Final Franken Gone Wrong Update...

I attempted to make a gold leaf franken about two months ago, which didn't quite turn out as planned. Some of you have asked for an update on the franken and I appreciate your curiosity as I share it as well. In case there are others who are silently curious, I figured I'd do a final update. So what does this photo of a paperweight have to do with the franken? Take a good look at it and then keep reading. Tell me if you spot any similarities...

Although I did manage to swatch this franken once when it was fresh and just a few days after being made, it became thicker and thicker as days went by. These first two collages are about two weeks (3/31) after it was made. The gold leaf still firmly compacted at the bottom and tiny bubbles fighting their way to the top trough the thick goo. When I flipped the bottle over, I could watch larger bubbles slowly work their way up. The smaller bubbles (among the gold leaf) were still stuck heading towards the bottle cap, not having enough strength to turn around and actually go up...

It was truly a goopy gelatinous mess, but as you can see I had fun with it...

The photo on the left of this collage was taken about a month after making it (4/17) and the photo on the right was taken just a few days ago (5/5). I'm pretty sure those are still the same bubbles working their way up over the span of two weeks. It is no longer gelatinous goop. Pulling out the brush leaves a trail in the gelatin and the brush comes out relatively clean. Nothing is moving and everything is frozen in the gelatin. Remind you of the paperweight yet? It is just about as useful...

When I first showed you my franken a few months back, lots of you mentioned that it could be due to the fact that the gold leaf was not pure and contained a lot of brass. I turned to ebay to find "real" gold leaf and purchased a little baggie of it from someone claiming that it to be real/pure and even mentioned that it great for nail art. It was just $2.99 so I took a chance. The listing has been removed, I'm guessing due to complaints as to the authenticity of it.

I didn't bother making a full bottle this time since I suspected the result would be similar and simply put a few flakes into a little bit of clear polish. It didn't turn the same vibrant green, but probably because I only used a few flakes. After a while the flakes completely dissolved leaving just the gelatin behind...

So there you have it, an update on the franken....

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)