Golden Mermaid

On the art site that I do my trading on we have another swap happening.
This one is for "altered mermaids". Well...I just love mermaids, so I had to find the time for this one too.
We are all working from the same body pattern which is approx. 8" long. I used old text pages and distress ink for the top half. For the tail, I first gave a coat of gold paint....this is for two reasons. One, it helps the adhesive for the gold leaf stick better (which was my next step). Second, if there were any spots that were to show through the leaf in the end, it would blend in beautifully.
I then added a verigated gold leaf to add more interest than a solid gold.
I used a beautiful collage face image and two buttons that I removed the shank from and used for the boobs. I made her a beaded necklace and made charms of waterlillies and scallop shells out of shrink plastic. On her head she has two large shell sequins and little pearl beads. I think it gives her almost a bit of a 20's flapper look.