Super Easy DIY Gold Gator

I'm moving to Los Angeles next week and have been excited out of my mind about calling it my home. Moving into a new apartment has sparked my DIY side of my brain, or maybe just the pace of summer makes us more crafty. I found an alligator dude at a Salvation Army a year ago and used him as a decoration on my coffee table. It definitely catches people's eye but I knew it could even be more spectacular with a little gold spray paint. This DIY is cheap and easy but totally chic. Put it on your coffee table to scare off creepy guys or on your vanity to remind you to be fabulous everyday. 

You'll need: 

• Predator/animal. Try a thrift store or Salvation Army if you don't have anything lying around the house. You can also spray pain a rubber animal (like dinosaur), so try Toys R Us as well. Try this guy ($6- shoutout Amazon!)
• Gold Spray Paint. I bought mine at Home Depot for about $7 and is called "Champagne Mist". 
• Trash bag or tarp to keep from getting the paint everywhere! 

So this is the "before" shot of the alligator. He's cute but we can make him fancier. Make sure your animal is situated on the tarp or trash bag. That sounded weird. 

Now you're ready to paint, that was fast! So shake up your spray paint for one minute- you should hear a ball inside the can rolling around. (This is a good sign.) Hold the can 8-12 inches away from your animal of choice and spray paint a light coat, while moving the can back and forth. You don't want to hover in one section or the paint will build up and drip or clump. Do one light coat and wait 30 minutes for the next coat. I also started by flipping the alligator upside down and practicing on the underside of it. Do one side at a time and let dry before flipping it over. 

And here we have our sun kissed alligator. This is after one coat of gold spray paint and he's looking pretty sharp. I let him dry for 30 minutes before doing his front side. Basically whenever you spray paint a section let it dry before moving the animal around to spray paint another section. I gave my alligator 2 coats of spray paint. 

Finished! It was super easy and I can't wait to display him/her (haven't decided-what do you think it is?) in my apartment! 

Let me know if you try this easy and quick DIY out and how you styled it/what animal you picked!