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Color Mixing for Kids: St. Patrick’s Day Activity

Color mixing with food coloring is a fun activity for kids and adults

Do you have kids at the age to learn colors and color mixing? Do you need a rainbow activity for St. Patrick’s Day? Do YOU need an activity, using household ingredients, that will teach both colors, color mixing for kids, scientific theory, and potentially cause 4 boys six years and under to pause for more than 10 seconds? You don’t? Good for you for making that life choice that shrinks the human population. For the rest of us breeders read on!

Color Mixing Activity for Children

Mixing color activity for children
Let’s not ask why we have so many pint glasses from so many breweries…

Supplies

Coffee (optional)
Husband (Can I say optional? This post certainly wouldn’t have happened without him)
Kids (Needed unless you just love color)
Way too many pint glasses for adults to own (regular glasses will do)
Liquid Food Coloring*(Yellow, Red, Blue)
Water
Paper Towels*
Post-it Notes* or Scratch Paper

Step 1 The Set-up

Groggily slug down coffee while the kids tuck in breakfast and vaguely note that husband is exclaiming that today we will “Science”. Watch as Adam starts setting out 7 glasses, fills 4 with water, and raise eyebrow as he hands you paper towels.

Joking aside, line up the seven glasses and fill every other one 80%-90% full with water. Since we aren’t doing rocket-surgery (yes, you read that correctly) I think we can combine all the set-up in one step. Fold 6 paper towels lengthwise twice. Set out your droppers of food coloring and call over the kids.

Step one in a color mixing activity for kids
Picture just in case anyone needs help folding paper towels. See optional coffee above if this step is hard to complete.

Step 2 Paint the Town Red

I’m not sure there is anyone in the world who doesn’t like to watch food color mix into water. The kids will love to come watch. In the glasses of water drop 6 drops of red in the first glass, 8 drops of yellow in the next water, 6 drops of blue in the following, and 6 drops of red in the final water glass. Your line up will be: R0Y0B0R

Step 3 Patience and Hypothesis

You are going to take your wicking paper towels and place them from glass to glass as seen in the next photo. Adam could weigh in on why the paper towel needs to be a certain length, as I never read the original info on this activity. Suffice to say it is better if it touches near the bottom of both glasses.

Our small children immediately got ants in their pants because the process takes a bit for the colors to start moving. This is the perfect time to grab some post-it notes and teach kids about having a hypothesis. First, we discussed what they thought might happen. I may have mentioned the words water and cohesion and then realized that was a little nerdy even for my kids. So we decided that maybe the colored water would magically move. IF that happened we took guesses on what color each glass would turn. I stuck the sticky notes down in front of the empty glasses and wrote everyone’s guesses. Found out that no one knew what colors mix to make secondary colors… I have failed my art degree yet again!

Color wicking and mixing in a child friendly activity

Step 4 Free Play

Let the kids go play, use their imaginations, etc. Not very moment needs to be structured with activities! About the time someone is getting annoyed that someone else is smacking them with a lightsaber, ‘borrowing’ their toy car, or knocking down their carefully crafted block tower it will be time to look at the results. Even though they were in plain sight the whole time, the kids were so excited to see that the water had moved and mixed colors. They simply had forgotten to look!

 

Color activity for children
These are not photoshopped! I was so surprised this color mixing activity worked so well.

Side Notes

I found it incredibly interesting that each of them had thought they guessed all the colors correctly. I had to show them their initial guesses on paper… I sense that I may not be the only person who will have to be right in this household.Color mixing with food coloring is a fun activity for kids and adults

Color mixing activities for kids

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How to Gold Leaf Everything

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials

In the previous post we looked out various types of gold leaf, foil, gold paint etc.  Basically a run down of all the different types of methods you can use to gold leaf items.  A lot of those techniques work better with certain materials.  Whaaaa????  Trust me, gold foil is going to look a lot nicer on fabric than spray paint!  Not all methods work with all materials, though, traditional gold leaf is going to be pretty dang versatile and look the closest to, well… gold leaf.  If you are looking for gold leaf by technique check out Part I, otherwise on to the list by material that you are gold leafing:

How to Gold Leaf Anything and Everything Part II

Looking for Part I where we break down tutorials by techniques like traditional leaf, Rub N Buff and much more?  Look no further! PART I

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials

Fabric

While you can use traditional gold leaf on fabric, if you really want a nice, smooth, washable gold then gold foil is the way to go.

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials

Gold Foil, the Right Way to Gold Leaf Fabric Step by step tutorial on how to use Gold Foil to add accents to DIY napkins

3 Fabulous Ways to Use Foils on FabricCecile’s Unique Stitching Blog Highlights three different ways to apply fabric foils

DIY Gold Foil PillowHonest to Nod Using iron on fabric gold foil

Modern Art: Concrete Style – Gold leaf and concrete on  cotton canvas

Food

Sprays, powders, and actual edible leaf exist to decorate your food and give you interior some bling!

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials

Golden Birthday CupcakesBetty Crocker Using edible gold luster dust

Homemade Cotton CandyCooking Books Looks like spun gold, just from sugar!

DIY Gold Feather CupcakesThe Cake Blog Using gold luster dust to make a paint for fondant feathers

Glass/Finished Ceramics

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials
Image via Winthrop Chronicles

While you can use just about any technique for a real resilient finish you are going to want a gold leaf pen or specialty glass paint

Gold Leaf Painted MugsWinthrop Chronicles Using a gold leaf paint for permanent finish

DIY Gold Dot VasesLilikoi Joy Using gold paint pen on glass

DIY Gift Guide: Mother’s Day MugsLauren Conrad Gold leaf been to make washable ceramic mugs

Metal

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials
Image via Honey Sweet Home

Pretty much everything is a go.  Spray paint can come off looking a bit ‘fake’, but can easily be toned down with other techniques.

Goodwill Rocks, Rub ‘n Buff for a Gold Leaf Luster Combo of spray paint and Rub N Buff creates an antique gold finish on a metal candlestick

DIY Brass Etagere – Gold Leafed Ikea Vittsjo Hack!Honey Sweet Home Cons of spray paint and finish with traditional gold leaf

DIY Gold Leaf Flower PotsCrafts Unleashed Rusted metal flower pots get gold leaf arrow accents

Paper

Pretty much everything goes.  This one is really open to all types of techniques from liquid leaf to hot transfer gold foil.

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials
Image Via It’s Always Autumn

Liquid Leaf and Paper Clay Paper based clay can have gold leaf too!

10 Minute Fall Decorating: Gold “Leaf” Wall ArtI Heart Organizing Create a gold leaf out line with Rub N Buff

The New Minc Foil ApplicatorIt’s Always Autumn Heat Transfer foil on paper

Gilded Business CardsCamille Styles Take business cards to a new level with gilded edges

Plastic

Say it don’t spray it…  No wait!  Just spray it.  Getting a good gold spray paint base can give you the ability to add more layers like Rub N Buff to give it a more authentic look

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials
Image via Landeelu

DIY Gold Christmas Decor: Mantel DecorationsLandeelu Make plastic Christmas lights look expensive with gold

Golden Safari Mason JarsGiggling Caravan Plastic animals become fancy jar toppers

Gold Leaf, Glue Gun, & a Dollar Store Plastic Easter EggMagia Mia Plastic Easter Eggs turned into faceted golden eggs

Wood

Wood is the base of paper, which makes it kind of like paper.  Open to all types of applications! Just remember to prime in certain cases so the wood doesn’t suck up gold paints and rubs.

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials
Image via This Heart of Mine

Before & After – Wooden Bowls with Gold Leaf This Heart of Mine Wooden bowls with gold leaf touches

15 minute DIY: Gold Leaf on WoodBeautiful Hello Blog Use and adhesive pen to add gold leaf to rustic board

Gold Dipped Log Candle Holders LifeovereasyEtsy Blog Using gold paint to achieve a shiny mirror metal finish on logs

Miscellaneous

Did you know you can add gold leaf to shoes? feathers? rocks? Read on for some fabulous tutorials on all types of strange materials

Image via Fun at Home With Kids
Image via Fun at Home With Kids

How to Gold Leaf a Lampshade How to use Traditional Gold Leaf Sheets

Gold Leaf FeathersB@H Make gold tipped feathers

Golden Glitter SlimeFun at Home With Kids Not really gold leaf but who doesn’t love some gold slime!

DIY Gold Staples House of Huntley Make fancy gold staples from regular office supplies

Making a Golden Apple Using gold spray paint to make Thanksgiving Decorations

 

 

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How to Gold Leaf Anything

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials

So you want to gold leaf… Fabric? Paper? Plastic?  Not all gold leaf is the same and/or built for the same purpose.  Different materials and different gold leafing techniques render VERY different results.  I have written a number of tutorials on gold leafing, but there are so many other great guides. I wrote this post to be the  source for how to add gold to all of your projects.  I have broken projects down by techniques, such as gold leaf sheets, rub and buff, etc and in my second post I will go over gold leafing different materials such as fabric, wood, etc…  See Part II here

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials

How to Gold Leaf Anything and Everything Part I

Gold Leaf Sheets

This is the traditional method of gold leafing where you use an adhesive, sheets of leaf, and a protective coating.  Not as hard as it sounds!  I promise!How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials

How to Gold Leaf a Lampshade How to use Traditional Gold Leaf Sheets

Gold Leaf Embellished CurtainsThe Gathered Home Gold simple leaf on fabric

How to Make Mercury Glass VotivesHGTV gold and silver leaf used to make mercury glass finish

 

Gold Foil

This method is often used to adhere gold leaf to fabric and sometimes paper for a smoother finish.

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials

Gold Foil, the Right Way to Gold Leaf Fabric Step by step tutorial on how to use Gold Foil

Forget Gold Leaf — Gold Transfer Foil Is the Stuff DIY Dreams Are Made OfBrit + Co Gold foil tote bag

DIY Gold Foil PrintsThe House of Wood Using heat reactive foil on paper

Rub ‘n Buff

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials
Image via Censational Girl

This is a wax based rub that you apply via a small cloth or fingers to a variety of objects

Goodwill Rocks, Rub ‘n Buff for a Gold Leaf Luster Using Rub n’ Buff to give a golden luster to thrift store finds

Gold Leaf versus Rub ‘n Buff City Suburb Sanity The differences between traditional gold leaf and Rub ‘n Buff

French Linen ConsoleCentsational Girl How to dry brush Rub n’ Buff

Gold Paint

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials
Image via Chris Loves Julia

Comes in a variety of spray, enamel, acrylic, etc.  You can brush, sponge, spray, and coat in almost any method you would use a regular paint.

Making a Golden Apple Using gold spray paint to make Thanksgiving Decorations

DIY Gold Leaf PaintThe Creativity Exchange Gold enamel paint on glass

Which Gold Spray Paint is the BestChris Loves Julia Run down of the top 4 gold spray paints

Liquid Leaf

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials
Image via B@H

This is really a specialized paint mixture that has a heavy metallic content.  Beware the smell and use in a well ventilated area.  Stinky stinky!  The look is somewhat closer to traditional gold leaf than a lot of other paints.

Liquid Leaf and PaperClay How to use liquid leaf on a variety of materials and Paperclay seashells

Gold Leaf FeathersB@H Make gold tipped feathers

Gold Gilded Save the DatesWouldn’t It Be Lovely Paper edged in liquid leaf

Gold Leaf Pen

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials
Image via Lauren Conrad

Quick and easy pen that produces a gold paint.  Some pens can be used on ceramics and glass to give a semi-permanent and washable finish.

Entry Table Makeover Calling it Home Using a gold leaf pen to accent a table

DIY Gift Guide: Mother’s Day MugsLauren Conrad Gold leaf been to make washable ceramic mugs

Dress up Plain, Cheap Ballet Flats with This Peacock Feather DIYBabble Updating flats with pen

Edible Gold Leaf

Gold leaf you can eat!  Feel fancy and full.  Comes in spray, sheets, and powders.

How to gold leaf anything and everything. Tutorial on using all types of leaf on variety of materials
Image via Betty Crocker

Gold Leaf Wedding CakeAshlee Marie How to gold leaf an entire cake tier

Golden Birthday CupcakesBetty Crocker Using edible gold luster dust

Gold Covered OreosWe’re Calling Shenanigans Using edible gold spray

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Faux Galvanized Metal Finish

Tutorial on how to faux finish galvanized metal

The exterior of our home has lots of galvanized metal finishes.  Our outdoor lights, conduit porch railings, galvanized accented DIY trellis and planter boxes all have that metal finish.  It was a no-brainer to continue to use the galvanized finish to accent our street numbers on the porch and mailbox.  However, when I started researching modern looking metal numbers, oh holy hell!  The cost!  Even if we bought the most basic metal numbers* off Amazon. We were looking at close to $40.00 for four numbers!  I can not imagine if you have one of those long street numbers and wanted to place it in more than one location. Enter faux galvanized metal finish to the rescue:

Galvanized Metal Finish: Super Easy Faux Finish!

Tutorial on how to faux finish galvanized metal

Materials

  1. Craft Paint*  (Cheap is fine here.  We are painting numbers, not the Sistine Chapel)
    1. Silver*
    2. Black*
    3. White*
  2. Brush*
  3. Wooden Numbers: We used 5″ numbers in a sans serif font (For a modern look). I am just going to tell you now that I can not, in good conscience, give you an affiliate link to wooden numbers.  They are WAY cheaper at a local craft store.  Think $1-$2 per number before the usual 40-50% off coupon.
  4. Finish Nails: For hanging.
  5. Paper towels or an old rag

Step 1: Slap it On

Yep, just paint a layer of straight silver.  The wood is going to soak it up, so you might have to slap a couple of coats on.

First coat of paint to create a galvanized metal faux finish

Step 2: Mix and Match

Mix two different shades of silver, one lighter and one darker.  The easiest way to do this is take a whatever surface you are using to mix paint (cardboard, paper plate, actual palette) and make two small pools of silver paint.  Maybe 1-2″ in diameter.  Then added 2 drops of black in one and 4 drops of white in the other.  Mix and repeat if the colors are not about two shades off from the original.  Always remember paint dries slightly lighter!

Step 3: Pattern Time

I had a chance to look at some pressed galvanized metal containers while I was at the craft store picking up the wooden numbers. You might take a gander at the floral section and see if they have any galvanized metal buckets.  I always find faux finishing easier if I just saw a real life example.  In case you can not find a real life example here is a decent picture from Andrew Beeston of what we are trying to achieve:

Galvanized metal by Andrew Beeston from Flickr

The easiest way to get the angular light and dark patches is to dip your brush and use the flat side to press into the number.  I did the dark first and then went back and did the light color… Or maybe the other way around… It really does not matter except that you want hard edges and overlap, not a wet paint blend.

Second coat of paint to create a galvanized metal faux finish

Step 4: On No!  We don’t have pictures!

Yes, I failed to adequately document this last step, but it is sooooo easy.  Once your layers of paint have dried you can do this final step to soften the paint strokes of step three and give it a bit of a weathered look.  Pour a tiny bit of black paint out and mix it half and half with water.  Quickly brush the black all over the surface of your letter.  DO NOT PANIC, that you have just completely ruined your hard work.  Count to 10 and then wipe the black paint mostly off the surface of the letter.  It should just leave the finest glaze of darkness over the silver paint and knock off a little of the shine.  Remember that galvanized metal is not super shiny!

If, for some reason, the black stuck to much just repeat the above step but with a watery silver.  Remember that in faux finishing you can always just repaint any mistakes!

Completed faux finish for galvanized metal numbers

Step 5: Clean Fresh and Modern

Since the numbers weigh next to nothing we were able to simply use a single nail to affix them to the mailbox and porch.  We choose to orient them in a straight vertical line to give a fresh, modern, vibe.

Replacing old tired numbers with faux metal finished street numbers.

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Modern Art: Concrete Style

Basic Orange Ombre Modern Art

I have a confession, I have never been a huge fan of modern art.  Having studied the theory and history behind a larger portion of 20th century art I have an appreciation for the merits… but the aesthetics… meh, not my thing.  Let me tell you, that was not a popular opinion in art school.  However I have a modern house, with industrial decor.  This has changed my viewpoint.  It takes a lot more work to integrate a classical oil portrait with our furnishings.  In fact, I felt like we needed some modern color in our rather neutral decor instead of some classical portraiture.

If you follow me on Pinterest (you should!) then you would have noted the love affair I am currently having with concrete.   I was reading a post about making a faux concrete counter top using a product called feather finish when I came up with the idea to make some modern art that would incorporate concrete finishes.  Color and concrete say what?!  Adam was confused when I tried to explain, but luckily he was the kind to just go with it.

A few Michael’s coupons and a trip to Home Depot later you have my DIY take on modern art.

Modern Art: Concrete Style

DIY modern art with concrete and gold leaf finishes

Supplies:

Canvases*

Gold Leaf Sheets* or a Gold Leaf Kit* (which includes the sizing and sealer)

Adhesive* (also called Sizing*)

Sealer*

Feather Finish* (HINT: Ardex has partnered with Henry to make a feather finish you can get at Home Depot, but here is my Amazon Affiliate link if you want the real thing shipped to your door)

Paints*

Brush Set*

Step One: Lay it out there

I picked out four pre-stretched canvases (we had some on hand and used a 40% off coupon to grab the others)  I laid them out for the space.  There is a fourth around the corner not shown in the above picture.  It is an awkward space, as the windows are not centered, so I used the two smaller canvases to fill out the area.  After deciding a layout I thought would look good I laid them out on the table in a similar, but closer, fashion.

Step Two: Om Om Om Ombre

I started with a base ombre of 4? colors.  I tend to just add paint mix and repeat so four is just a guess from looking at the finished product.  These particular colors were a base orange mixed with a touch of blue (to darken) and then yellow & white (to lighten).  I wanted a rather choppy look and did not bother to blend wet edges well.  If you want a very smooth ombre pre-mix all your colors so that you can blend in the wet edges.

Basic Orange Ombre Modern Art
You will note the awesome ‘professional’ equipment. Old cardboard box, paper plate, and beer. Also known as liquid crafting juice.  The super awesome layout sketch is that black scribble in the corner.  As you can see I love to fully plan out every brush stroke *sarcasm*

After the ombre was dry I brushed some black in feathery horizontal strokes.  This step is not shown, but really just consists of slapping some black on the canvas and moving it left and right till it feathers out at the edges.  You can practice on a piece of cardboard to figure out how much paint and pressure you need.

Step 3: Concrete Answers

I probably should have planned this step out better but I was just so damn excited to work with a new medium that I went right to mixing up the feather finish.  I followed the directions which were 2 parts mix to 1 part water.  I thought “Hey! Let’s make this easy, 1 cup water to 2 cups feather finish!”  Okay, huge mistake.  I made about 100 times more than I needed and it was quickly too thick to do what I wanted.  Check out the huge amount:

Feather finish by Henry and Ardex
Why yes that is a plastic spoon from a Christmas Party…. And I made this in June… Horde much?

So my suggesting is to just mix it the consistency of pancake batter.  You are using this for decoration not construction strength.  After re-mixing my feather finish I used a very old putty knife/multitool to feather the concrete on in bands that matched the style of the black paint.

Troweling on feather finish to make modern concrete art

Step 4: If You Like It Then You Better Put Some Gold On It

I took a step back and was really feeling the look, but wanted to tie some of the other room finishes into the final piece of art.  In comes the left over gold leaf I had from the lamp shade redo.  I thought it would tie that and the wallpapered bookcase into the open concept dining room.  I laid out the sizing (If you need gold leafing tips you can read more here) in the same pattern as the paint and concrete.  Once it had set I laid on the gold leaf and covered the areas with sealer to keep the leaf from tarnishing later.

Sizing in loose brush strokes to prep for gold leaf
If you wonder about the numbers in the back of the photos, I always figure why do one DIY project at a time when you can do two or three…

All in all, I love the color and texture mix.  It adds visual interest and ties the various spaces together in the first floor of our home.