DIY Gold Leaf Trays for Jewelry & More
This simple DIY uses gold leaf to take plain white trays from simple to glam. These geometric gold leaf trays can be used to store jewelry, or other odds and ends.
For this quick and easy project, you will need:
- simple white trays
- gold leaf (or gold leaf kit)
- gold leaf adhesive
- spray sealer or brush on sealer
- painters tape
- small paintbrush
First, thoroughly clean your trays, removing all dust, lint, or price tag residue.
Next, tape out your patterns on the trays. Use the suggested patterns below or create your own. Be sure to seal the edges of the tape very well with your finger. This is important in order to create clean and straight lines.
Apply the adhesive gold leaf adhesive or size (the technical name for gold leaf adhesive is size) on the areas you want to be gold. There’s a curing time until the adhesive size gets tacky, so wait it out or the gold leaf won’t adhere correctly.
Next, carefully apply the gold leaf to the areas of your tray that you’ve covered with adhesive. Gently smooth down the gold leaf with a soft cloth or clean paintbrush. You can use any of the excess gold leaf that falls off to apply to the next spot.
Let your trays dry, according to the directions on the gold leaf package, or overnight.
When the gold leaf is cured, carefully remove the painters tape. Then, apply gold leaf sealer to protect the trays and to keep the gold leaf from flaking off.
Let the sealer dry thoroughly.
Please note, gold leaf is not food safe. Please don’t use the trays for anything other than holding jewelry or other odds and ends.
These gold geometric trays aren’t just for jewelry. They would also look chic on a desk as they’re the perfect size for holding paper clips, post-it notes, bills or other small office supplies.
A larger tray would be perfect at the front door for catching keys and mail.
For more photos of the trays and a more detailed tutorial, please check out our blog post here.
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Join the conversation
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Deanna Perata on Aug 27, 2019
so what did you use to get the lines in the gold leaf..your project is beautiful :-)
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A Life Adjacent on Aug 27, 2019
The trays had a slight etched pattern that was made more noticeable by the gold leaf. And thank you so much!
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Deanna Perata on Aug 29, 2019
Ah...well it looks amazing!! good job.
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A Life Adjacent on Sep 21, 2019
Thank you!
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
I love this look! I was wondering, to make it more food-safe, could you do basically the same thing using gold paint instead of the gold leaf? I know it wouldn't have those pretty lines/textures in it, but it would still look fancy, I think?
Where did you get the trays?