How to do Decoupage

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Ranked #919 in DIY, #15,749 overall

Would you like to learn the beautiful art of Decoupage?  You can find complete and FREE instructions below. I have also added a couple of book lists and links to decoupage websites for you to choose from and get new ideas.

Some of my Decoupage Creations. 

curated content from Flickr

What you can decorate with decoupage 

A list of all the wonderful things that can be decorated with decoupage

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Hat boxes

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boxes

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Old Trunks

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Bowls

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Book covers

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CHOOSING AND TAKING CARE OF YOUR SCISSORS 

The more accurate you cut, the better your finished work will be. To achieve the best results you will need a small scissors with very sharp points and curved blades that feels comfortable to hold. A surgical scissors made for cutting the iris is ideal but a good cuticle scissors also works well provided both points are equally sharp. This type of scissors is available from surgical supply outlets, department stores, drug stores or craft supply shops that deal with decoupage. Never share your decoupage scissors with anyone as it moulds itself to your movements and when someone else uses it this gets thrown out of wack.

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MASTERING THE ART OF CUTTING 

How to cut out prints for doing decoupage.

Beautifully cut prints will enhance the loveliness of your finished work. Poor cutting cannot be remedied so practice your cutting often. Try to cut every day. If you have nothing important to cut, try junk mail or magazine pictures. Start with simple designs and as you gain confidence tackle more difficult ones.

ORDER OF CUTTING
Cut out all the internal blank parts of the design first. This gives you more area to hold on to and allows more control. When cutting these inner bits cut in a clockwise direction. Start the cut by poking a hole through the middle of the area then insert the point of the scissors into the print from the back. The printed surface should be facing you, the scissors under the print.
When all the inner bits have been removed, cut around the outer edges working in an anti-clockwise direction.
When cutting delicate bits that would tend to bend and maybe even break off, it is a good idea to cut ?bridges? to help hold the cutting in shape until you are ready to paste it on your object. Draw them in with a dotted line before you begin the actual cutting. This helps you not to forget to cut in the bridge. You can use as many bridges as you feel comfortable with.
Cut away the bridges just before applying the paste or alternatively, and especially if the print is very fragile, apply the glue to the object, then place the dry cut print on the glued surface and gently wipe away the excess.glue with a damp sponge. It is a good idea to have about a dozen or so small pieces of sponge previously dampened and on hand when using this method. As you use each piece, put it into a container of water so the glue does not dry and spoil the sponge. At the end of the project wash the sponges

Scissors on eBay 

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LAYING OUT YOUR DESIGN 

When laying out your design it is helpful to draw the shape of your object on a piece of paper so that you can temporally arrange your prints before actually gluing them to the object.
I use a very thin application of spray-on adhesive to hold them in place temporarily. I spray it on to the paper (the scrap paper I am using to plan the design on) and I allow the adhesive to dry to the point that it is only slightly tacky. Just tacky enough to hold my prints in place with a temporary bond. Your spray on adhesive should have instructions on the label on how to create a temporary bond. You do not need to be too precise with the layout,
but you should try to work to a theme of either colour or type. (for instance you couldd choose a theme such as Victorian, or hand painted flower prints, faces, Reds with Grey, or Totally Pink etc,)
The prints can be overlapped if you wish.

When planning a design for a box, it sometimes looks nice to have the prints reach over the edges.
When placing a print that overlaps both the lid and the box, glue the whole print across both pieces first with the lid shut and when the glued print is
completely dry, slit the print where the cover meets the box. That way you will have a perfect match where the two pieces meet.
Another way to plan the design is to hold the pieces in place directly on the object with blue tac, then you can mark the outline of each cut piece with dots made with a soft pencil or with chalk.
You can also mark the position by placing small pieces of blue tac at particular points just outside the edge of the cut print to remind you where
it is going to go." ...

Add your decoupage site to this Top 100 list. 


GLUING DOWN THE PRINTS 

Using Decoupage Paste, Apply a generous amount to the back of your print. Take your time and allow the paper to soak up the glue.
After the paper has soaked up enough glue to satisfy it's thirst, with enough left over to adhere to the item you are working on. Place the glued print, glue side down on your project, and gently position it where you want it to be. Place the gluing screen over it and rub the print from centre to the edges (through the screen). When you are satisfied that there are no very large air bubbles remaining between the object and the print remove the gluing screen, take a damp sponge and gently remove any excess glue that has seeped out from under the print. Replace the
screen and use a rubber roller and start rolling the print back and forth until it is absolutely and completely flat. Keep checking and rolling, check and roll. Do not rush this process as some paper tends to 'pop up' if the glue has not taken hold properly.
I usually roll my prints down for about a minute or more.

Prints may be layered one on top of the other to form your design. You can keep adding prints until you are happy with the results. This is where having lots of cut designs on hand is really good. That way you do not have to go back to cutting before completing your
gluing session."

Decoupage Paste and Varnish 

Decoupage Comics on Wood
P.S. Wallpaper paste is OK as a decoupage medium but Mod Podge or diluted Elmer's Glue-All is more durable. Master decouper, Durwin Rice, recommends a 50/50 ...
Amazon.com: Mod Podge Matte-8 Ounce: Kitchen & Dining
Amazon.com: Mod Podge Matte-8 Ounce: Kitchen & Dining.
Jigsaw Puzzle Glue Mod Podge 16 Oz - (item 150143137721 end time ...
eBay: Find Jigsaw Puzzle Glue Mod Podge 16 Oz in the Toys Hobbies , Puzzles , Modern 1970-Now , Other category on eBay.
Plaid Arts and Crafts, Acrylic Paint, Needlecrafts, Rubber Stamps
We're proud to be the online home to over fifty craft brands including: FolkArt®, FolkArt® One Stroke%u2122, Bucilla®, All Night Media®, Mod Podge®, ...
eBay - Mod podge items on eBay.com
Buy Mod podge and items on eBay. Find a huge selection of items and get what you want now!
Buy ENVIRONMENTAL TECH EnviroTex Pour-On High Gloss Finish ...
Buy ENVIRONMENTAL TECH EnviroTex Pour-On High Gloss Finish supplies. Online discount store: ENVIRONMENTAL TECH EnviroTex Pour-On High Gloss Finish.
Painting Furniture/Decoupaging a Table Top - Page 5 - VeggieBoards
There are some items here I'd love to decoupage, and I'll have to keep a look out for that EnviroTex stuff. OH and I love that anti-war, anti-bush coffee ...
How-to for decorative switch plates? - Trash To Treasure Forum ...
You can decoupage on nearly any surface as long as it's smooth. ... My friend painted them with regular acrylic paints and coated them with EnviroTex. ...
CLEAR EPOXY COATING
coating with Envirotex. Use these gloves when coating with Envirotex ... Sealer %u2022 Glue %u2022 Quick Decoupage. %u2022 Clear. %u2022 Seals. %u2022 Finishes. %u2022 Protects ...
Yahoo! Answers - Papier Mache/Collage?
Instead of decoupage, you could use a 2-part epoxy resin (like Envirotex Lite) to pour over the whole assemblage, particularly if you want to add ...

COLOURING THE CUT EDGES OF YOUR PRINTS 

After you have all the prints glued down and you are happy with the design there is one very important step to follow before you seal your prints. Check once more to see if any white cut edges are showing. For this step you will need a few soft coloured pencils or Chinagraph Pencil in muted shades, to match your prints and blend in with the background. Colours darker than the prints are best.

Take your object into an area where there is good light such as near a window, in the garden or under a good bright light. Now search with your eyes carefully for every little bit of white where the paper was cut and colour it in with a pencil that will match the design. If your prints are very diverse in colours you may need quite a few different pencils. If your prints are mostly dark you may get away with just using a black Chinagraph pencil.
Take time with this step as it will really improve the look of your finished item.

When you are finished working on it by the window. Take a rest and then take it to a different light source and check and colour again. At different times of the day, and in different lights different things show up ... so take your time. When you are happy with this step you can start sealing the prints.

ROLLING YOUR PRINTS FLAT 

A brayer ... sometimes used to roll the prints flat after gluing.

If you do not have a brayer, you can also use a small craft sponge roller, or an empty cylindrical bottle such as a shampoo bottle.

Craft rollers on eBay 

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USING SPONGES TO KEEP THE PROJECT CLEAN 

Keep some damp sponges or damp rags handy for wiping off excess glue. Keep using fresh ones after you glue each piece down to avoid damaging your prints. You do not need to use sea sponged. Kitchen sponges will do just fine.

Sponges on eBay 

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DECOUPAGE ON PLASTIC 

This is a cheap flea market plastic tray.
It is quite sturdy, with sharp edges and structural lines. I used three different large tile prints to decorate this item,then varnished with clear water based varnish ... Royal Coat by Plaid.

The plastic was first sanded back to give the item a bit of a tooth so the paint would adher properly.
I then applied a coat of Liquited Matt Medium as a base coat and allowed that to cure for a couple of days before commencing with applying the background colour. For the very dark almost black color, I used burnt umber and pthalo blue mixed on the actual item as I brushed them on. I put a bit of each on the brush and used very loose brush stroked to create the almost black look. I used more of the burnt umber than I did blue. When I was happy with the background colour, I applied the square tiles using "Royal Coat" by Plaid as the decoupage paste, and then varnished with Royal Coat.

It is hard to believe it is plastic as the decoupage gives it a deep luxirous glow.

DECOUPAGE ON TIMBER 

This very large Sacred Heart of Jesus picture was decoupaged about 30 years ago.
This is a recent photograph, The colours have kept beautifully. I did make one very big mistake though. The back of the timber was not sealed ...
The result is that the project has warped and is now concave. Although concave, the beauty is still there and most people actually like the effect.
The size is about three feet wide by four feet high.

Recently this picture fell and broke during house moving activities and I was asked to try and fix it. When I first made this, about 40 years ago, I made a big mistake and did not varnish the back of it. The result is that depending on the humidity, it warps or curves into a vertical concave shape. I have now varnished the back and it is slowly going back to it's original flat condition. (over 4 months).

When it fell, the wood separated where the boards were joined and the paper split. I am waiting for the picture to go completely flat again before I attempt to fix the break.

Add you site to the Top 100 Decoupage Websites 


Great Decoupage Stuff on eBay 

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Decoupage Books on Amazon 

New Decoupage: Transforming Your Home with Paper, Glue, and Scissors

New Decoupage: Transforming Your Home with Paper, Glue, and Scissors

by: Durwin Rice

Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 12/29/2009) Buy Now

Decoupage & Decorative Paint Finishes: Creating Treasures Out of Everyday Objects

Decoupage & Decorative Paint Finishes: Creating Treasures Out of Everyday Objects

by: Rubena Grigg

Amazon Price: (as of 12/29/2009) Buy Now

Decoupage: A Practical Guide to the Art of Decorating Surfaces with Paper Cutouts

Decoupage: A Practical Guide to the Art of Decorating Surfaces with Paper Cutouts

by: Dee Davis

Amazon Price: $15.34 (as of 12/29/2009) Buy Now

Fresh Ideas in Decoupage

Fresh Ideas in Decoupage

by: Colette George

Amazon Price: $20.69 (as of 12/29/2009) Buy Now

Napkin Decoupage: Simple Clever Effective

Napkin Decoupage: Simple Clever Effective

by: Deborah Morbin, Tracy Boomer

Amazon Price: (as of 12/29/2009) Buy Now

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by ArtbyJean

Born in Trinidad & Tobago, Lived in Orlando Florida for 7 years. I now reside in Perth Western Australia. My main hobbies are arts and crafts. (more)

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