Creepy Crackled and Foiled Skulls

I had a lot of fun making these creepy crackly skulls for my mantle. They are so easy to do and look like they took a lot more work than they actually did. 

Supplies Needed: 

• Ceramic Skull ( Mine was from Oriental Trading Company)
• Black Acrylic Paint ( I used Craft Smart from Michaels)
• Gold Acrylic Paint ( I used Martha Stewart Yellow Gold Metallic) 
• White Glue ( I love back to school supply shopping for this craft staple)
• Gold Leaf ( I used Simple Leaf by Mona Lisa available where fine art supplies are sold)  

Paint your skull gold ( or whatever base color you've chosen. 

When your skulls are dry, paint a coat of white glue over them. . 

When glue is still tacky but not dry ( temp and humidity make this hard to time so just keep an eye on things) paint over with the gold paint. Watch the crackle magic happen. You can hasten the effect with a blow dryer but the longer the paints cure, the more crackling you'll see. 

Optional: Improvise words to Rolling Stones "Paint it Black" and sing while you paint ie "I see a gold skull and I want it painted black" .  Or not :)

Metal leafing intimidates a lot of people but it shouldn't. It's easy ( messy at times!) but the effect is so worth it.  Follow the instructions on the leafing package. I usually use the leaf sizing glue but I was out. Mod Podge to the rescue. Just dabbed it on randomly where I want the leafing , applied the leafing by laying it over the glue and using pressing down w/ my fingers. I used a dry paint brush to brush away the excess and went on to the next spot. 

And Voila

After I was done I used some of the scrap leafing to highlight raised portions of the skull like the teeth, eye sockets etc. 

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