DIY: Aging Galvanized Metal With Craft Paint

by Jeanette @SnazzyLittleThings.com

This holiday season, I focused on decorating for "winter" so that I didn't have to drag all out all of the bins filled with my traditional holiday decor. I came across this galvanized metal pail online, and I initially planned to use it as a centerpiece. But once it arrived I realized it was a tad too shiny for my taste and it could use a little tarnish, but I wanted to age galvanized metal quickly. Here is how I did it.

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Materials: Martha Stewart Metallic Craft Paint in "Gunmetal". I was impatient and ended up painting over my kitchen sink. (What, doesn't everyone do crafts while standing at their kitchen sink?) :)

An artist brush to spread the paint. Then I used a wet sea sponge to "sponge off" the paint.

Originally I was planning to use a second color for the patina - but I stopped myself once I saw the effect.

My "winter decor" includes cable knits, paperwhites, and aged metal patinas. Maybe even some mercury glass thrown in. Plaids are also popular this year...

Here is what the original image looked like on Amazon. And when it arrived, it simply looked too shiny and new for my taste! Anything beat up and rusty is much more my style.