How to Prepare Gold Leaf

You can use gold leaf to make an item look like is is made of gold.

Gold leaf is actual gold that is flattened into extremely thin sheets -- so thin that it requires special handling in order to be used for your craft projects. Proper handling will ensure that the gold leaf does not tear and become too damaged to use. In order to effectively prepare the gold leaf you will use to gild your project, you can follow a few guidelines that require the use of kitchen tools to carefully lift and handle the gold leaf.

Things You'll Need

• Gold leaf sheets
• Object to gild
• Butter knife
• Watercolor paintbrush

Instructions

1. Place the object that you want to gild with gold leaf onto a tabletop.

2. Pull the top protective layer away from the sheet of gold leaf.

3. Place the flat part of a butter knife against one of the top corners of the gold leaf.

4. Roll the knife to fold the gold leaf sheet onto the knife.

5. Lift the entire sheet of gold leaf away from the bottom protective layer using the butter knife.

6. Drape the gold leaf sheet over the item you want to gild.

7. Tap over the surface of the gold leaf using a soft watercolor paintbrush. This will help the gold leaf adhere to the object. Repeat this process until the areas you want to gild are covered with gold leaf.

References

• Gilded Planet: How To Gold Leaf