Happy DIY Monday!!
Today I am linking to the Dog Days of Winter Make It! Challenge so it was time to try one of those Pinterest crafts I have had pinned forever.
For probably a year, I have had gold elephants pinned (I am pathetically late on getting to this one, I know!! )
Here’s the inspiration:
For more painted animal inspiration or to see the sources of these images check out my Pinterest board.
I just love that you can go to the dollar store and paint a toy of your choosing and have a fun accent piece! Lots of the ones I have seen use spray paint, but I wanted to try liquid gold leaf since I have never used it before.
This stuff has a super strong odor, but I love the finish. A little goes a long way too!
So, we named her “Priscilla the Elephant”. I think she looks like a Priscilla…
I love this liquid gold leaf! Now I want to find other things to use it on!
Have a great Monday!!
Follow Bliss at Home:
I am linking up to:
http://www.ourfifthhouse.com/2013/01/the-pin-it-make-it-link-party.html
http://www.thisthatandlife.com/2013/06/bling-it-out-link-party-link-your-gold/
Love the gold elephant!! I’ll about painting some toy animals. I did something like this for place settings and it was so fun. Also…love the Shaunti Feldhan book! She lives here in Atlanta and since I work at the Christian radio station, I got to meet her a couple years ago. Such an awesome lady. Great job, Kristin! <3 Heidi Rew from PartiesforPennies.com
That’s cool you know her, Heidi. We used her book in part of a bible study I was in. xo Kristin
I really like the look of your elephant, I have been playing with animals too! I created toys for my son too using dinosaurs and wanted to do something pretty for myself! Nice project!
I have dinos pinned on my board for the boys too
Great minds…xo Kristin
I love the elephant! Looks great Kristin.
Thanks, Julia! xo Kristin
Adorable! And very encouraging that it’s so easy
Super easy! xo Kristin
Lovely! I have a wooden elephant that needs some retouching. This is such a good idea!! Going to get some liquid gold leaf…
I really like the finish it leaves. Very metallic! xo Kristin
I wrote about this too!! If you use gold spray paint, it’s much faster and less smelly haha
Yeah, I am a spray paint junkie too
Unfortunately, where I live we have had below freezing temps. I spray paint outdoors or in my garage and it was just a no-go in winter months. I needed something I could work with indoors. xo Kristin
Warning. With this product you need excellent ventilation, And do not let it touch your skin. If you read the product label, there are dangerous chemicals in it and warnings.
I’ve used the silver and gold. Now I’m going to use cooper. I absolutely love it. I’m afraid I’m going to end up with a totally blingy house.
Glad you shared this, Anne. I didn’t go into detail about the product, I guess sometimes I just assume that people would read the label before using a new product for the first time. Thanks for pointing it out
xo Kristin
I love this! I’ve seen lotsa painted animals but I really love the wrinkly detail of the elephant’s skin on this one and the gold leaf paint doesn’t make it look heavy. I love gold paint and am gonna need to try some of that one at some point!
I really liked the detail too, Jennifer. It’s amazing that it looks like I hardly used any of the liquid leaf from that tiny bottle too! xo Kristin
I love this idea too and have pinned it and wanted to try it at some point. Great tip on the liquid gold leaf. The finish is stunning!!
Thanks, Kayla! I love the finish too! xo Kristin
The elephant turned out so pretty! Would never know it was a dollar store toy! Cute idea and inspiration.
Thanks! Isn’t it great when something is inexpensive and easy to do! To me those are the best kinds of projects! xo Kristin
I LOVE it! So adorable. There’s something so chic about elephants. Someone gave me a book of crafts as a gift and one of the crafts was a doll head painted in gold leaf. Creepy but made me want to paint something fun.
Oh, that’s funny! Creepy, but funny! Gold is gaining so much popularity again in interiors and I love it when people mix it with other metals. xo Kristin
So simple yet super effective and like yous said, you could duplicate this so many ways. I like the gold leaf rather spray paint..it just has such a glamorous look to it. Does it look as nice in person as it does in the photos?
It does
I am so impressed with liquid leaf. This was my first time using it so I wasn’t sure what I was going to end up with. Very happy with the results! xo Kristin
That looks great! I bought some liquid gold leaf a couple months ago, but I haven’t tried it out. You are really making me want to bust it out!
I started a board on Pinterest of things I want to gold leaf now. That stuff is amazing! xo Kristin
Thats so funny, I just spray painted a little plastic elephant for my bookshelf this weekend! I kinda took the easy way out using spray paint instead of gold leaf though! hahaha I’ve been seeing so many cute elephant things lately, if I were having a boy I would for sure do an elephant nursery for him.
Ha! Too funny! Yeah, I think we are going to see a lot of elephant, gold, and chinoiserie decor
That would be so sweet for a little boy’s nursery! xo Kristin
This makes me think of all the brass animals my mom had when I was growing up. I have been trying to find some in antique stores but they seem to have disappeared! Might have to try my hand at making my own. I love your blue willow bowl for your bracelets. So classic!
That is so true, Katie. The only brass animals I have found are a pair of little birds. I found them at Goodwill, but it is hard to find them. I love blue willow. I just started collecting it over the summer. Blue and white china never goes out of style
xo Kristin
K! You just get more Hollywood regal glam and I love it! A lot of people think gold can be outdated, but no, when used in moderation, they make great statement peices! Hugs!
Oh, I love it! What a great point of view! xo K
So cute! I have a mini elephant obsession (and gold obsession), so I don’t know how I haven’t thought of this myself! Great idea! xo
So glad you like it! xo Kristin
super-cute and easy! i want to paint some old plastic horse figurines and make them into book-ends
That’s a great idea. Equestrian interiors are gaining popularity again. That will look really cool! xo Kristin
I have always loved horses, so any way I can incorporate them is a plus
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