Friday, February 03, 2012

Gilded Pears!

Look what my big sis bought me!

Life: Designed
I had bought these $1.50 paper mache pears from Michael's last week with the thought that I was going to spray paint them:

Life: Designed

I love spray paint- it's so quick and easy. The only thing is, I have to do my spraying outside and... it rains a lot in Vancouver.


So my poor pears have just been sitting around for a while.


A couple days ago I had the thought to gold leaf them! I've never done it before so why not try something new?


I had no idea how much gold leaf paper costs but I had a feeling it wasn't cheap. So I asked my big sis to come with me to Michael's since she's a teacher and gets an extra 15% off.


When we got there, I saw the liquid gilding (pictured above). It was $10 and I had a 40% off coupon PLUS my sis's discount! Sweet!

Life: Designed
Oh and look at that! The packaging has painted pears on them! Hmm... Feeling not so original....


Across the aisle, they had the gold leaf paper for $15. What to do... Of course I went for the less expensive one! (Not to mention you have to purchase special gold leaf adhesive? What is that? I didn't see any there.)


When I went to pay, my sister put my credit card away and bought it for me. Being the baby of the family (and an unemployed student) has it's perks! I should have gotten the gilding AND the gold leaf paper!


It's been a big adjustment to go from having a full time job and a steady income to... nothing. Every penny counts. I use 40% off coupons for $1.50 items at Michael's!


As soon as I got home, I started painting my pears! Word of warning... this liquid gilding stuff STINKS! Even for me and I like the brain-cells-killing-marker smell.

Life: Designed
I'm glad I didn't go for the gold leaf because the paper mache already gives it a textured look.


I love them! I admit it. I'm a sucker for cute accessories.


I have these black birds:

Life: Designed
These owls which I love Love LOVE!

Life: Designed
And now these beautiful gold pears! I've wanted silver (or gold) pears (or apples) for a long long time and now I finally have some!

Life: Designed
I don't know yet how I'm going to style them. For now, I just like looking at them!


Life: Designed
Note: I'm calling them gold but the colour is officially brass. The one they called gold is more orange? It's in between copper and this "brass". I chose brass because I like the  more yellow look. (I still consider it gold...)


Thanks again big sis! I have some old candle stick holders that need a coat of this gold!


I used to be a silver only girl. But for the past couple of years my favourite necklaces have been gold and recently I love gold for home decor!


How about you... are you a gold or silver gal?
Posted by at

8 comments:

  1. May5 February 2012 at 02:07

    Heey you could use those as christmas ornaments! Or how about a wreath made of pears? Hmm.. Maybe not.

    Anyways, I love gold! When I went for my vacay in the Philippines 2 years ago, I kept buying gold accessories while my Aunt (from Manila) kept suggesting Silver for a more muted look.

    I love silver and gold. But I sometimes I find gold very classy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nancy @ Life: Designed5 February 2012 at 20:16

      Haha I looked up pear wreaths and they do exist! I like gold. I hope it sticks around for a while.

      Delete
  2. Jane @ urbanejane.5 February 2012 at 15:53

    Hi Nancy! They're 'pear'fect! ;)
    And to answer your question, I used to be an only-silver girl, but I'm slowly starting to love gold. a lot. I think I kinda drive my husband crazy because he's an all-silver kinda guy. :)
    well, on a side note, I had no idea your sister was a teacher! (I am too!), but rather than waiting for the 15% off, if you download the app, they have the 40% off one purchase and sometimes the 25% off your entire purchase. If you don't have a smart phone, their website has printable coupons on it all the time. :)
    just thought that might help (with you dishing out more of your awesome projects!)

    take care! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nancy @ Life: Designed5 February 2012 at 20:20

      'pear'fect - haha love it! Thanks Jane! I do both! I always have a 40% off coupon with me. I rarely buy anything at Michael's at full price. Cool! What grade do you teach? My sister doesn't currently teach but her husband teaches 4th grade. or maybe it's 5th... Heh.

      Delete
  3. Stacey13 February 2012 at 03:49

    Very pretty! You could go bananas with that stuff!
    Stacey of Embracing Change

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dwell on Joy16 February 2012 at 19:36

    Nancy - I love these and secretly want to STEAL your owls! So cute - where are they from, may I ask??? Thanks for sharing this project at Dwell on Fridays! I love your projects! And I'm with you on the Michaels and coupons - I use them EVERY time :) Have a great weekend & don't forget to link up tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dwell on Joy16 February 2012 at 20:39

      And...I'm featuring these at Dwell on Joy tomorrow! Come by and grab a button when you link up!

      Delete
    2. Nancy @ Life: Designed17 February 2012 at 20:26

      Thanks Sarah! Sorry I forgot to answer your question! I got them at Nood.ca a while back. I LOVE them! Unfortunately the store is closing down!
      Nancy

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)