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02 July 2023

Faux Gold Leaf

Hi everyone!

Gold leaf is used in so many crafts from artwork to furniture. It gives any piece a golden glow and elicits the reaction, "Wow, that's expensive!" Gold leaf comes in thin sheets and is applied on objects with adhesive and a paintbrush.

In the spirit of transforming the "blah" to "TADA!" let's play with faux gold leaf.

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In a previous post, I wrote about making my own illuminated bookmark using a Gothic-style font and gilding it with gold leaf. Except that I didn't use gold leaf. I used gold-foil chocolate wrapper.

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The foil used to wrap chocolates. Yes, that's the one.

I cleaned it with a damp towel and allowed it to dry. I also weighed it down with a few heavy books to flatten it. It will have creases but that's okay.

I got so excited over this material! It came free with my chocolate and the sheen definitely adds life to my crafts. 

Here are a few more ways where I used this faux gold leaf:

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I used faux gold leaf to embellish a plain greeting card...TADA! I added other elements, too, like stickers, sequins, punched-out paper, and glitter glue.

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I really like the gold sheen it gives to the card.

Heidi Swapp notecards, gold leaf, faux gold leaf, recycling gold-foil chocolate wrapper, paper crafts, handmade cards, handmade envelopes, blah to TADA, crafts

Here is another card that I made. I decorated it with punched-out paper, washi tape, rubber stamps and an ink pad, plus a strip of the faux gold leaf.

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I think the faux gold leaf bring some "you are extra-special" vibes to the card.

French Broad Chocolates, chocolate packaging, gold leaf, faux gold leaf, recycling gold-foil chocolate wrapper, paper crafts, handmade cards, handmade envelopes, blah to TADA, crafts

This envelope was once packaging for a delicious bar of chocolate. It was printed on heavy, textured paper and had gold details, I just had to keep it for crafting purposes.

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I covered up the branding with paint and turned it into an envelope...TADA!

French Broad Chocolates, chocolate packaging, gold leaf, faux gold leaf, recycling gold-foil chocolate wrapper, paper crafts, handmade cards, handmade envelopes, blah to TADA, crafts

As additional embellishments, I added faux gold leaf, old book pages, and punched out paper in collage-style application. 

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Here is the back-side of the envelope...TADA!

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I can fill it with little cards and personalize it with a dear friend's name.

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And there you have it -- handmade cards decorated with faux gold leaf. That's how I turned plain paper from blah to TADA!

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