer mesh with my design aesthetic, and I’m now on a mission to rid myself of all the dark toned brown and tan items flooding my living room in favor of a lighter, brighter, and simpler theme. However, I’m not a wasteful person and I’m going to try to re-use most of what I have through the power of the makeover.
First on my chopping block is this painting over my fireplace that some of you might recognize from my first post with the little golden stag head.
The big paper lantern I have hanging right out of the frame washed the painting out a little bit in this photo, but you get the idea. It’s an old canvas print from Target of the Flat Iron Building with a big Benjamin Franklin stamp in the top left corner. Not bad, but also not my style any more. (Adam likes it fine, but loving man that he is, he lets me have free reign on the decorating)
I officially have a new favorite blog that I’ve been stalking following lately, run by a lovely lady named Virginia who not only posts beautiful projects, but is also quite funny and enjoyable to read. Check her out on liveloveDIY.com, and watch the hours slip away. I have a whole list of projects off her blog that I want to try my hand at, but when I saw this post for a DIY gold leaf abstract painting, I knew I had the perfect solution for my dark and crowded mantle.
I’ll let you read the instructions on how to do this one on her site, because she did a pretty good job explaining it. I’ve never worked with gold leaf before and there weren’t explicit instructions on how to apply it, so I just brushed the glue on where I wanted it, shook out some gold leaf onto the gluey spots (think grade school glitter art), and used a stencil brush to pound it flat and even it out. Here’s a shot of it in progress, after one light coat of watered down white:
And the final product:
It’s not identical to the original, but it doesn’t have to be! I’m pretty happy with the overall look of it, and I can’t wait to build a frame for it. One day, when I have a garage, all my tools can live with me and I can whip up things like canvas frames with ease…right?
MEGAN ELISE DIY 