Faux Metal Wall Art From Aluminum Pans
How do you go from this...
to this?
So, I decided that the picture above my sofa was too small and needed something to fill in the large space. While out shopping I came across the most beautiful metal wall sculpture of lotus leaves which were out of my budget. (I don't have a photo of it but trust me it was gorgeous.) I came home and found this photo on the internet that got me to thinking.
"I can make that." I had some aluminum carry out pans I purchased from the Dollar Tree because I'm on the Food Ministry team at our church.
1. I gathered up all my tools/supplies. Folkart paint in Black and Metallic Antique Copper,
a ruler, boning tool or credit card, scissors, small paint brush, cap from a RX bottle (to make a circle) and a crochet hook.
(I forgot to put my aluminum pans in the photo.)
2. I made slits all around the lip of the pan which made it easier to cut out the center.
3. I used my boning tool (or you can use a credit card) to 'burnish' or smooth out the embossed ridges that came on the aluminum pan. You need to do this on a flat surface. ( I worked on my kitchen bar as you can see my dish liquid, etc in the photo.) It was surprisingly easy to to smooth the embossing out. I was surprised at how just cutting off the sides of the pan made the pan less rigid. Kind of like extreme heavy duty aluminum foil.
4. Next I used a bottle cap to draw the center circle. I used my crochet hook as my pen. This embosses the aluminum.
5. Then I 'freehanded' a small circle inside that circle. I used a ruler to make straight lines inside the circle. These lines will be used as the starting point for the leaf veins. I wasn't too concerned with the placement of the lines, I just tried to space them out at equal intervals.
(Sorry for the blurry photo but you can see the 2 circles.)
6. Now to add the veins. Using my crochet hook, I drew (not using a ruler) from one of the straight lines straight up to the edge of the flower. About half way down the line, I added 2 lines on the side. (Kind've like a jagged pitchfork.) You can see in the photo these lines don't have to be perfect. They need to be wavy to look more natural. From those lines, I free handed more veins to both sides and offset from each other.
7. After all my veins were drawn, I placed the bottle cap back on the aluminum and gently fluted the edges. This reminded me of fluting a pie crust. It only needed a few scallops to make it look like a real lotus leaf.
( I forgot to make a photo after I finished scalloping the edges.)
8. Now to paint. I guess you might ask, "Why paint after you scallop the edges?" Since this was the first time I ever tried to paint on aluminum, I wasn't sure if the paint would adhere and I thought it might 'chip off' if I bent it. But I have to say that the Folkart paint adhered great. So, it turns out, I could've applied the paint first. Live and learn. I used the Folkart Metallic Antique Copper and applied it pretty thin to let the silver show through. But I didn't really like that look so I painted it on thicker but just one coat did the job. Since I'm impatient when it comes to wating on paint to dry, I pulled out the old hair dryer and blew the paint dry, using the lowest setting. It dried really quickly as the aluminum heats up and 'bakes' the paint on.
9. To bring out the veining, I diluted Folkart black paint with water and used it to 'antique' over the copper. It was pretty thin and I had to keep brushing to keep the paint from running to the middle. Then, I brought out the old hairdryer again.
10. And here's the finished 'faux' metal, aluminum pan, lotus leaf. Now to make 5 more. You can use these any way you'd like but ...
(That's the bottle cap in front to hold up the leaf.)
I found these black iron plant holders at Old Time Pottery for $2.99 ea and spray painted them with Rustoleum, Satin Espresso. (Sorry, I didn't make a photo after I painted them but they match the decor better.)
I hot glued wire to the lotus leafs and then wired the leaves onto an artificial branch I had in my artificial flower stash. I also had a couple of palm leaves in my stash and I wired them onto the wire plant holders first then wired my lotus leaves on top of that. Ta Da!
No, it's not the metal version I saw at the department store for $80 ea, but for 2- $1.00 Dollar Tree aluminum pans (3 pack) , 2- $2.99 ea metal plant holders and a $3.97 can of Rustoleum spray paint, a grand total of $12.00 plus tax, I'm pleased. I already had the paint on hand but it would only be about a couple of dollars more if you had to purchase the paint.
