How to Make Gold Leaf Ornaments
I have wanted to make these gold leaf ornaments for some time now, but time was getting away from me, so today was the day!
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Get ready to have some fun with this month’s Handcrafted Society challenge! Our theme is all about glitter and gold, and we’re bringing you creative DIY projects that will add a little sparkle to your holiday decor.
I’m always blown away by the talent in our group, and this month’s projects are truly inspiring. So join us as we share our ideas and, hopefully, spark a little DIY magic for you!
Why You’ll Love These Gold Foil Ornaments
This year, why not add a little sparkle to your holiday decor with gold leaf ornaments? These beautiful DIY decorations add a warm and a touch of elegance to any space in your home.
Plus, they’re surprisingly simple to make!
So grab your supplies and get ready to make your own gorgeous gold leaf ornaments that will make your holiday decor shine!
Materials Needed to Make Gold Leaf Christmas Ornaments
*Important Note: Be sure to use glass ornaments for this project—acrylic won’t work well with the gold leaf.
How To Make Gold Leaf Christmas Ornaments
This quick and easy craft is perfect for a weekend project! In just a few steps, you’ll have beautiful, custom gold leaf ornaments that look just as good—if not better—than the expensive ones in stores.
Best of all, you’ll make them for a fraction of the price, adding a personal touch to your holiday decor without breaking the bank.
Step 1: Paint Your Ornament Tops
If your ornaments come with silver tops and you’d like them to match the gold leaf, you can spray-paint them gold for a cohesive look. This step is optional, but I think it adds an extra touch of polish!
To do this carefully remove the tops from each glass ornament. Then place them on a tarp or a drop cloth in a well-ventilated area.
Spray paint the tops gold, adding additional coats as needed for full coverage. Then, once they’re completely dry, set them aside for later.
Step 2: Add White Acrylic Paint
Next, squirt some white acrylic paint into each glass ball. Gently shake and swirl the ornament until the paint evenly coats the entire inside.
This step creates a beautiful, opaque backdrop that makes the gold leaf stand out even more!
If needed, add a bit more paint and keep swirling until every part of the glass is covered.
Step 3: Let the Paint Drain and Dry
Once finished, turn each ornament upside down over on plastic cup to let any excess paint drain out.
This will also help the paint dry faster, leaving you with a smooth, even layer on the inside. Let the ornaments sit for a few hours or overnight to fully dry before moving on to the next step.
Step 4: Add the Gold Leaf Adhesive to Your Ornaments
Once the paint is fully dry, put the ornament back onto the plastic cup and paint on the gold leafing adhesive with a brush. Be careful to only put the glue where you want the gold leafing to adhere to the ornament.
Let the adhesive site for around 20-30 minutes until it is tacky to the touch.
Step 5: Place a Sheet of Gold Leaf on Your Ornaments
Once the adhesive is tacky, remove one sheet of the gold leave ( keeping the backing paper on ), place it over the ornament, rub it lightly, and then remove the backing paper.
When you doe applying the gold leaf sheeting, your ornaments should look like the one in the picture above.
Step 6: Remove Loose Gold Leaf from Your Ornaments
After the gold leave is applied to each of your ornaments, use a dry inexpensive chip brush to burnish the gold foil and remove any loose pieces.
Place a plate or protective covering under your workspace to catch any excess gold leaf that flakes off. This makes cleanup easy and helps keep your workspace tidy.
Step 7: Tie on Some Ribbon
To finish your gold leaf ornaments, tie a piece of gold ribbon to the top and hang it on the tree.
These handmade ornaments will look amazing and bring a cozy, festive feel to your holiday decorations!
Other Ways to Display Your Gold Leaf Ornaments
Your gold leaf ornaments can be displayed in more ways than just hanging them on your Christmas tree!
Try displaying them in a dough bowl or small basket on your coffee table and add a few spring of greenery for a cozy, festive look. Or, you can use them to create a charming holiday vignette in your kitchen.
For a unique gift idea, you can also get creative with gift wrapping by attaching an ornament to the top of a wrapped present. It’s a thoughtful, handmade touch that family and friends will love!
Other Christmas Crafts from WM Design House
If you love these DIY gold leaf ornaments, you might enjoy these Christmas crafts
DIY Air Dry Clay Gingerbread Ornaments
How to Make a Merry Christmas Banner
13 DIY Dried Orange Ornaments
How to Make Mushroom Ornaments
Wrapping Up
And there you have it—beautiful, budget-friendly gold leaf ornaments that are easy to make and perfect for adding a little sparkle to your holiday decor! I hope you enjoyed this DIY as much as I did.
Don’t forget to check out what all my friends in the Handcrafted Society created this month; they’ve come up with some amazing projects around the glitter and gold theme.
Happy crafting, and happy holidays!
Did you make this craft?
We would love to see what you have created, so mention us @wmdesignhouse or tag us using #wmdesignhouse so we can see your creations!
More about me!
Hello, I’m Wendy – a dedicated homemaker with a deep passion for decorating, gardening, cooking, and crafting. I find joy in harmonizing beautiful elements to fashion a space that is both comfortable and inspiring. I will help you create a beautiful home, one project at a time.
Wendy – These are so classy and relatively easy to make! I love how you used them to adorn packages. Thanks for another great tutorial. Pinned!
Simply beautiful. I’ve never used gold leaf, I may need to add this to my holiday to-do list.
As gorgeous as always! Way to go my friend! These are a huge winner in my book!
Wendy, I’m happy to say I have everything I need to make these beautiful ornaments I just need to jump in and do it! Love the gold with the white paint interior! So striking!
These ornaments are so pretty, Wendy! I love the elegant mix of the white and gold leaf too. It’s such a beautiful contrast. I’ve never worked with gold leaf before but you guys have definitely inspired me to give it a try. Sending you hugs and thank yous for putting these hops together, CoCo
These are gorgeous Wendy! I adore how you painted the inside white, it makes the gold leaf stand out beautifully! Thanks for the suggestions on other ways to use them!! Pinning now!
Beautiful elegant ornaments for the tree!
LOVE them, Wendy!! Super elegant and chic for any color scheme or Christmas theme. Pinned!
These are such elegant ornaments, Wendy. And they would be beautiful in so many different color schemes. Thanks for the great tutorial!
You have amazing DIYs. I’m new to this but do you have printable versions of your DIYs. There are so many ads interfering with the content it’s very difficult to read.
Thank you Chris
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Hi Chris, I apologize for all of the ads. I know they make it very difficult to read the post at times. Unfortunately, that is how we bloggers make our money, so we are forced to live with them. However, I am going to move some of them around so it is easier to read the directions. I have another idea up my sleeve.
In most of my DIYs, there is a “HOW TO CARD” that you can print out. Let me know if you are not able to find it so I can help you. Is there a particular project you want directions for?