How to Create DIY Faux (Fake) Vintage Brass

I have been working on a project with some vintage brass, and I realized I really wanted some eggs – but no such luck.

So, I decided to DIY a faux vintage brass look and share how I did it with you.

DIY-Faux-Brass-Tutorial

I remember in college taking a marketing class talking about “early adopters” – they are the people who stand in line at the Apple Store the night new technology comes out. Or, they start wearing a fashion trend long before I understand what it is all about.

I am not an early adopter.

I was slow to switch from gold jewelry to silver. And now I am struggling with switching back to gold.

But when I started to see vintage brass making its way back into decor, I warmed up pretty quickly.

I am working on a tablescape for Easter, and as I said, I needed some brass eggs. So I decided to make some. And it was super easy.

This is what I used:

-Raw Wooden Egg (with a tack in the bottom to hold it during painting)

- Inexpensive black ink

- Liquid Gold leaf paint

- Martha Stewart gold metallic paint.

Step 1 – I painted the wooden egg with the liquid gold leaf paint.

Step 2 – I then rolled the egg (the gold leaf dries quickly) in the ink while the gold paint is slightly damp. Using a dry brush to blend and “smoosh” it in. If you are painting something that can't be rolled, use a dry brush to brush on the ink.

Step 3 – Using the brush from the gold paint, I added a little more back in where the black got too heavy.

Step 4 – Then, using a foam brush, I dabbed on the gold metallic paint to brighten it a little bit.

Step 5– Using the dry brush from the ink, I blended it all together.

The reality is vintage brass ends up in a whole lot of different colors, so this technique works well as an “in-between” tone without being too “gold”.

I also tried the technique on a wooden number five and on this one I let it go a little bit darker and more “vintage” with darker areas.