Long time lurker, first-time poster.
We just bought our first house this year and decided to make this ceiling medallion after unsuccessfully searching online for one that would work in our tiny bathroom but also not break the bank.

Finished project first:

The medallion is made from 1/4 inch plywood and designed in Illustrator in layers. Each layer was cut in half with a puzzle piece tab to make it easier to fit them together before gluing. I chose not to use the passthrough because I knew we would paint it and I was lazy.

The pieces were laminated together with wood glue and clamped and clamped and clamped some more. There are six layers (I think) to give it the depth we wanted.

After the glue dried, it was scraped and sanded lightly to clear off any squeezeout. Then the whole thing was coated with a layer of XTC-3D resin to help encapsulate it and cover some of the wood grain. Also, this helps it not to warp when I take hot showers. It has held up well for the last 6-ish months. It was then painted a rich deep almost black brown, and the gold was dry brushed over the top.

Pic with the chandelier: