DIY Japanese Kintsugi Art

Alrighty guys, todays DIY is sooo different from any DIY I’ve ever done!! Today we are learning how to make Japanese Kintsugi, which if you’re not familiar is “the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold.” While I was researching for this project I really fell in love with what this art represents, like, really fell in love. Here’s a quote that I found that sums it up beautifully: “In Japan, broken objects are often repaired with gold. The flaw is seen as a unique piece of the objects history, which adds to it’s beauty. Consider this when you feel broken.” How amazing is that?!

Watch the Video Tutorial Below!

Anyway, let’s talk about the glue I used to make this happen! I partnered with Aleene’s Glue on this post, and let me just say that I had no idea there was even such a thing as glass glue! What a game changer! I can’t believe that repairing a dish with glass glue makes it fully functional again – so neat!!! It was easy to work with and I love that I can actually use the mug I made with this amazing glue!

Okay, we should probably get started on this DIY of making broken things beautiful. You could totally use a broken item that you already have and repair it, or you can do what I did and break something on purpose. Let’s get started!

SUPPLIES:

Aleene’s Glass & Bead Glue

Glass or ceramic object – The pitcher, the mug, the tray.
(I liked using ceramic or stoneware better, I found that glass shattered too easily).

Hammer

Gold Powder

Paintbrush

Pillowcase

DIRECTIONS:

1. If you are breaking an object, place it in a pillow case and hammer it until it breaks. Once you’ve made your first break, take it out and decide where you’d like your next break to be. Place your item back in the pillow case and hammer in that area. Repeat this step until you have reached your desired look.
2. Mix your Aleene’s Glass & Bead Glue with your gold powder until it is fully combined.
3. Choose the first pieces that you’d like to glue back together (Start with an edge piece and work your way to the center). Paint your golden glue onto the edges of one of the pieces. Don’t be shy – add a lot of glue.
4. Attached the pieces together by using force to push them together to make sure they are secure.
5. Repeat this until your object is repaired.
6. Take your smallest paintbrush and paint your gold glue overtop of all of the cracks. This ensures that it is sealed properly, and also enhances the golden cracks.
7. Repeat these steps with all of your items (I made three), wait for them to dry and then enjoy as either a décor or functional piece.

This DIY really is so simple, but looks expensive and has a beautiful meaning. There are so many possibilities. I love that when we inevitably break a dish, we can now just repair it with gold and make it even prettier than it was before.

Aleene’s has a ton of glues that are so unique, like their ‘Stick and Re-Stick Glue’ that I used to make my rainbow hearts window, or their fabric glue that I used to make no-sew tassel pillows. So definitely check them out! Anyways, I hope you loved today’s DIY, and that you’ll think of it next time you want to be sad about breaking a dish. If you make this DIY Japanese Kintsugi Art please tag or DM me @mikylacreates so that I can see! That’s it, See you next week!

This post was created in partnership with Aleene’s Original Glues All content and opinions are my own! Thank you for supporting the sponsors that help keep Mikyla Creates going!!