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Lucky Gold Leaf Flower Pots

Lucky Gold Leaf Flower Pots

St. Patrick’s Day isn’t a holiday where I traditionally go all out with decorations. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a festive piece or two around, and what is out has to be somewhat understated. (Nothing scarier than going to nose to nose with a fake leprechaun in the middle of the night!) As soon as the live shamrocks are in the stores, I plan to put them in these lucky little gold leaf flower pots that are sitting in the middle of my dining room table. I like the gold leaf better than plain gold paint because there is much more shine in the leafing.

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This quick tutorial on how to gold leaf flower pots will have you making your own sweet and simple St. Patrick’s Day decor in no time!

How to Gold Leaf Flower Pots

Materials:

Tutorial on how to gold leaf flower pots for festive St. Patrick's Day decor

In the craft section where you’ll find the gold leaf, you’ll see special glues for use with the gold leaf. That glue is fabulous for gold leafing, it goes on thin and stays tacky but not wet making it easy to spread glue on a wide area and apply the leafing. These pots require so little glue that it’s a shame to buy such an expensive bottle to cover the area of a quarter. I used white glue instead for these projects, but if you’re up for it and doing more than just a few flower pots, get the leafing glue!

Start off by spray painting your pots white. Or whatever color strikes your fancy.

Tutorial on how to gold leaf flower pots for festive St. Patrick's Day decor

I was seriously bummed when I couldn’t find my stenciling paper to make these flower pots…so I had to find an alternative way to make a stencil that stuck to the pot. Just so happens there was a very large roll of painter’s tape nearby to save the day! Roll the tape onto the part of the pot you want your clover on. If you want, cut out a little silhouette of a clover and trace it onto the painter’s tape. I free handed mine.

 

Tutorial on how to gold leaf flower pots for festive St. Patrick's Day decor

Use and exacto knife to cut around your outline, then remove the area you want to stencil. I found it was easiest just to pry it out with the tip of the exacto blade.

 

Tutorial on how to gold leaf flower pots for festive St. Patrick's Day decor

Put a thin layer of glue on your stencil area, covering every blank part, then place a small piece of gold leaf onto the glue. Use a soft brush to gently press it into the crevices of your stencil.

 

Tutorial on how to gold leaf flower pots for festive St. Patrick's Day decor

Let the glue have about 20 minutes to dry, then carefully peel off the painter’s tape.

 

Tutorial on how to gold leaf flower pots for festive St. Patrick's Day decor

You’ll be left with a darling little shamrock!

To Gold Leaf the Rim

Same process, just a wider area! I painted the rim gold before I leafed it, as it was a bigger area and the leafing will crackle. I wanted what showed underneath to be a complimentary shade of gold, not white.

Tutorial on how to gold leaf flower pots for festive St. Patrick's Day decor

Working in smaller areas, spread a thin coat of glue around the rim of the pot, covering all the area with glue that you want to be leafed.

 

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Place a piece of gold leafing to the rim, using pieces to cover the entire area to be leafed. Work your way around the whole rim until it is completely covered in gold leaf, pressing it to the pot.

Tutorial on how to gold leaf flower pots for festive St. Patrick's Day decor

After the glue is completely dry, brush off the excess leafing with a soft bristle brush. This will make the best kind of glitter all over your table! Be sure to use a sheet to catch it all. Once all the leafing is as you like it, it’s a pretty good idea to seal it to with a fine-mist acrylic sealer. They make it especially for gold leaf, in that same section of the craft store where you found the gold leaf glue. For me, this is a very short term use project in my house, and I’m not bothering with that step. If you plan to use the gold leaf flower pots for a long time, I’d recommend sealing them!

Stay tuned for more St. Patrick’s Day Inspiration!

I can’t wait to show you my St. Patrick’s Day decorated dining room, a fun snack idea and craft for the kids.

Paula Biggs

Owner at Frog Prince Paperie
Paula Biggs is a party planner, DIY crafter, and owner of Frog Prince Paperie, where you can find hundreds of party, craft and lifestyle ideas.

Jacqui

Sunday 1st of March 2015

What a cute idea! Thank you for linking up to Party Time and we hope to see you again next week!