Retro Café Art Gallery: Joanie's Junk Pin and Fun With Gilders Paste Tutorial

Hello everyone! Today I have a tutorial for you that is both project based and technique based. We will be making a lovely pin that will also highlight a fun way to use Gilders Paste. If you've not used Gilders Paste before, you are missing out.

The base for my pin is a Masonite House Shrine Kit. Start by putting the kit together following the instructions. It's very easy and requires just a bit of glue. You can also personalize you pin by adding an initial. I'm using a .5" Masonite J for "Joanie" on my piece.

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Once your House Shrine Kit is assembled, roughly paint the house with some white acrylic paint. You'll want to use a large paint brush and apply the paint on pretty thick. Normally I dislike brush stroke marks, however for this project you will want them. So paint it on thick and let those brush strokes show. You'll see why in a minute!

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Let your paint dry fully, and select your Gilders Paste Colors. I'm using Black, Patina, and Inca Gold. For those of you who are not familiar, Gilders Paste is a wonderful wax based medium that can be applied to metal, painted surfaces, wood, resin, ceramic, wax, and more! It can be layered and mixed to achieve wonderful patinas. What I love most about it, is how it goes on in layers, offering a great deal of control. You can build the layers until you are satisfied, and the metallic colors have a wonderful shimmer! If you want to learn more about Gilders Paste, you can view my other tutorial here.

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Begin by adding some Inca Gold with a Q-Tip. Normally I use a fingertip, however since I was going to apply several different colors, the Q-Tip was a better option. See the wonderful texture appearing on the brush strokes!

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After the Inca Gold dried (about 5 minutes) I added some Patina Gilders Paste.

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Finally, I added Black Gilders Paste, particularly around the edges. The Black really makes the piece pop.
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As you can see, the Gilders Paste adhered to the raised part of the brush strokes, creating wonderful color and texture! Brush strokes can be a good thing.

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You can personalize your piece by adding special things inside. My friend Joanie loves anything old and antique, or "junk" as she calls it. I attached the small pieces to the inside of the house using E6000 and a toothpick. You could also fill your house with resin, including various treasures. I used vintage buttons, rhinestones, gears, a watch face, a tiny key charm, and a small frozen charlotte head. All things that Joanie loves!
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I attached my .5" Masonite J to the front using E6000 (you can also use Gilders Paste directly on the Masonite, however I liked the natural look) and also added a brass gear.
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