Tag Archives: Roman Baths

How to Decorate Old Serving Trays With Gesso for Christmas

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For centuries gesso has been used as a base for gilding surfaces. You see gesso on everything from antique picture frames to ancient frescoes in Roman Baths. Gesso is made from a mix of glue, plaster, gypsum or chalk. The most authentic type of gesso is made from chalk. Originally the purpose of gesso was to prevent surfaces from absorbing paint.

Gesso is simply a white coating that can be used to paint anything. If you paint an antique tray with gesso it can help “winterize” it for the holiday season. It also looks very much like a tray in fifteenth century Italy when done. For a touch of extra holiday glamour you can also spray the tray with glitter.

The trick to having this work well is to pick your trays carefully. Ones that have handles work nicely and so do ones with details like filigree and ridging look amazing. The plainer the tray is the less likely it is too look nice because Gesso has the effect of making anything that it coats look “iced.”

When picking out a tray you also might want to consider its intended use. If it is for toiletries select something narrow. If it is for serving get something larger that is round or square.

It does not matter whether they are made out of metal, wood or painted, you will need to sand them well before you apply the gesso. You can use the gesso to create patterns such as swirls, swipes and zig zags on the tray. The more coats you apply the better the tray is going to look. It is always better to apply more gesso than you need than less as lots is what is needed to get that frothy snowy effect. If you think it looks too much like an iced cake you can always take some sandpaper and remove some of the gesso. The finer the sandpaper the better –so you do not have to redo the job!

Each time you apply a layer of gesso you should also wait at least an hour for it to dry. Applying wet gesso on a wet previous layer can create unattractive results.

Once you are happy with the design you can then apply glitter by hand or use a spray. Yet another beautiful effect is to treat the gessoed tray with a liquid ice product. This gives the tray a very shiny, multi-rainbowed effect.

Decorating With Stone Waterfalls

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To build a waterfall that resembles the type of waterfall you would see pouring out of the ancient stone walls of Roman baths, you need to first find or purchase at least twenty or more rounded stone boulders that are slightly flat on top.

Your first step is to build a stone and mortar brick wall by laying these stones on top of each other. This wall does not have to be perfect. It should almost look like a ceremonial stacking of stones. Be sure to stack the stones so that about three quarters of the way up the wall you have left room to insert a one inch copper pipe. This pipe is inserted into the wall along with PVC tubing that can either be attached to an external pump (hidden behind it) or to a submersible pump. The copper pipe, which oxidizes with time, also looks nice if it is sawed of at an angle to look like a spout.

When you turn on the pump, the water should splash out of the side of the wall. If you want to create the look of moss covered ancient walls in a hurry, try smearing yogurt over the new rocks. This will age them and encourage plant growth quite quickly.

Another easy type of fountain o make is the flat ledge fountain. To create this fountain you will have to acquire at least thirty broken pieces of flat stone slate. Make sure that you have one piece of slate that is at least three times as large as the others. The idea is that this piece of slate will extend laterally out into the pond.

Build a support for this slate by stacking cinder blocks at the desired distance out towards the center of the pond. Stack the largest piece of slate so that it is leveled and supported by both the edge of the pond and the cinder blocks.
You can use an external pump for this waterfall and hide it beneath the slate stone staircase or you can thread PVC through the rocks and use a submersible pump.

Build a supporting wall of cinder blocks a foot or two away from the pond. Now stack the flat pieces of slate on top of each other, using the larger pieces on the bottom and the smaller pieces on top to create a variegated staircase effect. The result will be a lovely cascading flow you can enjoy for years