Aged Copper Chargers

On Friday, I shared some pretty watercolor place cards for your Thanksgiving table if you missed that click here. This is the place setting I styled with them:

I promised I’d share how to make the aged copper chargers today. This is a fun and easy DIY and you have time to make them before your company arrives. I promise.

It didn’t take me long and you may be surprised how the chargers looked “before”:

I found the gold chargers from the Dollar Tree. How could I resist a dollar a piece, right? I wasn’t digging the gold color and wanted something with a bit more patina. I thought these would be a perfect candidate for a technique I learned at the General Finishes Expo in Lisa Zuelke’s class. General Finishes sent me some supplies to try this out at home.

I’m excited to share the how to with you!

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Materials

• Chargers (I used Dollar Tree ones but you could use wood as well)
• Foam Brushes
• General Finishes Lamp Black
• General Finishes Copper Pearl
• General Finishes High Performance Top Coat in Satin
• General Finishes Pitch Black Glaze
• Cheese Cloth
• General Finishes Extender
• Some water
• Chip Brush or Brush with Synthetic Bristles

Step 1  – Coat plates with Lamp Black, 2 coats, allowing to dry in between coats.

Step 2  – Once dry, apply a layer of the high performance top coat. This acts as a barrier between your first layer of paint and the pearl effects.

Step 3 – Apply the copper pearl effects with a chip brush or synthetic bristle brush. You want to load your brush with the pearl effects and use a pouncing motion with the bristles of the brush. This creates the texture you want for this techniques. You will notice that the paint will separate a bit but that’s okay. Don’t worry. Allow to dry. I let mine dry overnight but you can speed up dry time with a hair dryer.

The copper pearl is wet in this photo:

Step 4 – Mix some Pitch Black Glaze and some General Finishes Extender. The extender increases the dry time so the glaze is easier to work with. This is a tip I learned at the conference. Apply liberally with a foam brush. Then take your cheesecloth and wipe back. I added a little water to my cheesecloth and sponged in areas to remove any lines.

The glaze is still wet in the above photo.

Step 5 – Once the glaze is dry, apply more of the high performance top coat (used above) to seal and protect your chargers.

It was amazing to see these cheap dollar chargers transformed for our Thanksgiving table. I think I might use them for Christmas too.

They add such a rich texture to our table. This would also be cool on a stove hood, pots for plants or a holder for your Christmas tree.

I really love creating faux finishes with paint! If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy my eBook: On The Tip of my Paint Brush: Painted Furniture Techniques. I share techniques and faux finishes in this fully illustrated book; perfect for the beginner or advanced painter.

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