Easy DIY Faux Aged Gold Leaves

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easy painted gold faux leaves in a bouquet in a blue and white pitcher

I’m not a big fan of faux florals and greenery, as they always look a little fake to me. It’s like a PVC picket fence: you can always tell that it’s not wood. So when I do use faux branches, I like to go for ones that look like they’re supposed to be fake- particularly in metallic shades!

So, when I pulled out my fall decorations a couple of weeks ago, I realized there was a project I had forgotten to do earlier in the summer: painting some faux oak leaves. Fortunately we still have plenty of warm days left, and this project only took about 20 minutes. If you’d like to make some yourself, here’s how!

supplies for painting the leaves

You will need some faux leaves in a shape you like. These are some my mom bought from a dollar store nearly 20 years ago. She got her money’s worth! The colours were a bit too bright for me though, so a little makeover was in order.

You’ll need gold (or other metallic) paint. I happened to have some Krylon spray paint in the colour “Bright Gold”, but you could also use a paintbrush and gold acrylic or enamel paint. I also used some Rust-Oleum spray paint in satin black for the “tarnishing”.

First step, spray a light coat of gold paint onto the leaves. Make sure you’re wearing gloves! Do this step in light coats, I always spray too heavy and then end up with drips.

one layer of gold paint on the leaves

Once the leaves are gold and the paint has dried it’s time for the black paint.

tarnishing the leaves with black paint

Spray a very light mist of black to give the gold a more dimensional look, rather than all-over gold. Then, half-depress the spray nozzle so the paint sputters to create tiny splotches on the leaves. This will make it look more like tarnished, aged spots in the gold. Yes, sputtering the paint will create a mess on the top of the spray can, so decide whether it’s worth it!

faux leaves hanging in a real oak tree

Then, hang the leaves to dry, preferably in a nearby oak tree if you’ve got one. Spray paint is quite stinky, so I ended up hanging them in the utility room overnight until the paint smell was completely evaporated.

antiqued gold painted leaves

Then, it’s time to bring them in and finish your Fall decorating!

gold leaves in vases on display shelf with books and china