This jewelry tutorial will show you how to make a gold leaf cat bracelet.  I love pretty much anything with cats, and things that glitter, so why not combine the two? 

Materials

• plastic cats (or other creatures) - from the dollar store.  also makes great jewelry: horses, dinosaurs, wild animals
• gold leaf kit (adhesive, sealer and gold leaf)
• wire (get a metal wire, not craft wire)
• jewelry materials: chain, jumprings and a clasp
• tools: wire cutters and round pliers

First, gather your materials and pick out your 5 favorite cats.

To make the wire loops around the cats, cut a piece of wire about 2.5” to 3” long.  Wrap it around the cats middle, leaving a longer end sticking straight up, and then wrap a slightly shorter end around the longer wire a few times.  Use your pliers, or your hands if the wire is bendable enough.

 

Next, cut the shorter wire very close. Then take the longer wire and bend it at a 90 degree angle from the base.

 

To finish making the loop, put your round pliers just above the 90 degree bend, twist your wrist to form the loop, then with your other hand wrap the end of the wire around the base a few times.  Then cut the longer wire close.  Secure the ends so they aren’t sticking out and sharp.

 

Give your cats a good coat of gold paint.  (At some point your gold leaf is going to get flaky, so this is to minimize the amount of color that peeks through your gold leaf.) Let them dry.  Cats hate to be wet.

To apply the gold leaf, first apply a coat of the adhesive from your gold leaf kit with a paintbrush.  Wash your paintbrush out with soap immediately afterwards; this stuff is sticky! Your cats will be milky white at first, but let them dry for 60 minutes, until clear.

Then, apply the gold leaf in small patches, gently patting it on with a dry paint brush. Try not to get glue in your brush because things will take a turn for the terrible. Get all up in those cracks.  

Apply a coat of sealer, from your kit.  Let your kittens dry (about 15 minutes).

Now for the jewelry part.  Cut the chain the length around your wrist (about 7 or so inches).  Attach a jumpring at one end and a clasp at the other.  Then add your cats to the chain with jumprings, evenly spaced.  Wear your cat arm party somewhere glamorous.