DIY Gold Centerpiece

Somehow, I found myself with a lot of plastic pears (long story, don't ask). Simple, plain, boring, and cheap.
You already know what I do to simple boring objects.

 

That's right, cover them in gold leaf.

I sat and appliqued gold leaf to plastic pears. Now there is something I never thought I'd say.

It took about 30 minutes (including time for drying) and here is the result.

Dramatic, eye catching, and a bit whimsical.

I wanted to use them for a New Years table setting, and tried to think of the perfect color scheme. When trying to come up with a color scheme I have a little thing I do. I go through drawers grabbing anything small - jewelery, head bands, trinkets, string and small tableware - and dump them on the table to spark my imagination. This is what that looks like.

That is how I chose black and white, using things I had around the house along with black and white Coasters and napkin rings from my shop.

So what can you do with these golden pears?

 

I attached a black label from card stock onto each pear and wrote Happy New Year on each one.  You can choose to use these as place settings for a more formal dinner, or as a centerpiece. And the best part? These can be used later to create a lovely vignette on a shelf or mantle. I hate all of the cheap-o plastic decorations you buy at party store, mainly b/c everyone just throws them away at the end. But these would make lovely gifts for guest - I know I'd be happy to receive one.

 

So how do you make these?

Apply gold leaf applique glue to the pears with a paint brush. Wait for the glue to dry until it's tacky to the touch (my glue bottle said half an hour, but I've been lazy before and had it dry overnight - works like a charm). Carefully apply the gold leaf. It's very fragile and pieces tend to fly all over, so work on a piece of newspaper. Once everything is covered in gold leaf, press the leaf down evenly on the whole pear and gently rub it down. If a piece tears off, simply add glue to that specific spot and add some gold leaf. You can also search on Youtube for gold leaf diy tutorials for a more in depth explanation.

 

And that's it!

Happy Holidays to you all, I hope this year hold everything you wish for yourself.

Elisheva

p.s. A lovely reader on the Hebrew blog asked to see the before pictures - which came out a bit blurry, I hope you'll forgive me.... I bought the pears at a store selling fake flowers for about 50 cents a pear.

 

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