I don’t know if you know this about me or not but I’m kind of crazy about Buddha statues.

I’m not sure if it is the bald head, the big belly (which in some cultures means he is very spiritual – so yeah, I’ll go with that one for myself too if you don’t mind!), the flowing clothing that looks so comfy or the thoughts of peace & happiness that envelope me when he’s around.

I found these Buddhas statues a while back and loved them. They look like sweet little babies AND Buddhas.

Except that this faux-crazed off-white ceramic look just doesn’t quite cut it for me. But for $10 at my local Marshall’s store I couldn’t pass them up. Besides, I knew these little Buddha babies could be made over.

So I painted them gold. But the gold ended up looking kind of flat and it made the ceramic look like it was actually cheap plastic. No bueno!

And then I remembered on of my favorite tricks when working with gold- and that is to use RED first.

Whether it’s gold paint, gold leafing or whatever it always pops and looks richer when red (or in this case maroon) is the first coat.

See what I mean?