DIY Gilded Insect Faux Taxidermy.

You Will Need:

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• Wooden plaques – various sizes/shapes, totally up to you!
  • I used: a 10?x7? oval, a 7?x5? oval, and a 7? diameter round plaque.
• Fine grit sandpaper
• Large plastic insects – these are the exact ones I used
• Paint color of your choice – I used some leftover paint I had, Clark+Kensington “Black Chiffon”
• Liquid gold leaf – Heads up, you will need mineral spirits to clean your brush afterwards
• Spray Sealer – I used Rustoleum clear lacquer spray
• Hot glue gun
• Command hanging strips

Step One

Lightly sand the wooden plaques and paint them with your chosen paint color. Allow to dry.

Step Two

Apply the liquid gold leaf to the plastic insects and allow to dry. Warning: don’t apply any liquid gold leaf to the bottom of the insects, or the hot glue won’t hold. Seriously, these gilded insects are pretty sweet decorative objects on their own. You could always just call it a day right here and scatter them throughout your home – I know I was tempted! NOTE: Sometimes, the solvents in certain kinds of paint don’t react well to a plastic base, so you might need to seal your gold-leafed bugs with a clear coat. I used a can of spray lacquer I had in the garage and gave my bugs a good coating to seal them.

Step Three

Hot glue the gilded insects to the wooden plaques. Attach command strips to the backs of the plaques and hang! Seriously, this was such a quick and easy project – I spent the most time just waiting for the paint to dry!