Christmas baubles with textured paste and gold leaf

Crafting is not only a creative break from everyday life, but also a wonderful way to create personalised decorations. In this tutorial, I'll show you how to create festive tree baubles using leaf metal and structure paste. These sparkling baubles will make your tree an absolute highlight! Let's make your crafting skills shine together!

Step 1: Preparing the papier mâché balls

Firstly, prepare the papier mâché baubles that will form the base of your sparkling tree baubles. Use masking tape to carefully tape the balls where the gold is to be placed.

Step 2: Applying the gold leaf priming milk

Now the gold leaf priming milk comes into play. Use a brush to apply the liquid gold leaf priming milk evenly to the taped balls. Allow the gold leaf priming milk to dry until transparent. This step is important so that the leaf metal adheres well later.

Step 3: Apply the leaf metal

Once the gold leaf priming milk has dried, you can apply the leaf metal to the prepared baubles. Use a soft, dry brush to carefully press on the leaf metal. Make sure you work carefully as the leaf metal is very thin and delicate. Remove any excess with a dry brush.

Step 4: Polishing the spheres

Allow the spheres to harden completely. You can then polish them as desired with a soft polishing cloth or cotton wool. This step gives the baubles a particularly shiny and elegant look.

Step 5: Applying the top coat

Now comes the protective varnish. Coat the baubles with a special coating varnish to protect the leaf metal from external influences. Allow the varnish to dry well again before continuing with the next step.

Step 6: Design with structure paste and concrete colour

Now remove the crêpe paper. For an unusual surface structure, apply structure paste to the balls. Use a spatula or bristle brushes, depending on which effect you prefer. You can then colour the desired spheres with Beton Color. Time to dry: allow the balls to dry well again before working on them further.