• Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • About Me
    • Blogging Resources
    • Contact Me / Media Requests
    • Partner with Us / Advertise
    • Terms of Service, Privacy, & Disclosure Statements
  • Home Decor
  • Room Makeovers
  • Organizing
    • Most Popular Organizing Posts
    • Closet Organizing Ideas
    • Kitchen Organizing Ideas
    • Bathroom Organizing Ideas
    • All Organizing Posts
  • Cleaning
  • Travel

Polished Habitat

04/05/2016 · 14 Comments

Faux Aged Gold Jewelry Tray Tutorial {SWAP IT LIKE IT’S HOT}

DIY & Crafts

Share
Pin
Tweet
Shares 122

Ever wonder what would happen if someone sent you a random box of items from the thrift store and challenged you to transform them into a new use? Me too!  And that’s what #swapitlikeitshot is all about. A big group of bloggers agreed to this chaos, and each of us spent $10ish dollars at the thrift store and shipped a box to someone else. I’ll show you what I bought and who I sent it to at the end of the post – so fun!

The mailman brought me three items from my good friend Angela from Blue i Style. I admit having a total advantage in this challenge because she knows me very well. We’ve got a ton of things in common, including an obsession with organization, so she picked out things I would have grabbed for myself. We also share a love of Gilmore Girls, NYC, and deviled eggs. Strange, but true.

Ways to Use Mancala Board

The wood tray is actually a Mancala game board, even though it looks a bit like a deviled egg holder. Maybe it’s just me?  I also received a set of acrylic cracker servers and a cocktail shaker, which was picked out by Angela’s husband. Thanks Scott!  I have ideas for all three items, but just had time to tackle one of them this week.

I have some beautiful jewelry that was my Gram’s, which I set aside from the “regular” stuff.  The mancala board was the perfect new home for it, but to keep with the whole spirit of Swap It Like It’s Hot, I needed to updated it to better fit in our house. I thought about spray painting it gold, but I wanted to do a bit more of a transformation. After wandering around Hobby Lobby searching for inspiration, I realized this was the perfect chance for me to try gold leaf!

Faux Antique Gold Finish - Jewelry Organization

I started off just gold leafing the top, carefully painting the adhesive around the openings.

Faux Antique Gold Finish - Jewelry Organization-2

But, it’s pretty tricky to get a clean line with gold leaf.

Faux Antique Gold Finish - Jewelry Organization-3I think it’s probably doable, if you have patience and time. I save my very limited patience for big projects, so I ended up changing plans. I decided to gold leaf the entire thing AND give it a rough vintage look. I wanted it to look like it had been holding the antique jewelry for decades.

It worked!

Faux Antique Gold Finish - Jewelry Organization-6

To get the look, I layered on the gold leaf, letting it crumple up. In some places, I used full sheets and in others, I tore the leaf to get rugged edges.  I also used a paint brush that was damp versus using a soft dry brush as you normally would. Then, I took a piece of tissue paper and rubbed it over the whole thing with varying pressure. In some spots, I even rubbed enough to let the wood show through.

With the finish figured out, I also super-glued some small wooden drawer pulls to the bottom of my new jewelry tray to elevate it a bit.

Faux Antique Gold Finish - Jewelry Organization-4

It looks even more like an intentional jewelry tray with the feet.

Wood Jewerly Organizer-19

The roughed up look isn’t quite right for my sleek dressing area in the closet, but I’m thinking it might work really well in the bedroom on the dresser after our upcoming makeover. Wherever it ends up, I love having a special place for the special jewelry!

Giving a new item an antique gold finish is easier than you may think!

Now that you’ve seen what I made, check out the items that I purchased and mailed off to Emily from Two Purple Couches.  I can’t wait to see which items she used!

Swap It Items I Sent

Thanks to Charlotte from Ciburbanity for coordinating and hosting this fun event. It’s actually going on all week, so make sure you check out all the participating blogs!

  • About
  • Latest Posts
Melissa George

Melissa George

Editor & Founder at Polished Habitat
Home interior stylist and maker obsessed with organization & office supplies.
Melissa George

Latest posts by Melissa George (see all)

  • Adding an Affordable Smart Thermostat – Lux Kono - 04/10/2018
  • 5 Ways to Use One Small Vase – Fast Friday! - 03/29/2018
  • How to Organize Everything in Your Kitchen - 03/20/2018
« How to Clean Oven Glass {Even When It’s REALLY Dirty}
Uptown Meets Downtown Master Bedroom {ORC Week #1} »

Comments

  1. Christy Little says

    04/05/2016 at 7:22 am

    Great transformation! I need your jewelry organizer to go with my bracelet organizer!

    Reply
  2. [email protected] Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer says

    04/05/2016 at 8:24 am

    I just love the simple elegance of the gold leaf…such a pretty piece now!

    Reply
  3. Bee says

    04/05/2016 at 8:44 am

    So pretty! great job!

    Reply
  4. [email protected] says

    04/05/2016 at 9:11 am

    Melissa, What a great job you did on transforming that simple dish into a chic jewelry organizer. And I can’t wait to see what you do with the other items.
    Shelly

    Reply
  5. Tania // Run to Radiance says

    04/05/2016 at 6:59 pm

    Melissa! That is so cute! And…gold <3 love. Also, that used to be one of my favorite games! Now I'm itching to play again!

    Reply
  6. Jillian says

    04/05/2016 at 7:17 pm

    I thought it was cool and then saw you added the feet! What an unexpected difference the feet made! Such a great project.

    Reply
  7. cassie @ primitive & proper says

    04/05/2016 at 7:32 pm

    that is gorgeous! i love gold leaf and always want to leaf all the things when i use it!

    Reply
  8. Jessica says

    04/05/2016 at 9:16 pm

    Great transformation, I love how you added gold leaf to your mancala board.

    Reply
  9. Karen @ Dogs Don't Eat Pizza says

    04/06/2016 at 7:20 am

    Amazing job! I totally thought it was a deviled egg holder, too! HA! So cool!

    Reply
  10. Kimm at Reinvented & Roadkill Rescue says

    04/06/2016 at 8:56 am

    Oh my goodness, I LOVE that rustic gold finish. You’ve inspired me to find some to add some gold glamour to. Awesome job!

    Reply
  11. Jessica Gourley says

    04/06/2016 at 7:21 pm

    I love that you keep your grandmother’s jewelry separate! I’m a sentimental one, for sure. Also love the game board you sent Emily. Great job on the gold leaf- I have yet to try!

    Reply
  12. Dena says

    04/07/2016 at 6:50 am

    Love that you added feet, perfect touch. Very cute!

    Reply
  13. Charlotte Smith says

    04/09/2016 at 8:37 pm

    It looks so great! I have a love/ hate relationship with gold leaf. Usually I’m a fan, but maaaan- it’s fussy. This looks perfectly gold. 🙂 Secretly I was hoping to see what you concocted with the hilarious acrylic cracker holders. What is THAT about?! Ha! xx

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      04/09/2016 at 9:40 pm

      I totally found the perfect uses for the triangle AND rounded cracker holders! Im using them as is now, and have plans to glam them up a little for permanent use. I’ll let you know when I post them!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome!

Welcome!

Hi all, I’m Melissa! I’m obsessed with home decor, organization, and Gilmore Girls. Most of the projects you'll find here are budget-friendly, but I LOVE the occasional splurge. Join me as I make our home more functional AND pretty, while sharing all my tips and tricks for your own home.

Need to reach me?
Email me at: Melissa @ PolishedHabitat.com

Follow Along

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Affiliate Disclosure

Polished Habitat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Copyright

Please keep in mind that all text and images on this blog are the property of Polished Habitat (formerly A Prudent Life).

Projects are for personal use only.

Photo Use Policy

You are welcome to share 1 image for an online round up or feature if you clearly link back to my post and use nopin code.

You are not permitted to remove watermarks, crop or edit my photos, use my images without credit, print my images, or share more than 1 image online without my written permission.

The 1 image used can NOT be a collage image or any image I have created that includes text. Please email me with any questions about acceptable use! THANK YOU!

Copyright © 2018 · captivating theme by Restored 316