I thought I'd practise on broken vintage roe deer antlers that had been in my stash for a while.

I fixed some masking tape to the inside of the skull to act as support to the polyester filler paste I used to make the repair (you can get this from any car maintenance outlet such as Halfords). Once dry, I smoothed it down with sandpaper. 

I applied gold size with a brush (I use Polyvine) and let it become tacky (about 15 mins) before applying gold metal leaf to the bone. I did not apply gesso beforehand as I did not want a smooth surface. I wanted to retain every detail of the bone texture. 

I went for black wax on the antlers to give them the depth and shine to match the gold but still keep them natural. 

I covered a display shield with black snakeskin fabric using fabric glue and staples. 

I love these and will be showing how they look on my wall as soon as the photos of the living room are ready... It's getting there. And I have been working on ideas for a collection, so I'll be stocking up the shop with a few of these soon...